Juraj Okoličány

Juraj Okoličány (28 March 1943 – 10 September 2008) was a Slovak ice hockey referee and ice hockey administrator. He officiated from 1962 to 1986, including games in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League, IIHF World Junior Championships, and Ice Hockey World Championships. He served as an executive with the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation from 1990 to 2003, where he developed officials, translated rules into Slovak, and directed the organizing committee when Slovakia hosted international events. He was also the manager of the Slovakia men's national ice hockey team from 1993 to 1998. He served as a committee member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) from 1993 to 2008, and was a supervisor of officials at World Championships and Winter Olympic Games. His contributions to the IIHF and international ice hockey were recognized in 2008 when he received the Paul Loicq Award.

Early life Okoličány was born 28 March 1943, in Žilina, Czechoslovakia. He graduated from secondary school in Žilina in 1960, then finished a two-year audiovisual program at an engineering school in Bratislava. He completed basic military service from 1962 to 1964, then worked as an audio engineer and as a technician at Charles University.

Okoličány played hockey as a defenceman for Dynamo Žilina from 1957 to 1961, and with Dukla Bratislava during his military service. He retired from playing for health reasons.

Officiating career Okoličány had a career as an ice hockey referee for 26 years from 1962 to 1986. He made his professional referee debut at age 19, and was the youngest official in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League.

Slovak national hockey Okoličány became chairman of the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation in 1990, and served a chair of the youth commission. When Prague and Bratislava co-hosted the 1992 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, Okoličány participated in planning for hosting games in Bratislava, and proposed upgrades to the arena. In December 1992, Ján Mitošinka was elected as the new chairman, who in turn nominated Okoličány as vice-president of the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation. From 1993 to 2003, Okoličány directed the organizing committee when Slovakia hosted 12 IIHF competitions. He stated that new referees were rarely chosen for the championship final, and his goal was to prepare officials for future Winter Olympic Games.

Fasel said in memoriam, "The entire international ice hockey family is devastated by Juraj's death. It feels like it was just yesterday that we celebrated his accomplishments in Quebec City. He was a person that was simply there, at every World Championship, at every Olympics, working tirelessly for the good of the sport". Juraj's father Vojtech was a referee at the World Championships and the Winter Olympic Games, was a founder of the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation, and was inducted into the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003.

Okoličány postponed his wedding for half a year at the wishes of his father, due to the death of his father's brother Otto. After the six months, Okoličány married Elena Pešková, an administrative worker from Bratislava. His son Martin won a Slovak championship playing hockey in Ružinov, but decided against a career as a referee to the disappointment of his father.