The International Ice Hockey Federation has selected the 24 on-ice officials who will be working the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The tournament, which kicks off on November 6, will be held in Denmark, with games taking place in Herning and Esbjerg. The Gold Medal game is set for November 16.
This year’s tournament is the first Women’s World Championship to be played in November, with the IIHF having moved the event from its traditional April window as part of its new schedule alignment with the PWHL.
Here are the referees and linespersons for the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship:
Referees
- Michaela Bahl (USA)
- Jennifer Berezowski (Canada)
- Tijana Haack (Germany)
- Anna Hammar (Sweden)
- Sydney Harris (USA)
- Veronica Lovensnoe (Sweden)
- Amy Martin (Canada)
- Shannon Motzko (USA)
- Shauna Neary (Canada)
- Anniina Nurmi (Finland)
- Anneke Orlandini (Switzerland)
- Laura Schmidlein (USA)
Linespersons
- Alannah Beres (Canada)
- Alexia Cheyroux (France)
- Leonie Ernst (Germany)
- Lara Fischer (Germany)
- Stephanie Gagnon (Canada)
- Kathryn Glover (USA)
- Erika Greenen (USA)
- Kristyna Hajkova (Czechia)
- Ashley Johnston (USA)
- Jessica Lundgren (Sweden)
- Natalia Suchanek (Poland)
- Sophie Thomson (Canada)
This year’s officiating crew represents nine countries, with the United States leading the way with seven officials, Canada sending six, and Germany and Sweden each sending three.
Referees Shauna Neary and Anniina Nurmi both officiated at the 2025 World Championship in Czechia, as did linespersons Alexia Cheyroux, Leonie Ernst, Kristyna Hajkova, and Jessica Lundgren.
Neary and Nurmi also worked the 2024 World Championship in Utica, alongside referees Jennifer Berezowski and Amy Martin and linespersons Cheyroux, Ernst, Hajkova, and Natalia Suchanek.
Neary, Nurmi, Hajkova, and Lundgren all officiated at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.
Swedish referee Anna Hammar also has Olympic experience, having worked the 2022 Winter Olympics as a linesperson; she’ll wear the red armbands in Denmark. Canadian linesperson Stephanie Gagnon is back in the top division, having worked the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and the 2015 Women’s World Championship. Gagnon returned to IIHF action at the 2025 U18 Women’s World Championship after an eight-year hiatus.
Ten of the 24 officials also worked in the PWHL last season: referees Berezowski, Sydney Harris, Martin, Neary, and Laura Schmidlein, and linespersons Alannah Beres, Gagnon, Kathryn Glover, Erika Greenen, and Sophie Thomson.
Referee Tijana Haack and linesperson Erika Greenen both worked the 2024 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship in Switzerland.
Congratulations and good luck to the officials selected to work the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
