The Deutscher Eishockey-Bund has filled the position of head of refereeing Erfurt Volker Westhaus won for it. In the restructuring of the department, Westhaus is also taking over the tasks of the previous referee chairman Gerhard Lichtnecker, who is responsible for the DEB expressly thanked for his many years of commitment.
Westhaus (29) was a referee for 13 years, played a total of almost 600 games, acted as PENNY DEL main referee and came to the Deutschland-Cup Also used at international level in 2019. The Thuringian has completed a sports management degree at the FSU Jena and is expected to focus his area of responsibility on future challenges.
Volker, what is the head of refereeing responsible for?
Volker Westhaus: “My area of responsibility involves, on the one hand, creating, organizing and implementing the training programs for all match officials DEB. In addition, recruiting new referees is important. I am also responsible for overall management of the match officials department DEB, I am the technical contact for leagues, regional associations and teams and of course networked with all departments DEB, which at one point or another have a connection to the subject of refereeing. Regarding the PENNY DEL, the exchange with my colleague Lars Brüggemann is already well underway.”
What do you attach particular importance to?
West house: “On the ice and now off the ice, my basic philosophy is trust and support. Every referee enjoys my complete trust and will carry out his task with full commitment. They receive support through training content, video training and feedback on their performance to advance their development and be prepared for the tasks ahead.”
Where do you see the most important starting points for your work?
West house: “The training of referees is a core task of the association and the conditions have been very well created in recent years. Now it’s important to make the best possible use of these resources and continually improve the third team on the ice.”
How and where should refereeing in German ice hockey develop in your opinion?
West house: “I want to create a career path as a referee in ice hockey: the ice hockey family is small and we cannot lose any talent. The conscious decision to become a referee should be encouraged. Participating in a World Cup or Olympics is the greatest experience for everyone, athletes and referees alike. The goal is to work towards it and maintain respect for this work.”
It is unusual for someone to end their active career at the age of 29 and decide to take on this administrative role. What motivated you to do this?
West house: “I made a conscious decision to do this and am dedicating myself to the management task with full enthusiasm. In my refereeing work I have covered everything from the DEL2 winter derby to the PENNY DEL playoffs and the Deutschland-Cup can experience almost all facets. Now it's time to take these fresh impressions with you and tackle the tasks in the organization with confidence. For me, too, it is an appreciation of the association's work not to see it as an extension of one's own refereeing career, but rather to actively and early on face the problems and tasks in the structure and tackle them.
Photos: DEB