How many refs?

[HdGLaxWarrior]

How many refs should ref for age leagues 6-14? 4 of my friends want to ref for all those games. I told the mat was too much.

[LaxRef]

I would suggest two officials for such games if possible. Three-man mechanics are tricky until you're come to understand two-man, and there really are no 4-man mechanics (unless you use a CBO, which is limited to really important high school games).

Ideally, you have an experienced official working 2-man with a newer official. An experienced guy can work youth games alone and do a decent job, but I would not put a rookie on a game by himself, or even two rookies together.

[HdGLaxWarrior]

Would reffing 5 games be too many?

[hulllaxplayer]

id say 3 refs one for the center line and faceoffs then one for each half

[LaxRef]

Would reffing 5 games be too many?

Oh, sorry, I thought you meant how many officials per game, not how many games per official. This really varies. I've done 5 hour-long games in a row; I'm in pretty good shape, but I'm still pretty beat after that many games (and I do Ironman triathlons). There's also mental fatigue; there's no way you're as sharp in that last game as in the first. Most guys will be dragging by the fourth or fifth game and their performance will suffer. I'd say either rotate the guys so they get a break or have some do the morning games and some do the later ones.

[LaxRef]

id say 3 refs one for the center line and faceoffs then one for each half

That is not the proper procedure under any accepted mechanics.

[Woodenstick]

Most times you don't need more than 1 ref for about up to age 11. For older games up to varsity, we use 2 refs if possible. As far as how many games, you can ref little kids for 4-5 hours without getting tired, the game is slow. But doing junior high (age 14) with 1 or 2 refs, I would think that more than a couple full length games in a row would tire out most refs unless they are dogging it. I haven't tried it though.