Even though several female referees have taken big strides in recent years, a pioneer’s path can be a lonely one. At least, it requires being very motivated and independent. In recent years, Kainberger has worked in the Alps Hockey League and the ICE Hockey league close to home, but also in the Swedish SDHL and Division 1.
“When I switched to refereeing, I wanted to work as many games as possible,” Kainberger said. “An IIHF referee coach gave me the best piece of advice I could get: ‘Just ask for it.’ I called Stina [Nilsson, manager of female officials] at the Swedish federation and got to work in Sweden. I traveled to Sweden once a month for a weekend and refereed three games every time. It’s good to see different leagues, players, styles, and to meet new people.”
Suddenly, the job was a little less lonely.
In the beginning, Kainberger was so eager to develop that she even paid for her own travel.
After the 2022 Olympics and the issues created by the pandemic, the IIHF recognized that expanding the pool of female referees and linespersons was necessary.
“After Beijing, we put together a group of 30 referees and thirty linespeople who we could see working in the WW18, Women’s Worlds, and the Olympics,” said Joel Hansson, the IIHF’s Officiating Development Manager. “And that would then give us the dozen who’ll work those tournaments.”
The benefits of this approach have been numerous.
“We’ve been able to work closer with the people in that core group. We can use the same officiating coaches and have the referees work in our top events, which has been helpful for the referees’ development. Julia is a great example. Coming from Austria, where there’s little work in women’s hockey, we have been able to help her mix her work in men’s leagues with working internationally in good women’s leagues and international tournaments.”
For Hansson, having Kainberger referee an CHL game isn’t the goal. He knows she’s more than qualified for the job.
“The challenge isn’t to have one referee skate in an CHL or a SHL game,” Hansson said. “The challenge is for the IIHF, together with the national federations, to create an environment that fosters new talent. To be honest, Julia has created 99.5 percent of her chances herself.”
For a male referee starting out, there’s a path toward the best leagues in the world. For women, the path to refereeing in, for example, the DEL or the SHL isn’t as clear, for various…
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