Refereeing at the Sochi 2014 Olympics

Today was game day for me.  It was finally my turn to get on the ice to ref a game and get involved with my Olympic dream.  It was a day to focus on the job at hand and so a little less frantic and jammed full as other days here so far.  But I loved every minute of it.

Arrival of part of my fan-club

Refereeing at international hockey tournaments can be a bit lonely.  Obviously the group of girls are great company and many of us have formed really good friendships that exist outside of hockey and in-between tournaments.  But it is only natural to miss people at home and to want to share the experience with them.

Having been to two Olympics on my own without any family or friends coming along I know only too well the desire to want to share the experience with people you are close to. 

After Vancouver I remember talking with my Dad about whether I should try for a third Olympics.  He encouraged me and said to me that he was sad not to have made it to one with me.  He said if I made it to a third Olympics he would come.  Obviously after he passed away I knew that would now never happen.  It makes me feel really sad that he never got to come with me and share the experience.  I am lucky enough to be at my third Olympics and in a sense given another opportunity to share the experience with the people who are close to me.  Knowing how much it hurts that I never got to share it with Dad has meant that I knew coming here I had to share the experience with my husband – I might not get another chance.

I remember one of the NHL refs talking to me about his wife coming to Torino and he said quite simply our families and friends support us week in week out, they put up with never seeing us, with us never being around for birthdays or family gatherings.  They are part of the sacrifices we make and so they too should be able to celebrate and share the good experiences with us.

Scott has been a huge support to me since we have been together but particularly in the last few years.  I spend pretty much every weekend during the season driving up and down the country refereeing games and rarely take a day off to spend time with him.  Over the last season he has been to almost all my games with me, driving me home afterwards and helping me analyse what went well and what didn’t work.  He has a players’ perspective of-course which is sometimes good and sometimes bad.  But he has been there to support me and put up with the alarm going off at 5:30am for the gym everyday and the 2 or 3 hour drive to games at the weekends.  It feels only right that he is here to share the Olympic experience with me and to be a part of realising my dream of refereeing at a third Olympics.

Scott in Shayba Arena

Scott arrived in Sochi last night and I ventured out of the Olympic park to the train station to meet him today and get him into the park to be able to watch my game.  I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find him ... however he was kitted out in full Canadian apparel and stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd of Russians!  It was like meeting Captain Canada!  I had to get him to change his clothes as it is not a good idea for a referee to be seen walking around with a Canadian fan just before they referee a game!

We had lunch together which was really nice and helped to calm my nerves.  I had woke up this morning feeling nervous for the game and to just sit down and eat and chat normally made it feel like just another game day back home.  Except for this game I wouldn’t be driving to Guildford or Slough or Coventry.  Instead I would be walking across the Olympic park!

Canada v Finland

Face-time on TV

The game I refereed today was Canada v Finland.  It is against the IIHF social media policy for me to post anything about the game.  All details can be found on the IIHF website under statistics.  However I can say that I really enjoyed the game and I am looking forward to finding out when my next game will be.

TV screen showing referee names

I’ve had a huge amount of support from people back home and a number of you sent me screen shots of me on the TV as you sat watching and supporting me.  It is so amazing to think of everyone back home watching a hockey game just to see the referee! The support and encouragement you are all sending me really helps me to focus and believe in myself.

There are a few things that really helped me to stay calm for the game today.  Firstly knowing Scott would be in the building watching.  As a referee you can’t please everyone all of the time and sometimes you can’t please anyone any of the time.  Knowing that you have one person in the crowd who will love you no matter what does really help and enables me to have the confidence and belief that I am doing a good job.

Scoreboard in Arena showing referee names

Secondly I know the girls who worked with me on the ice today really well and we all enjoyed the chance to work the game together.  This really helped us all keep focused on the job at hand.

Finally I let myself believe that Dad was here too.  Most of the hockey fans in the UK will have noticed that all of the referees in the country wear a small round red sticker on the back of their helmets.  Matt Thompson and

My youngest fan back in the UK

Clouts designed a sticker in memory of Dad which we all now wear on our helmets.  In every ref room in the country there is one of these stickers above the door out onto the ice.  When I am refereeing at the weekends I sometimes sit in-between periods and look above the door and it makes me smile to remember him.  I brought a few stickers with me and today I put one above the ref room door in the Shayba Arena.  It made me smile as I left the room to go out onto the ice and I am sure Dad would have enjoyed knowing that his memory is going international across the hockey world.

Being here, living my dream, and sharing it with all of you back home through the blog is unbelievable.

My awesome work colleagues supporting me!

Tomorrow will be a complete rest day for me and I plan to soak up some more of the Olympic atmosphere across the park and take a well earned break from the gym.  I need to let my body recuperate and be ready for my next game.