As a global sport, ice hockey is experiencing a renaissance. 2024-2025 marked four consecutive seasons of growth for registered players in both the U.S. and Canada, driven largely by a boom among women and girl athletes.
With more participation, however, comes increased risk—and more people (in terms of players and fans) to protect. This is a responsibility that the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) takes very seriously.
“Each sport carries its own risks, for us there is a high tolerance to physical violence and injuries,” explains Naomi Bloetjes, IIHF’s Integrity Manager. “Unfortunately, this is also the hierarchical nature of the sport, sometimes with unequal power relationships between not only athletes, but also coaches and staff members. There is a win-at-all-cost mentality.”
Since 1908, the IIHF has served as the governing body for ice hockey worldwide, enforcing standards and overseeing development efforts for 84 member national associations. In 2022, the IIHF launched a formal integrity program to expand safeguarding efforts throughout the sport. When they needed a tool to elevate their integrity efforts, they turned to RealResponse.
Establishing a safeguarding center of excellence
The IIHF’s integrity work encompasses four pillars: anti-doping, competition manipulation, abuse and ethics. The federation not only manages the overarching program structure but ensures that the organization’s 84 member national associations (MNAs) have the resources they need to protect staff and players in their home countries.
“The size of [each] MNA is really different,” explains Bloetjes. “We have MNAs like USA Hockey or Hockey Canada that are massive. And then we have rather smaller ones, let’s say Thailand, Malaysia—and we need to find a solution that fits all of them.”
Each MNA is mandated to appoint a dedicated integrity officer to serve as a direct point of contact, and handle any incidents isolated to a specific club or league within their country. This model ensures each MNA’s officer is well-versed in local legislation, while still receiving support from the central IIHF team.
The IIHF runs annual workshops for all MNA integrity officers, time that acts as both education and connection. “We also use them as networking opportunities, because we do have neighboring countries that can benefit from each other. It’s not like we have to reinvent the wheel,” she says. “To be honest, we kickstarted a community of integrity officers that are there to support each other.”
Doubling down on anonymous, actionable reporting
“We realized after one year that most reports came in anonymously,” explains Bloetjes. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t do much [with many of them] because information was missing or unclear. That was tough to realize because people had the courage and took the time to speak up. And, we could not do anything about it because there was no way to respond back.”
By adding RealResponse’s two-way, anonymous platform, the IIHF could capture all of the information needed to keep their community safe and protect individuals’ identities.
Bloetjes embeds reporting reminders throughout IIHF operations to ensure everyone, from players and coaches to fans, knows where they can turn if they spot misconduct. This includes reporting reminders in all internal education sessions, along with locker room and restroom posters with QR codes that direct users right to the tool. They even have a dedicated Integrity Awareness Week in December to reinforce how everyone plays a role in creating a safer ice hockey culture.
For Bloetjes, this all contributes to greater trust across the IIHF community. “The more people use it, the more comes to the surface because they know, ‘Hey, someone is listening to me. What I’m sharing is valid.’ It gives people a voice.”
The reports the IIHF receives through RealResponse vary from instances of verbal abuse and online abuse (particularly through social media) to alleged game manipulation. But Bloetjes has also found that RealResponse offers people an outlet for more than just misconduct reporting. “We use RealResponse for uncomfortable questions. We have a lot of in-person education sessions with our athletes and officials, and it can be an intimidating setting. So we always tell them, use it for anything that you do not want to ask in front of anyone else. And now we see that happening. People use it for difficult questions that they are just not comfortable asking in front of others, or maybe they want to ask it anonymously.”
“We use RealResponse for uncomfortable questions. We have a lot of in-person education sessions with our athletes and officials, and it can be an intimidating setting. So we always tell them, use it for anything that you do not want to ask in front of anyone else.
Naomi Bloetjes, Integrity Manager, IIHF
Delivering full strength community support
With RealResponse, the IIHF can capture all of the information they need to assess and act on integrity reports. More importantly, the platform provides the full IIHF community with a trusted way to voice their concerns.
“The first year [of the program] reports went through the roof, but I was expecting that,” says Bloetjes. “To be honest, I was happy with those numbers because it showed that people were waiting to speak up, they were waiting to share concerns and we are here to listen now.”
The platform has also helped the IIHF:
- Identify gaps in integrity education: The IIHF’s overall volume of incoming reports has since decreased over the years, making it easier for the IIHF to uncover seasonal trends. For example, spikes in reports during the spring correlate with the timing of the men’s and women’s world championships—a signal that can help the organization shift more resources to in-person education sessions.
- Amplify and address player questions beyond integrity: Many of the messages the IIHF sees come through RealResponse are not tied to misconduct. This is another positive indicator, as well as a chance to help other departments improve unclear processes or provide more education. “We have questions coming in about eligibility, all kinds of stuff. It shows me that we’ve come to a place where people want to share.”
- Save time coordinating across MNAs: With more than 80 MNAs to support, efficiency and scalability are critical. Bloetjes takes advantage of templates in RealResponse to swiftly address frequently asked questions and route local reports to the right people. “It has definitely saved time. It’s easy to navigate. When a purely national case comes through, it’s very easy to export and send it to the dedicated integrity officer from that country.”
The product IIHF uses to keep its ice hockey community safe is Anonymous Reporting. Contact us to learn more.
Elevating the sport, on and off the ice
RealResponse has given the global IIHF community an outlet to make their voices heard, something the federation doesn’t take for granted as it evolves its integrity program.
“Integrity is still new. But for some, unfortunately, it’s still a buzzword. We have to do lots of work to give this topic the attention it deserves. With RealResponse, we are able to show the world that we take this seriously. You can speak up and we are here, we have your back.”
When players, staff and fans know someone is listening, validating and responding to their concerns, it builds invaluable trust. It also has a compounding effect.
“With that trust, we can hopefully change ice hockey for the better,” says Bloetjes. “The more people see the system working well, the more likely they are to spread the word.”
Learn more about how RealResponse can amplify the voices and insights you need to strengthen your athlete and fan experience.
