Justin Hawthorne completed the Small Sided referee course in January 2022 and started refereeing almost immediately with Gorge and Lakehill. He did not realize he would enjoy it as much as he does ! His favourite Refing assignments are the super 8 games. His favourite AR assignments are the premier women’s games. He finds those games to be fast and exciting. Steve Legg, Head Referee at Gorge, reports that Justin has also been an assistant referee in men’s D-1 and D-2 games and has done an amazing job!
Justin has found that having a refereeing background is helping him as a player. He feels it allows him to see the game from both aspects, as a player and as an official.
Justin began playing organized soccer at age 2. His first club was Lakehill and then he moved to Saanich Fusion before joining the Wave Program in 2021.
Justin very much looks forward to turning 14 years so that he can achieve his full field (Entry Level) certification. He is motivated to see how far refereeing can take him.
In terms of outside interests, Justin enjoys playing basketball at school, but soccer is where his passion lies. He is very active with water sports (knee boarding, wake boarding, tubing) and also enjoys mountain and dirt bike riding, skateboarding and scootering . He very much enjoys spending much of the summer at Lake Cowichan with family.
Congratulations Justin on being selected as the Lower Island Soccer Association’s “Referee of the Month!”