In the midst of a shortage of referees in many sports in Quebec, researchers from HEC Montreal are currently conducting a new research project on violence against officials. These experts want to understand why some referees leave the profession, but also why others agree to continue.
Eric Brunelle has never been a referee, but like many Quebecers, he has often witnessed deplorable gestures, both physical and verbal, directed at referees.
Along with his colleagues from the Pôle sports de HEC Montréal, of which he is the director, Mr. Brunelle has therefore decided to make his contribution to tackling the problem. His goal: to find out what’s on the minds of umpires — why some give up, while others wear the striped sweater for many years without flinching.
“For some time now, we have noticed a decrease in the number of people who accept to be referees, underlines the full professor. It can range, depending on the country and the sport, between 15 and 40% reduction in the last ten years. It’s huge, underlines Mr. Brunelle.
“According to different research, approximately 50% of referees have been victims of significant violence; it’s still a lot, one person out of two. There is a kind of culture of denigration of referees where it is accepted to yell at each other. It may be part of show, but at the same time, there are consequences to all of this. »
And now that the practice of sports in Quebec is increasingly disrupted by the lack of referees, with matches and even complete tournaments being canceled due to this problem, Mr. Brunelle believes that it is time to brush up a true portrait of the situation.
“The objective of the study we are doing is to untangle all that. To better understand how the profession of referee is experienced by referees, how they perceive themselves, the impacts, but also to understand the well-being they can derive from it. »
Very high participation rate
For the first phase of their project, the researchers sent a questionnaire to all minor hockey referees in the province, thanks to a distribution partnership with Hockey Quebec, in order to collect a first pool of data which will then be used to direct the follow-up. of their research.
Launched during the holiday season, the questionnaire was completed by some 700 arbitrators in less than two weeks, which impressed Mr. Brunelle.
“It’s rare that it happens in research that, so quickly, so many people agree to participate in a study, underlines the director of the Sports Pole. For us, this is an important indicator that shows that we have put our finger on something that is relevant.”
“We’re happy, because that means we’ll really be able to help the referees and help Hockey Quebec improve its practices. There is really something at stake and something must be done to help,” he thinks.
This questionnaire was initially sent only to hockey referees, who will be followed up later this season to understand how things have evolved for them. In the meantime, the researchers will be busy over the next few weeks analyzing the first answers provided by the participants, in order to better understand the current portrait of the problem.
In the minds of the referees
The questionnaire, viewed by The Canadian Press, quickly asks the kinds of questions one would expect from such a study, such as “How often do referees experience verbal abuse from coaches, players or spectators? Participants can choose from a few response choices ranging from “Never” to “Always”.
But after these more direct questions, participants are asked to answer several questions that focus more on their personality: do they bounce back quickly after difficult times, do they generally remain positive?
This angle aimed at better understanding the very personality of the people who choose to arbitrate is not at all random, confirms Mr. Brunelle.
“We are trying to see if there are personality profiles that are better suited and that live better in this profession, but also if there are profiles that will perhaps be more likely to experience it with difficulty”, explains he.
The questionnaire also aims to identify certain predispositions, such as resilience, burnout or adaptability, which will influence the way a referee will experience certain situations.
The questionnaire takes about 20 minutes to complete and will remain available until January 20.
Difficult year
Everything indicates that this HEC Montréal research project comes at an opportune time. During a recent interview with The Canadian Press, the head referee for the Montreal region, Éric Black, pointed out that the current season is “one of the worst years, if not the worst” of his entire career. career of more than twenty years in the world of hockey with regard to violence against officials.
“A referee was told by a coach that he had a gun in his float and was going to use it, then the assistant coach mimed that he was going to cut his throat,” Mr Black said to illustrate the extent of the problem.
Mr. Brunelle therefore hopes that his research project will make it possible to change mentalities, so that we keep the referees we have left, and that others agree to take over.
“Through this kind of research, I hope we will talk about it more,” he says. We intend to discover things from a very scientific point of view, but also to help the community in all sorts of ways. Just the fact that we talk about it more is a good thing. »