Magical memories

Centre ice face off for gold medal game

On Thursday I refereed the gold medal game between Team Canada and Team USA and became the first Britton to referee an Olympic ice hockey final.  It is against the IIHF social media policy for me to comment on the game.  However I can say I was honoured to work on the game and extremely proud to be a part of it.  The experience and the feeling during the game will stay with me forever.

Participation gifts

Communicating with the captains in the gold medal game

A lot of people back home have asked if as officials for the Olympics we get anything to recognise our achievement in getting here or the games that we are assigned to do once we are here.  For a lot of us just being here and living our dream is more than enough; however, alongside our memories we do get something to take away from the experience to show people back home. 

On Thursday morning, the whole officiating team, both for the men’s and the women’s tournament were invited for a team meeting.  We met in one of the conference rooms at our hotel and the President for the IIHF came to meet with us and thank us for our work at the Olympics.  He presented each of us with a participation certificate which is signed by the President of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and the President of the Sochi Organising Committee.  In addition he presented us with a participation medal from the Sochi Organising Committee along with a medal from the IIHF for officiating at the tournament. 

Participation certificate

Back home I have the participation certificates from Torino and Vancouver framed on my wall alongside photos and it is nice to now have a third certificate to frame alongside them.  The participation medals are also a nice keepsake and something we can all one day show our children and grandchildren and be proud of.  Whilst we are not at the Olympics representing our countries or attempting to win medals, we have all worked hard to be chosen to officiate here and made sacrifices in order to be the best at what we do.  It is nice that the sacrifices we have made alongside the dedication and commitment we have to our role is acknowledged and we have something to come home with to show for our efforts. 

Participation medal from IIHF

I did have a sad moment when the participation medals were handed out.  The ones I have from Torino and Vancouver I had given to my Dad.  It wasn’t that I didn’t want to keep them myself but just that his face lit up when I showed them to him and I could see how proud he was of me so I let him keep them for his mantle-piece.  With this medal I won’t be able to see his reaction when I get home but hopefully just looking at it will make me think of how excited he would have been to hear all about the experience.

After the President of the IIHF had thanked us for our work, one of the officiating supervisory staff from the NHL stood up to thank us for allowing the NHL to be a part of the officiating experience.  I found what he said to be incredibly humbling given he comes from the biggest ice hockey league in the world.  He said to us that of all the officiating experiences he has had the ones that he treasures the most are the memories and experiences he has shared with us at the Olympics in Vancouver and in Sochi.  I was overwhelmed by this statement given where he comes from and the experiences I imagine he has had.  It probably emphasized to me just how fortunate I am to have been a part of 3 Olympics as an official.  He thanked us for working as hard as we do to be the best in the world and asked us to go back home and inspire others to do what we have done.  Maybe one day someone will be at an Olympics and sitting in that room as an official from Great Britain because of the support and help I have been able to give them. 

Participation medal from Sochi committee

Being part of my third Olympics has been an amazing and incredible experience and many people have asked me what is next or what is left for me to do.  Well maybe the only thing more rewarding than participating in an Olympics yourself is supporting, helping and watching someone else participate in an Olympics because you have inspired them to be there.  Personal fulfilment is wonderful but maybe it can only be topped by inspiring and watching as others fulfil their dreams as a result of the foundation you have helped to put in place for them to build on. 

The speeches I heard from the IIHF President and the NHL officiating staff have filled me with a desire to come home and inspire others to build on what I have achieved but to achieve even more and to improve the game of hockey worldwide. 

We need more officials in the UK and I hope to be a part of growing our officiating community going forwards.

Game pucks

The three different coloured pucks and the reverse side

Being part of a medal game at an Olympics or a World Championships is special and perhaps that is because you become part of history.  For medal games, after each goal the puck is collected and marked up for inclusion in the hockey hall of fame. 

As I mentioned previously, the pucks for the games are incredibly well guarded and even more so in medal games.  The gold medal game used special pucks with the Sochi logo on in gold.  As with previous games the pucks were counted in and out and all pucks needed to be given to the puck guardian. 

A number of people asked me to bring them back a puck as a souvenir.  Given the limited supply of pucks and the need for them to be kept and recorded in history at the hockey hall of fame, this was just not possible. 

I did manage to take a photograph of the three types of pucks used at the Sochi 2014 Olympics.  In the Shayba Arena the pucks used had the Sochi logo in blue to match the blue Sochi branding on the boards and the arena. In the Bolshoy ice dome the pucks used had the Sochi logo in purple, again to match the purple Sochi branding on the boards and throughout the arena.  The gold medal game used pucks with the Sochi logo in gold.  On the reverse side all of the pucks had the Olympic rings. 

To most people a puck is a puck but for some reason an Olympic puck just seems way cooler and this is probably because of the dedication, passion and achievement it represents.

NHL officials

I have mentioned the involvement of the NHL officials with the Olympics in previous blogs but their support and encouragement for the whole team of officials here deserves another mention. 

They have made sure that throughout the tournament we have been a team of officials and their openness, honesty and generosity to all of us has helped to make my officiating experience in Sochi a positive one.  After the gold medal game I arrived back to the hotel lobby to be greeted by a standing ovation and a round of applause from all of the NHL officials and this moment will stay with me forever. 

Cat & Scott in their seats for the semi-final courtesy of the NHL

Not only have they supported us in terms of our performances on the ice but they have also helped to make it possible for our friends and family to enjoy the experience with us.  Scott and Cat were able to watch the men’s semi-final game between Finland and Sweden because the NHL officials had additional seats in the VIP seating area and offered it to them.  They didn’t have to do this and the fact they did shows just how much of a team culture they have helped to build for us.

Whilst I have been part of their team in Sochi I know that when we all go back to our own countries and they go back to the NHL I will be able to stay in touch with them.  Several NHL officials who I met in Torino 8 years ago are still in touch with me and have been messaging me with support and encouragement ever since. 

It can be lonely as an official, but I know I am part of a world-wide officiating community which is pretty awesome!