Zurich

Hello from Zurich!  It was a little bit of an adventure trying to get here but eventually me and my two bags made it! I had tried to check in to my flight online  this morning but I couldn't get it to work.  Once I arrived to the airport I headed to the counter to check in.  After waiting in line for about 15 minutes, I was finally called up by the agent only to find out that I had to go to a different line to pay for my 2nd bag first.  So another 20 minutes  goes by waiting in  lines then I am finally back with bag receipt in hand.  Remember when I said earlier that I forgot how I packed my bags?  Well one of my two bags was now 2 kilograms (a little less than 5lbs) overweight.  That meant  I had to take them both away and rearrange everything.  Good thing my driver got me to the airport plenty early!

Because the check in process took so long I didn't have a ton of time once I passed through security.  I grabbed a slice of pizza (which tasted so good!) and got on my flight.  It was about an 1:45 flight and the scenery was beautiful - we passed over the Alps.  Looking at them made me want to go skiing! I landed in Zurich around 4:30.  After collecting my bags I started to figure out how I was going to get out to meet Anna.  She had said I could do the train or take a cab but warned me a cab would be expensive.  Being the cheapskate that I am I decided to try the train route.  Getting the right train from the airport was easy, but once I got to the main train station in Zurich things got a little tricky.  There are over 50 platforms there so it took me  awhile to find the right train!  Somehow I didn't screw it up and Anna was at the Starbucks where we planned to meet waiting for me.  From there her boyfriend Adrian picked us up and took us back to their flat.  Their place is super cute, kind of a similar set up to my condo in Manayunk.  It was interesting, I asked her if they rent or own it.  She told me that almost everyone in Switzerland rents because the homes are so expensive. She guessed that if her place was for sale it would cost around 1 million Swiss Francs (which are worth more than the dollar).  

After I got cleaned up a bit we headed out to a traditional Swiss dinner.  We went to this quiet little restaurant on a hill overlooking the mountains.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  I had a traditional Swiss meal called Zurich veal.  It was veal over a giant hash browned potato with a creamy mushroom sauce.  It was amazing- by far the best meal I've had all trip.  We then headed back to their place to get some sleep.  Anna has to go into work  in the morning so I'm going to do a little touring and we are going to meet up in the afternoon.  Looking forward to seeing a lot of Zurich tomorrow!

Hockey Season is Over

Yesterday was the end of the tournament.  I can't believe how quickly it went!  We all got up late after losing an hour of sleep and had breakfast.  After breakfast, everyone headed to their rooms to start to pack.  Repacking is always tough, I forget what order I put things in my suitcase!  I did try to keep a small section at the top with my clothes for the Zurich portion of the trip so I don't have to unpack everything once I get there.  After packing, we all headed to the rink for the games.  The bronze medal game was really good.  Unfortunately, the gold medal game was not as good.  While I can't really talk specifics, lets just say I owe my Canadian friends a beer after that one.  One awkward moment - we were sitting in the stands near the Russian team.  All of a sudden, they started chanting USA USA.  Given the current political climate, it was very strange.  I guess you could say that sports help bridge political gaps.

Following the game, we all headed back to the hotel for dinner and a wrap up meeting.  The tournament director came in to thank us and presented us with our medals.  Of course it was gold - the refs always win. :-)  After some thank you speeches from both the supervisors and us, it was time to celebrate a job well done.  A few of the girls had gone to a local market to pick up some beers and wine for us.  Apparently they don't sell beer by the case here in Hungry so we had to carry about 40 individual bottles from Maria's car inside.  It was funny, typically everything is smaller in Europe - the food portions, hotel rooms, etc.  Well, everything but beer.  These were not quite as big as a 40's we used to drink in college but pretty darn close.  Let's just say it was a late night with a lot of laughs.  It was a great way to wrap up the tournament.

Many people had early morning departures today.  My flight to Zurich isn't until 2:45 so I was able to sleep in and take my time getting ready.  I'm about to head down to lunch before my ride takes me to the airport.  I'm off to Zurich for a few days to visit my friend Anna.  These tournaments are a lot of fun but I definitely consider it a business trip so it will be nice to go on a mini vacation before heading home.  Goodbye from Hungry!  Next time I blog I'll be in Zurich!

Great day of Games

Today we had 4 really great games.  We all meet for breakfast around 9.  From 10-12, the supervisors had individual meetings with us.  My meeting went really well, I got a lot of positive feedback and have a few little things to work on.  After our meetings, I took a quick nap then met my crew for lunch before heading to the rink for the day.  While I can't give specific details about my game, I can say that it was an awesome - probably the 2nd best game I worked all season (USA/Canada takes my #1 spot).  My partners and I worked really well together and we had a blast.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that the USA and Canada were expected to dominate the competition.  And while it is still going to be USA and Canada in the finals, based on the results today I'd say the gap is shrinking.  Even compared to when I was at this tournament 2 years ago, the teams are all improving.  It will be interesting to see if this carries over to the women's worlds in the next few years.  However, Katie made an interesting observation.  All of the girls in this tournament have yet to go on to college, where they will go through some pretty intense training over the next 4-5 years.  Will the girls that attend NCAA schools improve significantly?  And will they improve more than the girls from Europe who choose to play closer to home?  Like I said, I'll be interested to see the results at women's worlds over the next few years to see the carry over effect.

After the games today we had a quick dinner then it was off to bed.  Apparently Europe does their daylight savings time the last Saturday in March (vs North America who does the 2nd Saturday in March) so lucky me gets to lose an hour for the second time this spring!  Now if we were gaining an hour I certainly wouldn't complain, but losing an hour for the 2nd time sucks!  I seriously had no idea (nor did any of the other North Americans) Europe did their time change differently.  How about the whole world compromise and we do it the 3rd Saturday in March?  That would make a lot more sense!  Any idea where I can send my suggestion, lol?  Goodnight!

Another Day Away From the Rink

Today was our 2nd day off.  Unlike last time when we still had some IIHF related activities, this was truly a complete day off.  We are getting to crunch time in the tournament so it is nice to step away to give yourself both a physical and mental break.  We all planned to meet for breakfast around 9.  We had arranged for a bus to take us downtown again at 10:30.  This time we were dropped off at Castle Hill on the Buda side of the river.  I had actually never been to this part of Budapest so I was excited to see something new.  The views were phenomenal.  After taking lots of photos, we headed back to the bus and were dropped off near where we ate lunch on Tuesday.  We walked all around that area and through a little open air market where many of the girls did some shopping.  Mom, you will be very proud of me.  Knowing that I am moving 2 weeks from tomorrow, I refrained from buying any little Budapest trinkets.  The only thing I will be bringing home from this trip other than the clothes I was given is chocolate.

Following the shopping, we ate lunch at an awesome outdoor cafe overlooking the city.  The weather today was perfect for it - it was in the mid 60s and sunny with a light breeze.  Maria (from Slovakia) decided she thought our waiter was cute so she got his email address!  It was really funny, she said she would come back to visit on her next holiday! After our lunch we headed back to the main part of town to be picked up by the bus to go back to the hotel.  Once we got back to the hotel, everyone changed into their swimsuits and headed down to the sauna and pools.  After our pool time everyone got cleaned up and went to dinner.  The food here in general has been pretty good.  My only complaint (and this is partially my own doing) is I've been eating way more carbs (think bread and pasta) than I normally do. Once I get home I need to get back on track with my diet.  Dinner tonight just wasn't doing it for many of us so we decided to walk to a little strip mall that had a grocery store and some other shops after we were done eating.  I have been absolutely craving something chocolate so I was able to get some gelato.  It totally hit the spot. After walking back to the hotel, everyone headed back to their rooms to relax and get ready for tomorrow.  The semifinals, game 2 of relegation and the 5th/6th placement game are all tomorrow.  Every game has huge world ranking implications.  To see what I'm working click here: http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/365/IHW365000_58_9_0.pdf.

I can't believe we only have two more days of games and the tournament ends on Sunday.  I say the same thing every year but it feels like we just started the other day!  I have one or two more games left in my season, I'm hoping to make them my best ones yet!

Quarterfinals

Today was a really busy day!  We got up early to head to the rink for pictures.  We did individual head shots, a formal group picture and a few informal, fun shots.  After the photo session we stayed on the ice and did a few drills to work on things the supervisors wanted us to focus on for the rest of the tournament.  Just as the teams are getting better each day we have to continue to get better as well.  After the drills Romana was able to get us a bunch of sticks and we played shinny.  Unfortunately all of the sticks were lefties so I wasn't able to show off my sick hands (all my hockey friends should sense my sarcasm there).  We had split up the other day by age - older half of the group on one team and younger half on the other.  I am the youngest on the old team.  I'm happy to say that the old lady team took it to the youngsters!

After our time at the rink we came back, ate breakfast and had a meeting to review some things from the previous days games.  Following the meeting, just about everyone went to take a nap!  I find that I sleep so much more at these tournaments than I do at home.  I go to bed earlier, wake up later and get a nap in here and there!  If only I could sleep this much at home, I imagine I'd feel much more refreshed!

Following nap time I headed to the rink for my game.  Today were the quarterfinals and the first game of the relegation series.  To see what I worked click here:  http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/365/IHW365000_58_9_0.pdf.  My game was a lot of fun to work.  Both teams were evenly matched and battled hard.  An IIHF tradition is at the end of the game the anthem of the winning team is played.  The team that won my game was belting out their anthem!   It is pretty cool to be a part of something like that.  After skating my game I had to be a goal judge for the Hungry game.  The host provides goal judges for all games that their team is not a part of .  Us linesman rotate being goal judges when the home team plays.  When you goal judge you sit behind the net with a clicker.  When the puck crosses the goal line, you click your light on.  I was nervous, I didn't want to click the light by accident!

It is pretty crazy that we now only have 2 days worth of games left!  Time flies when you are having fun!  Tomorrow is another off day.  Ramona is arranging a bus for us to do something in the city - I'm not sure what!  It is so helpful to have someone who speaks Hungarian and knows the area.  I'm not sure what we would do without her!  Have a good night!

Back at the rink

After a nice day off yesterday games started back up today.  We had a quick meeting at 10:00 this morning to get the rest of our IIHF gear and review a few logistical items.  Afterwards, I went to the hotel gym and rode the bike for about 45 minutes to keep the legs loose.  We then had a quick lunch and it was off the the rink for the day.  To see what I did for the day, click this link: http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/365/IHW365000_58_6_0.pdf  Hint - SBL is short for stand by linesman.

Following the games, we headed back to the hotel to eat.  A few of the girls have found they like the cold tubs here at Aquaworld but I am definitely not one of them!  I thought this might be a good entry to talk about who all is here:

Referees
Draha - Czech Republic but lives in Switzerland
Gabby - Sweden
Katie - Boston, MA.  I went to France with her a few years ago!
Meghan - Canada (New Brunswick area)
Maria - Slovakia
Ramona - Germany

Linesman
Bettina - Austria
Jana - Slovakia (and my roommate for the week)
Jenni - Finland
Veronica - Sweden
Kaire - Estonia
Jennifer - Canada (Toronto area)
Anna - Norway
Malene - Denmark

Supervisors
Stacey - Richmond, VA.  You might recognize her name from when I went to China.
Todd - Canada
Simon - Great Britain
Kim - Denmark

As you can see, we have quite the mix of nationalities in the group!  Everyone is really nice and their English is pretty good.  I write this every time and this will be no different - I am so impressed with how everyone else here speaks multiple languages.  I wish I could speak something other than English!  

Tomorrow morning is team picture day now that we all have our gear.  Unfortunately my hair straightener is not working, even with a power converter so I don't think I'm going to have a great hair day!  Quarterfinals and game 1 of relegation start tomorrow as well so we should have 3 great games to look forward to.  Good night!

A day away from the rink

At most IIHF tournaments, they give the players a day off every few days to allow them to rest and recover.  Today was the first of those days.  This morning we started bright and early and completed all of our testing in one shot.  Everyone (myself included) always gets stressed about testing so while it was a lot to do in one morning we were all glad to get it over and done with.  Once we were finished we all relaxed for a bit before catching a bus to downtown Budapest.

After arriving downtown, the group split up.  Some choose to go shopping and the others choose to do a little sightseeing.  I went with the sightseeing group.  Fortunately we had an awesome guide who spoke Hungarian in Ramona.  Ramona is from Germany but her mother is from Budapest so she knows both the language and the city.  Most people don't know this but Budapest is actually split by the Danube River into two parts - Buda and Pest.  We walked across the famous Chain Bridge from the Pest side to Buda.  From there we walked up a huge hill to the castle district and saw the changing of the guards.  Of course we took the standard tourist photos of us next to them!  After watching the ceremony we walked around a bit more to a portion called the Citadella.  This is a huge church and then some ornate stone walls overlooking the entire Pest side of the city.  I remember this well from when Dina and I were here a few years ago but it is still just as spectacular.  While we were walking around there were two guys with giant eagles that you could pay to hold.  Katie and Maria decided to go for it so we all were laughing as they held these giant birds!  Then Ramona took us to this beautiful outdoor cafe at the very top of the stone structures.   There we had traditional Hungarian soup for lunch and listened to a 3 guys play music.  I'm not sure who was enjoying it more, us or them because they certainly seemed to get a kick out of us!  Lunch took a little longer than expected so we had to rush to catch the bus back to the hotel but it was a great afternoon spent away from the hockey rink.

After we got back to the hotel we found out that most of our IIHF gear had cleared customs.  The supervisors were able to give us our track suits, a polo and a really nice fleece lined jacket.  What makes it even better is they are actually women's sizes this year!  Once we got all of our gear we had to get ready for our next little excursion.  The organizing committee had arranged a bus tour of the city for us. The unique thing about this bus tour though was it actually drove into the Danube River and turned into a boat. It was kind of like the duck boats but it was definitely more of a bus than a boat.  One really funny moment happened when we entered the water and they asked Simon, one of our supervisors to switch sides because we were tilted to one side.  As soon as he switched the bus flattened out.  I don't think he will ever live that down!

After the tour we came back to the hotel, had some dinner then went down to the sauna/hot tub for a little relaxation.  Back to work tomorrow with the final preliminary round games!

Gameday #2

Today was the 2nd day of games here in Budapest.  As I mentioned before, the IIHF has set a very strict social media policy for this tournament so I'm not allowed to give too many details.  I can share with you this link that says what game I worked: http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/365/IHW365000_58_3_0.pdf

This morning prior to the games we had a meeting where we reviewed the games from yesterday.  One cool thing this group of supervisors is doing is using the coaches eye app to help us see what they are talking about.  My crossfit friends are all very familiar with this app but for those who aren't it is a video app for your ipad/iphone that allows you to play clips in slow motion, talk over them, draw on them and do side by side compares.  I'm a very visual learner so seeing how they want us positioned is really helpful.  I also think it helps those girls whose english isn't as strong - less words and more visuals.

In general I think both my games have gone pretty well.  I've worked with some great people so far and had a lot of fun.  There are several challenges about working these tournaments.  Working with people with whom you've never worked with before is always a challenge no matter where you are.  However the biggest challenge for me is remembering IIHF rules and procedures.  Not only are we using a different rulebook here but the procedures for linesman are totally different than they are back at home.  For example, at home we often pass the puck off to our partner, here you never hand off the puck.  The IIHF wants you lined up in different places at stoppages of play - this is one thing Stacey pointed out to me on my coaches eye, I had to get out of my "American" habit of lining up inside the blue line during face offs.  However the biggest and most challenging one for me is icings.  At home, when you blow your whistle for an icing you raise your right arm.  The back linesman points to the dot where the face off goes and crosses their arms.  Here, when the puck crosses the line you just blow your whistle - no arm raise.  Then the back linesman does the opposite - crosses their arms then points to the face off dot.  Now these may sound like subtle differences but when 99% of the games you work do it one way it is really hard to get out of your habits!  I'm pretty proud of myself that so far I haven't raised my arm on icings once!  I always feel it starting to go up just because it is natural and I don't even think about it but so far I have caught it in time!  The IIHF doesn't care that I don't do it that way at home so it is really important that I stay focused and work the game according to their procedures.

Tomorrow we have the day off from games.  In the morning we are doing all of our testing, then we are free until the evening when the organizing committee has organized some duck boat like tour of the city.  I'm looking forward to it!  Goodnight from Budapest, hope those in Philly are staying warm and looking forward to our next round of snow!

Let the games begin!

Today the games finally started!  So much has happened for me in the past few weeks leading up to this point.  It felt good to finally do the thing that brought me here - officiate some hockey games!  This morning we had our first group skate at the arena.  The ice was really good but the rink was hot!  I haven't sweat that much during one of these morning skates in awhile.  We did some different relays and drills then we played iceball!  Iceball is a version of handball that is played at all the referee development camps.  Stacey, one of the supervisors who also happens to be an American (and taught at several of my camps coming up through the system), has helped introduce many of the Europeans to this awesome game.  Since our IIHF gear is stuck in customs we split up into teams based on what people were wearing.  I was on the blue track suit team and I'm happy to say we came away with the victory.

The IIHF has clamped down a bit on its social media policy so I can't comment too much about what actually happened during the games but I can give you some bits and pieces.  Today I worked and early game and was the standby for the second game on my rink.  Here is a link that tells you exactly what game I worked:  http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/365/IHW365000_58_3_0.pdf

My game was a ton of fun and the crowd was great.  The teams battled hard and I think the game was closer than the final score would lead you to think.  It was really cute, before the game they had little girl hockey players lead the teams on to the ice.  Some of them couldn't have been more than 4 or 5.  You could tell they were so excited about it, very fun to see.  The other thing I learned today - when Hungry loses, the crowd throws candy on the ice at the end of the game to pick them up and give them energy for their next game.  Interesting theory, and given that they play the US tomorrow I think they are going to need every ounce of energy they can get.

After the games ended we all headed back to the hotel for some dinner.  Tomorrow we have a meeting in the morning then another set of games.  You can see what game I'm working tomorrow on the link above.  It should be a lot of fun, I'm looking forward to it!  Goodnight from Budapest!

First Day in Budapest

I arrived in Budapest yesterday around 6:00.  After gathering my bags (both of which made it!), I found my ride to head out to the hotel.  The hotel was about 30 minutes from the airport.  It was really funny, the guy driving me had the GPS set.  Once we got on this one road, the GPS said, in english, "stay on this road for a very long time."  I started cracking up, my GPS definitely doesn't talk to me like that! 

Once I checked in  I found out that my roommate was Jana.  She and I roomed together in France so it was awesome to see a familiar face.  I had about an hour until our first meeting so I took a much needed shower and got unpacked.  Our meeting was pretty short, we did basic introductions and received our Hungarian money.  At IIHF tournaments, you typically receive half your money in Swiss Francs and the other half in the local currency.  We had $20000 bills in our envelopes which is a little strange to think about until you do the currency calculator and realize that about 226 forints is $1.  

After the meeting I went back up to the room and was asleep within 10 minutes.  All the travel and time change had finally caught up to me.  I slept a solid 11 hours and woke up this morning around 8:30.  We had our big meeting at 10 where we reviewed all of the procedures and logistics.  When the meeting was over, a group of us decided to walk around and check out the hotel.  The weather here is awesome, it was in the high 60s and sunny today.  Our hotel is beautiful.  It is attached to a waterpark so there are a ton of pools, both indoor and outdoor and boy were they busy. Observation #1 - European men definitely don't wear the same swimsuit style that North Americans wear!  Can we say speedos everywhere?!? After our little walk, we had lunch then walked to the rink (it is about 15 minutes away) to get our accreditations and check out the locker room situation.  

Following that a group of us decided to walk to the store to pick up a few things.  I found a case of Coca Cola Light so I am now a much happier person!  I found out that Malene from Denmark also shares my addiction, so we are going to be coke buddies all week!  Once we got back, a group of us decided to check out the waterpark.  It has probably been at least 15 years since I have been to a waterpark.  They have all different types of slides - ones  with tubes, ones with flat rafts and ones that you went down without anything.  Even though I couldn't read the signs, we figured out that they rate the slides like ski slopes - easy, medium and  difficult.   They also had a few that had a toilet bowl type things where you would get dropped in, spin around for a bit then shoot out the bottom on to  another slide.   It was so much fun, I need to try to get to one of the waterparks down the shore this summer! 

After all of our hands were wrinkled from the water we went up, showered and ate dinner.  Following dinner everyone headed back up to their rooms to crash.  We have an early morning skate tomorrow then games start in the afternoon.  We should find out our assignments soon, they have to be approved at the directorate meeting that is going on right now.  Looking forward  to  getting on the ice tomorrow!   

A pit stop in Frankfurt

I'm sitting at a little restaurant in the Frankfort airport now (where I had a traditional German meal) waiting for my next flight to Budapest.  So far the travel has been pretty uneventful which is good.  We left DC a little late but ended up making up the time in the air and landed right on time.  It was a 7 and a 1/2 hour flight here and I slept for about 6 hours.  While it wasn't great sleep at least it was something.  I can guarantee I'll sleep pretty well tonight!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a 4 and a 1/2 hour layover here.  I didn't really want to just sit in the airport the entire time so I decided to try to figure out something to do.  Many of you know that Crossfit is a pretty big part of my life back at home.  There is a 5 week worldwide competition called the Open that is the way you could eventually qualify for the Crossfit Games.  Over 200,000 people are competing and even though 99% of us (myself included) have zero shot at making the games it is still a lot of fun and a good way to see how you measure up against your peers. Crossfit headquarters announces the workout for the week on Thursday night and you have until Monday night to complete it and submit your score online.  When I registered for the Open I knew weeks 4 and 5 would happen while I was at worlds and I was totally ok with not being able to finish it as hockey is my #1 focus and what I train for.  But then I had an idea - why not try go do the workout during my long layover?  What better thing to do after sitting on a plane for 7 1/2 hours than to get up and get moving?  I did a little googling and found that Crossfit Am Main was only a 15 minute cab ride from the airport.  I emailed the owner yesterday and he said he would be there and happy to count for me if I could make it.  As soon as I landed in Frankfurt, I went through customs and caught a really nice Mercedes cab there. After a quick warm up, I went after it.  A few interesting notes:

-All the weights were in kilos vs pounds.  Based on what they had, I actually had to do a little more than the "prescribed" weight.
-The owner Steve spoke pretty good English.  However, he would start counting in German then correct himself!

I didn't necessarily do as well as I would have liked but I'm going to chalk that up to the long flight, the kilos and not eating.  But it was a fun experience and I think it helped me to get up and get moving!  The Crossfit community kind of reminds me of the hockey community in that you can go just about anywhere in the world and be welcomed.  It was definitely a good use of my layover.  Now off to Budapest!

Phew!

To say the last 48 hours have been a little crazy would be putting it nicely.  But here I am sitting at the airport waiting for the first of my 3 flights!  I am always pretty busy prior to leaving for one of these trips but this time around takes the cake for sure.  Between work (I had to travel to Connecticut for the day yesterday) and getting ready for settlement on the house I haven't had a whole lot of time for anything else, including packing and sleep. You would think that this being my 5th tournament I'd have the packing thing down to a science.  Not so much.  I always bring way too much stuff and this time is no exception.   And a word of advice for any of my readers - don't try to travel 2 weeks before you settle on a new house.  The mortgage company wants everything but my left arm so I've been going crazy trying to get all of their required documentation.  But I think just about everything got done so as long as I didn't forget anything while packing I should be good to go!

I haven't really posted much about the tournament itself so I figured I'd use this time to do so.  As I mentioned before, I'm going to the u18 Women's World Championship A Pool in Budapest, Hungry.  This is the top level IIHF tournament this year aside from the Olympics.  The teams participating include the USA, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Japan, Russia and Hungry.  The teams are split into two pools that will play a round robin.  The top team from each pool will receive a bye directly to the semi's.  Teams in 2nd and 3rd place will battle it out in the quarterfinals.  The 4th place team in each pool will play a 3 game series to try to earn the right to stay in the top division and the loser will be dropped to Division 1 next year.   While the USA and Canada are expected to dominate the competition, the rest of the teams should be pretty tightly matched so I expect a lot of close games.  Here is a link to the official tournament site: http://www.iihf.com/competition/365/statistics.html

Well it is almost time to board flight #1 to head to Washington Dulles.  Big thank you goes out to my Aunt Denise and Uncle Bob for driving me to the airport earlier today.  Also, for my friends that travel frequently, you have to get pre-tsa.  It easily saved me 30 minutes through security.  It was well worth every penny.  I have a short layover in Washington then comes the long flight over to Frankfurt.  Once in Frankfurt I have a 4 1/2 hour layover then it is on to Budapest!  Looking forward to getting some sleep on the plane and getting this journey started!

Surprise Package!

I didn't intend to do a blog post tonight but I wanted to share something really cool.  When I got home from work and the gym tonight, I had two packages at my front door.  The one package I was expecting - it was from USA Hockey and it had a bunch of USA pins and USA Hockey trinkets for me to take to Budapest to share with the other officials.  But the other package was a total surprise.  It was a little care package from my favorite French Canadian linesman Stephanie.  Stephanie and I had worked tournaments together the past two seasons and were roommates last year in Ottawa.  Inside the package were a few Canadian treats, a pair of mittens and some pins.  She wrote me a really sweet letter that just said she missed me as her roommate this year and she hoped to see me at a tournament in the future.  Funny story about Stephanie.  In Ottawa we were at two separate rinks.  She had a game at Scotia Bank one day and a game at Napean the next day.  She asked me if I would mind if she brought her equipment back to our room to air out.  I told her no problem, I figured I might need to do the same thing later in the tournament.  Now my equipment certainly doesn't smell like roses but holy crap, I walked into our room and almost passed out!  I now send her Facebook messages every once in awhile reminding her to wash her equipment!  I think she missed me as a roommate just because I'm the only one who would put up with that smell, haha!

I always talk about how fortunate I am to get these IIHF opportunities.  While the travel opportunities are awesome, the best part really is the people you meet and the friendships you make.  Thanks Stephanie, your little package totally made my day!

A Season in Review

Today I worked my last game prior to leaving for Budapest.  It was a pretty low key women's league game at the rink closest to my house but it was nice to get a little skate in this weekend.  Looking back on the season I'm pretty happy with how it went.  One of the challenges I face each season is I'm a referee for NCAA hockey and a linesman for international hockey.  There is a different mindset and different type of skating for each of those positions so I have to work hard to make sure that I get enough experience lining during the season to stay sharp.  I feel like I was pretty successful finding the right balance this season.  In years past, I'd work as much NCAA hockey as I could and fill in with line spots wherever I had room.  Hockey is a LONG season and I'd end up working so much that I'd feel a little burnt out by the end of the season.  Last season I cut back a little bit and tried to balance my schedule with more line spots and a little less travel, even if it meant blocking some weekends from the NCAA.  As a result I felt better prepared when I went to worlds so I tried to follow the same model this season and for the most part I feel ready.

One of the highlights of my season was the opportunity to work the 4 Nations Cup in November.  Anytime you get to work the national teams of any country it is exciting, but when you get to work the top 3 ranked teams in the world (USA, Canada and Finland) 2 1/2 months before the Olympics it is even more special.  The tournament took place in beautiful Lake Placid and all of the games took place on the same sheet of ice where the 1980 Miracle on ice occurred.  I've been fortunate enough to skate on that ice a number of times over the course of my career but it really never gets old - you can just feel the magic in that building.  At that tournament we had a miracle of our own when Finland beat the US to earn a spot in the finals.  For those that aren't familiar with the women's hockey world, the US and Canada are pretty far ahead of all of the other countries in terms of talent and funding.  While the other countries are closing the gap, it is still pretty rare that any other country beats the US or Canada so when it happens it is big news.  Finland's goalie absolutely stood on her head and the US just couldn't score on her.  It was exciting to watch.  I had the opportunity to work 4 great games that week, including the gold medal game between Finland and Canada.  And while working the gold game was an honor and a lot of fun, the highlight of the week for me was having the opportunity to work USA vs Canada.  In those games, you basically have 40 of the top 50 women's hockey players in the world on the ice at one time.  It's funny, one would think that even though they are rivals they would have a mutual respect for each other, especially when you consider that most of the Canadian girls spent time in the states playing NCAA hockey.  Wrong.  They HATE each other.  It really is unbelievable, words cannot do it justice.  I can't remember a game where I had to work that hard to keep it from exploding.  My partner and I actually discussed what we would do if there was a fight because it felt like one could happen at any minute.   There was a situation where a US girl was hit behind the play and started to chase after the Canadian girl who hit her.  I started yelling "17 don't do it, don't do it."  She turned around, looked at me, shook her head and went to the bench.  That's the type of thing we dealt with all game.  It was so much fun to work, definitely something I'll never forget.  And it was pretty cool to watch that same game 2 1/2 months later in Sochi and think about how I was on the ice with those teams earlier this season.

I'm so excited to be leaving in a few days!  I've put in the work all season both on and off the ice so I'm feeling ready and prepared to go to work.  Off the ice it is a different story, I'm going slightly insane trying to get everything that needs to happen done before I leave.  It is going to be a long few days but I'll be sitting on that plane before I know it!

Travel Plans

My trip to Budapest is fast approaching!  I can't believe I leave a week from tomorrow!  This afternoon I got an email from the IIHF that had all of my final travel documents along with some more information about the tournament.  I leave from Philadelphia at 7:40 on Thursday night and fly to Washington Dulles.  I have a two hour layover there then fly to Frankfurt, Germany.  Once in Frankfurt, I have a 4 1/2 hour layover and then fly to Budapest.  I arrive in Budapest at 5:55pm on Friday.  Needless to say, it is going to be a long travel day.  

We were also sent the list of officials who will be participating along with information about where we will be staying.  After reading that information I added a bathing suit to the packing list because apparently our hotel is attached to a water park!  The hotel looks really nice from the website and I'm sure we will take advantage of the many hot tubs they have!  

One of the great things about going to these tournaments is getting to meet new people from all over the world.  Looking over the list, there are only two familiar names at this tournament!  I obviously know the other American (Katie) but I am really excited to be reunited with my roommate from when I was in France!  I haven't seen Jana (from Slovakia) in a few years but have been able to keep up with her on Facebook.  

Another great thing about going to Worlds is you have the opportunity to travel after the tournament if you so choose.  I've been able to take advantage of this the past few years and will be doing so again this year.  As I mentioned in my last post, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work the 4 Nations Cup in Lake Placid this year.  The IIHF sent two officials to that tournament, Anna from Switzerland and Marie from France.  Anna and I became very good friends so she suggested I come visit her after my tournament.  I took her up on the offer so once the tournament ends, I have a 48 hour layover in Zurich!  

I wish I could stay more than a few days in Switzerland, but another big event in my life has made the timing a bit difficult this year.  For those that don't know, back in September I signed the paperwork to build a new townhouse.  My closing is set for April 3rd at 9:00am.  I leave Zurich at 5:20pm on April 2nd and land in Newark at 8:10pm.  Newark is about an hour and a half from my house so you figure if all goes well I should arrive at my current home approximately 10 hours prior to settlement.  Nothing like cutting it close!  

To say I'm a little stressed right now would be putting it mildly.  I have a list of a million things that I have to get done between now and the time I have to leave for the airport next Thursday.  But I'm sure I'll find a way to get it all done, and the moment I set foot on that plane the focus becomes working hard and enjoying the experience!

Here we go again!

Looks like it is about time I started up this blog again!  Two weeks from tonight I will be on a plane on my way to Budapest (don't feel bad if you had to look at a map to see where Budapest is!) for the u18 Women's World Championships! For my new readers, I started this blog back in 2009 when I got my first IIHF assignment in China as a way to stay in touch with my family and friends back at home.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy reading about my experiences, but the one person who got the most out of it was my Grandma Casanave.  Sadly, she passed away two years ago (read about our relationship here) but I have decided to continue this blog whenever I travel to a tournament in her memory.

I can't believe that this season is almost over and I'm getting ready for my 5th World Championship tournament.  This season has been a little different for me than those in the past.  Other years my season has started with exciting news when I found out I was assigned a championship.  This year it started out with a disappointment when I found out I wasn't selected to go to the Olympic Games in Sochi.  That is the pinnacle for all female officials and it is my ultimate goal to get there.  Big congratulations goes out to all of the girls that were selected.  The 3 Americans selected did a fantastic job representing us and had the experience of a lifetime.  That said, as an American female, once you work the Olympics you are "retired" from IIHF events so in a way it might have been a blessing in disguise that I wasn't selected, because now I have the opportunity to try to stay on this roller coaster for a few more years!  

Not long after I heard about Sochi, I found out I was selected to work both the 4 Nations Cup in Lake Placid and the u18 World Championships in Budapest.  That disappointment turned to excitement - I was psyched to be selected to work both of these tournaments.  4 Nations is a tournament held every year between USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland.  I worked this tournament the last time it was in the United States in 2008 so I was thrilled to get to experience it again.  To have the opportunity to work 4 teams that were headed to the Olympics in 2 months was absolutely awesome.  I can talk more about that tournament experience in a separate blog post in the coming weeks.  U18's is the top level World Championship tournament this year so I'm really looking forward to experiencing some great hockey and seeing the future of our sport.

The next few weeks are going to be a bit crazy for me but I'll do my best to write a few posts about my preparations and share the information I know about the tournament.  Goodnight!