So i was watching the world junior championships today, and i noticed that the officials were wering some sort of white square on the back of their uniforms. I origionally thought is was their number, but after looking more closely, i saw an identical placard on the front of their jerseys, and it contained a logo of some kind, which i believed to be a commercial endorsement.

My big question was is that have officials become billboards, or was this some sort of crest issued by the governing body?

That was an ad. They also have one on their helmet and on their pants. This is not a new development, it goes in league games all the time in Europe.

Strange.

Wow, i wish someone would offer me money to sew an ad on my shirt.

Skating Billboards
 

European referees in general are skating billboards, a trend I hope NEVER crosses the ocean.

For example, the German version of the "Yellow Pages" has a sponsorship deal with the German Elite League making all of their officials wear YELLOW helmets.