Calgary startup tackles referee abuse with microphones and machine learning

Robson Fletcher · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Abuse of referees successful amateur athletics has been an contented for decades and each sorts of attempts person been made to curb the problem, from sternly worded signs that punctual fans to beryllium respectful to greenish armbands that place novice officials to body-worn cameras that grounds footage from the refs' perspectives.

Now, a Calgary startup is employing a spot of each those strategies, combined with a benignant of artificial quality known arsenic instrumentality learning, to tackle the contented successful a caller way.

Elements Athletics has launched a merchandise known arsenic Mic'd Up that involves wireless microphones successful lightweight armbands worn by refs, coupled with signs that alert players, coaches and spectators that what they accidental tin and volition beryllium recorded.

The hours of audio caught by these mics would beryllium cumbersome for a quality to review, but CEO Mark Lootens says modern machine-learning techniques let that process to beryllium automated — and affordable.

"That's the chill happening astir wherever we're astatine close now, from a bundle improvement perspective," helium said.

"Our merchandise didn't marque consciousness 3 years ago. It would person outgo a fortune. But we're successful this truly amusive spot close now, successful presumption of exertion development, wherever products similar this bash go affordable, which makes them accessible, and applications similar Mic'd Up for younker sports associations are feasible."

Lootens says the company's "tuned machine-learning model" is susceptible of rapidly reviewing hours of audio and detecting adjacent subtle moments of abuse, insults oregon verbal threats directed astatine referees.

The bundle past catalogues the incidents into a study that is provided to referees' athletics associations, which tin assistance erstwhile it comes to holding radical who mistreat referees accountable.

"One of the large challenges that associations tally into is ... they person a hard clip enforcing their ain policies the mode they meant to erstwhile they wrote them, due to the fact that they don't person this grounds of truth," Lootens said.

"A lot of times their situations devolve into he-said-she-said, and truthful we supply them with that grounds of truth."

Young refs 'just not staying'

Both Lootens and institution co-founder Tamara Jarrett person worked arsenic referees successful the past and accidental the level of maltreatment they tin look is not lone troubling but besides detrimental to the recruitment and retention of refs starting astatine the youngest levels.

Jarrett said kids who are 13 oregon 14 tin marque bully wealth refereeing, but she's seen galore who springiness it a effort and past discontinue owed to the attraction they receive.

"They're conscionable not staying," she said. "It's not the money. They're conscionable not staying."

Lootens said referee maltreatment besides goes "grossly underreported" due to the fact that of the clip and effort it takes for reports to beryllium manually filed.

"We're automating that, truthful that associations are dealing with a batch much data," helium said. "The thought being that they tin present commencement to place trends, versus ever conscionable responding to a circumstantial incident."

'This is simply a planetary problem'

Elements Athletics received enactment from Platform Calgary, a local non-profit enactment that helps startups motorboat and turn with mentorship, advice, connections to networks and entree to capital.

Platform Calgary CEO Terry Rock says the enactment has helped foster the city's progressively established tech scene, and it present counts astir 700 tech companies among its members.

"We're doing this to marque Calgary a amended city," Rock said. "We're doing this to marque Calgary's system much resilient, to make jobs of the future."

So far, Elements Athletics clients person been section sports associations, but Lootens hopes to turn it astir the world.

"We spot nary crushed wherefore it can't beryllium a planetary product," helium said.

 "This isn't conscionable a occupation that's happening successful Alberta. This is simply a planetary occupation that everyone's struggling with."