Wow, time flies! I can't believe it is the middle of March already. I feel like it was just a few weeks ago that I was sitting in Connecticut at a leadership council meeting for work obsessively checking my email because I knew IIHF assignments were due out any day. That email came shortly after I finished a presentation to senior leaders and it took everything in me not to jump up and start dancing around the room in excitement - I found out I was headed to the Women's World Championships in Malmo, Sweden.
Fast forward 6 months and tons of hockey games later and here I am, starting this blog again. It is funny, every time I get selected to work an IIHF event I think I am even more excited and thankful than I was the last time. I still can't believe I'm leaving for my 6th World Championship tournament in 2 1/2 weeks. There are over 26,000 registered officials in the United States and 22 were selected for international assignments this year. How crazy is it that not only am I one of those 22, but I'm now doing this for the 6th time? Wow. I've worked really hard over the years (and had some luck on my side) but I am truly amazed, humbled and proud to be given this opportunity. I've had so many people help me along the way and I just can't thank them enough for their support.
For those that are new to my blog, I started this in 2009 when I got my first IIHF assignment, the World University Games in Harbin, China. Remember, way back in 2009 I don't think I owned an iPhone and iMessage didn't exist so this blog was my way of keeping everyone at home informed of what I was up on the other side of the world. I had a lot of people tell me they really enjoyed following my journey, but the person that enjoyed it the most was my Grandma Casanave. When she passed away in 2012 (read that entry here) I decided to continue this blog whenever I traveled to a tournament in her memory.
Over the next few weeks before I leave I'll try to do a few entries that cover how I got to this point, some details about the tournament itself and my travel plans after. Once I'm in Sweden (I leave March 25th) I'll try to blog daily about my experiences. Looking forward to a fantastic tournament and more great memories!
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