This morning we had the first round of our fitness/skating tests. I haven't gotten my times yet but I felt pretty good and everyone said I looked fast! We have another round tomorrow morning so wish me luck! After our tests we had breakfast. Have I mentioned that breakfast is my absolute favorite meal in France? They have warm croissants and french bread every morning along with yogurt, fruit and orange juice. Obviously the French haven't heard of the Adkins diet, which is totally ok with me since we all know how I love my carbs!
After breakfast we had a meeting to go over the games from yesterday and watch some game tape. Unfortunately there were two major injuries yesterday. In the first game a British girl fell into the boards headfirst really hard. It was pretty scary because she wasn't moving a ton at first and they had to take her off on a backboard but luckily she just sprained her neck. The second game an Italian girl got hit, fell and broke her wrist. She started screaming immediately and when they took her off the ice I saw her wrist was already huge and purple. Apparently she is having surgery this morning. Both were not called penalties and after reviewing the tape it was determined we made the right calls, which was nice.
During the meeting this morning we also exchanged gifts. When you go to these events it is customary to bring gifts for all of the other officials. Katie (the other American) and I went in with all of the other US officials going to tournaments and had skate guards made, along with pins and crests that USA hockey provides. Everyone seemed to really like our gift. We got all sorts of things from the other officials however the winners for best gift were the French girls for sure. One of the French girls works for a vineyard so she brought everyone a bottle of wine. The other French girl gave us a number of things from the French ice hockey association including a coffee table book about France, bag and t-shirt.
This afternoon Britain is playing Czech and I am working Denmark vs. Italy. I think my game tonight should be competitive again which is great. Last night's game was very intense which made it a lot of fun to work. During international events, when each game ends they announce the players of the game and play the national anthem of the winning team. The French last night were all arm in arm with each other singing at the tops of their lungs. Even though the hockey isn't the highest level, it is still really cool when you think about what is on the line for these girls and the passion and pride they have representing their country.
No comments:
Post a Comment