Work rates of international hockey umpires

In recent years, a number of significant changes have occurred to the rules of international hockey, but no evaluation has taken place of the effect this has had on the demands placed upon match officials. The present study assessed match demands placed on elite male and female hockey officials. A total of 10 male and 11 female officials were “tracked” using Global Positioning System receivers for 66 international matches. Data extracted from receivers included metrics for distances covered during the game and while engaged in high-intensity running (HIR), as well as characteristics of each individual effort. Differences between sex and time periods were assessed using Kruskal–Wallis tests. The study found few meaningful differences (p < .05) between male and female officials for match characteristics such as total distance covered and time spent engaged in HIR, or in individual effort characteristics such as frequency of HIR and distance covered during each HIR effort. However, all significant findings showed only small to medium effect sizes for sex and match time. Findings from the present study suggest that the current guidelines available to international officials should be re-evaluated and a removal of sex differences considered.