462
Views
8
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

Ice hockey officiating retention: a qualitative understanding of junior ice hockey officials’ motivations in Canada

, , &
Pages 18-31 | Received 07 Nov 2017, Accepted 04 Jan 2019, Published online: 13 Jan 2019
 

ABSTRACT

An 8% annual growth internationally in registered ice hockey players has spurred the need for more officials. Understanding long-term motivations of these officials can help with retention. The present study utilized self-determination theory (SDT) to examine the motivations of ice hockey officials who continue in the officiating profession. A qualitative analysis of 15 semi-structured interviews of officials in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) was employed to gain understanding of ice hockey official motivations. Five emerging themes were uncovered to explain these motivations: (1) family, (2) new perspective, (3) comradery, (4) advancement, and (5) commitment and dedication. The current research attempted to fill a gap in the literature regarding official motivations and retention, as conversely, previous scholars have focused on factors of why officials quit. These findings may be helpful to sport organizations in understanding motivations of officials, so they can then cater to these motivations, and possibly increase retention.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.