Upper Peninsula “Earn Your Stripes Invitational” Announced for Hancock, MI

Education, mentorship and training new officials, the focus of Earn Your Stripes event.

The CCJHA will host an Upper Peninsula Earn Your Stripes in Hancock, Michigan, on September 20, 2025.

Designed to mirror the downstate version, the event is a chance for new officials to get on-ice training and experience before the regular season begins. New referees will have an introduction and morning skate, followed by rotation into live 10U games, overhead viewing and discussion, lunch and Earn You Stripes achievement recognition.

There will be no cost for the officials or 10U teams/players to participate.

Launched in 2023 and led by Michigan Referee-in-Chief Howard (J.P.) Parmentier, the Officiating Program conducted a morning seminar for participating officials, while 10u games were played throughout the day. During the on-ice competition, new officials had an opportunity to interact with veteran officials, who served as mentors throughout the process. The event concept served to accelerate the process of onboarding new officials for ice hockey.

“This event gave us the opportunity to pair new officials with veterans, to allow younger referees to get some game experience going into the season,” Parmentier explained. “We hope to attract a few new officials to help us get our numbers back where they were, pre-pandemic.”

New Level 1 & 2 Officials interested in participating should visit CCJHA's Earn Your Stripes Registration Page for more details and registration. Questions can be directed to Amy Blake (D8 Director), Tim Jaska (D8 Director), or Erik Berglund, District 8 Referee-in-Chief.