Seven Hall inductees being honoured Saturday at Conexus Arts Centre
Karen Howard is still adding laurels to her Hall of Fame career.
“The referee is in charge of the judging panel,” said Howard, who joins the Hall as a builder. “You facilitate a lot of meetings with the officials and you are in charge of the entire arena.
“It’s like being principal of a large high school. If something happens in the venue, you are the person who makes the decision in consultation with the support personnel who are there to assist with that.”
Howard will be in charge of the junior world figure skating championships in Hungary, following earlier referee assignments at the 2023 junior worlds in Calgary and 2024 European championships in Lithuania.
Karen’s husband, Brad, will be joining her on an upcoming trip with plans to supervise some on-ice officials during local hockey games while she looks after her event. Brad Howard is the senior manager of player safety and standard of play for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, supervising officials in that league, the Western Hockey League and U Sports. With two daughters, they have a family of teachers, coaches and officials.
“Brad always says that people hear where you’re going on your next trip, but they don’t see the hours and hours of preparation that you do at home or the work you do at an event,” said Karen Howard.
Howard judged the women’s figure skating competition at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. She served as a judge and/or referee at three world figure skating championships and four junior worlds. A judge, evaluator and referee for Skate Saskatchewan since she turned her attention from competing to judging, 58-year-old Howard is allowed to continue at the ISU’s top level until she’s 70.
“I was always intrigued by the officiating,” said Howard. “I grew up in Melville and had such a supportive environment there, starting with my parents, who thought it was great I was interested in this.
“I had most of the preparatory work done prior to turning 16, so literally when I turned 16 I was certified and started on the judging pathway. I love it as much today as I loved it on the first day of my certification.”
North Battleford’s Wayne Hellquist will be feted as a builder for his work in volleyball.
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