About Us
Welcome to the Great Lakes Hockey Officials website. GLHO is a local group of approximately 150 USA Hockey, AAU, MHSAA and ACHA certified officials based in Lower Michigan.
GLHO is responsible for the administration of officiating assignments for various leagues, associations, clubs and teams. Great Lakes Hockey Officials acts as a liaison that assigns with officials as independent contractors.
All officials must provide seasonal proof of officiating qualification by earning certification from USA Hockey, AAU, MHSAA, ACHA or other participating sanctioning body.
There is no membership fee to receive assignments from GLHO, rather professionalism, work ethic, performance to standards and procedures are pre-requisites to join. We encourage and provide opportunities for new officials of all ages. It is suggested that officials be a minimum of 12 years old to start. We provide initial game opportunities and a volunteer mentoring program to get new officials off the ground. Additional assignments come from availability and gaining of experience through proper procedures, standards and hustle.
General Information USA Hockey
To completely register with USA Hockey as an official you need to complete five steps each year.
General Information MHSAA
It’s easy to become an MHSAA Registered Official. The following steps will have you in the middle of the action in no time!*Note: if you are under the age of 18, please visit the Legacy Student Officials Program page.
General Information AAU
AAU Membership Requirement: Just as with other league organizations, referees must be registered and insured within the appropriate organization, in order to officiate within those games.
General Information ACHA
Our ACHA officials are required to be completely registered with USA Hockey at level 3 or higher. In unique circumstances, USA Hockey Level 2 officials may be used with approval from the ACHA Referee-in-Chief.