Settling into our surroundings ...

Alongside the planning and briefings meetings, we have also spent the last couple of days getting used to our surroundings and what will be our home for the next few weeks.

Seeing the rink for the first time

All of our meetings take place at the ice arena.  The arena being used for the female games is a 20-35-minute drive from the hotel (depending on traffic).  In Sochi our hotel was inside the Olympic park and so there was no need to go through security each day.  The set-up here is different and so each time we travel to the rink we need to go through the security entrance.  I was struck by the advances in technology which over the years have made this process a lot easier.  When I think back to my first Olympics in Torino the security process took a long time with long lines and the need to put all bags on a scanner, empty pockets, take off jackets, scan the passes and so on.  I even remember one team attempting to make the process easier by changing into full gear at their hotel and riding on their bus with everything on, including their skates and helmets so they could just drive their bus in … but even then, they had mirrors under the bus and dogs on the buses.  Here, in Pyeongchang, the technology has really advanced.  We walk through the athletes’ entrance to the rink and this is via a small tent which has what looks to be an airport security archway to walk through.  As you walk through the archway the technology is able to scan everything it needs without you needing to hold up your accreditation.  As you walk through your accreditation photo and information pops up on a screen for the security personnel to review and confirm.  It is a quick process but clearly effective in terms of tracking everything needed for an effective Olympics.

It seems the use of advanced technology is a real theme for this Olympics.

From the previous blog entry, you will note that one of the questions officials always have is if there will be WI-FI at the rink for them to access.  Coming from across the world the officials will want to keep in touch with friends and family back home.  The WI-Fi system at the rink is pretty sophisticated.  There is an official Pyeonchang network which all officials can access.  The username and password are linked to a unique identification number on their accreditation combined with their date of birth.  This keeps the network secure and only accessible to people with an accreditation … it also links an individual’s internet usage to the individual.  Again, showing that the use of technology for this Olympics is a theme!

On arriving at the rink for the first time for our briefing meetings it is clear everyone is full of excitement and wants to see the facilities on offer.  The arena is new, and the facilities have clearly been designed with thought and precision.  The officials have 2 changing rooms and one drying room which is an ideal set-up allowing officials for each game to have their own room and not disturb each other and also allows all officials to store their equipment at the rink and have it dry out after their games.  As supervisors we also have our own room and lounge to work in and to debrief the officials in.  The set-up of the rooms is fantastic. 

View from the stands of the Olympic rink

However, beyond the back corridors awaits a glistening ice pad which is surrounded with Olympic signs.  Walking out of the tunnel and into an Olympic rink for the first time is a special moment and for one second everyone is breathless.  An Olympic rink is the place where dreams become reality.  For many of the officials they have been focused on making it to an Olympics for years and now they are finally here and ready to skate on Olympic ice.  The organisers have done an amazing job.  The ice looks like a sheet of glass and will provide the surface for the best players in the world to complete for the chance to be named as Olympic champions. 

Test game

Following a day of briefing meetings, we also have a test game in the evening.  It is amazing the detail that is considered in the hosting of an Olympics.  Over the course of the last few years there have been several test events which have used the venue and helped to iron out any difficulties.  Two days before the puck drops for the first game, a test game is scheduled with players from a local team.  What a fantastic experience for those players to skate on Olympic ice.  The test game is for everyone involved to practice procedures and ensure everything is working as it should.  We use it for our officials to practice the use of the announcement system alongside the video goal judge system and coaches review system.  It also gives us as a supervisor team the chance to review how the system is working and what camera angles we will have to help us.  I was pleasantly surprised to find myself surrounded by Brits in the video goal judge box. The company providing the video review service is from the UK.    Hawkeye has the reputation in the UK for being used for Premier League football (that’s soccer for all of you North Americans reading), and other sports such as rugby.  They are proving us with an extensive range of camera angles and we use the test game to get familiar with these tools.  For me it’s nice to have some fellow countrymen and women to share the experience of the games with too.

The test game also gives a chance for the other teams involved in supporting the games to test out their procedures – there is a scheduled time when the team who replaces broken plexi-glass get to practice removing and replacing a piece of the glass.  There is a scheduled time where a player will pretend to be injured and require a stretcher off the ice, so the medical team can practice their procedure.  The organisers have thought of everything and following the game there was an IIHF staff debrief to ensure anything that needed to be adjusted.

Gifts given to us by some of the officials

Gifts from officials

With all of the focus being on meetings and getting ready for the games to start it is easy to forget some of the standard things that happen at these meetings.  All of the officials tend to bring gifts for each other from their country.  This is an IIHF tradition and likely started out with officials exchanging pin badges from their national association.  Over the years this has developed into more personalised gifts.  Female officials always bring chocolate from their own countries to exchange … clearly chocolate is loved across the world!  At an Olympics many of the officials bring more personalised gifts for their officiating friends and colleagues.  Despite all coming from difference places there is a real sense of team amongst the female officials.  They have worked games together around the world and every time they see each other they share the experience of something special.  Some of the gifts are fantastic and it is nice to have something personalised to remember the Olympics by.

Volunteers

Our team hosts proudly wearing their hats

I mentioned in an earlier blog the volunteers who are everywhere and happy to help.  On arrival at the rink for our meetings we are greeted by four girls from Korea who are our referee hosts for the event.  Each team at the Olympics is provided with a host.  This person is the team point of contact for everything to do with the organisers – i.e. if the team need to cancel their ice practice, get their skates sharpened or need anything from the organisers their host is the person to go to. The host is usually the first one at the rink and the last one to leave and the fixer of all things for the team.  The referee team always get a host at each tournament and this year we are fortunate to have four hosts working with us.  As with all the volunteers they couldn’t be happier to help.  In-fact we got to meet all of the team hosts for each of the countries also as they were all so excited to introduce themselves and meet us.  I’m overwhelmed by the sense of pride and the warm welcome we have received from the people here ... it is truly heart-warming.  Our motto for the officiating team is “one team, one goal” and as supervisors we brought along some hats for our team as gifts from us.  We made enough for our team hosts and so gave them all hats too – they were so happy and excited to have the hats and be part of the officiating team.

Me with Seok Bae Choi

During the test game I also ran into another volunteer who is worth a mention.  Seok Bae Choi was working in the penalty box as a volunteer.  He was managing the frozen puck procedure and providing them to the linesman when they needed to switch the pucks at a stoppage of play.  He was also letting players in and out of the penalty box.  He came over to me and asked, “do you remember me?”.  I immediately did and was so happy to see him.  In April 2015 I was a supervisor for the Challenge Cup of Asia Men’s tournament held in Kuwait: Seok Bae was a linesman at that event.  He is a great linesman and we had a lot of fun at that tournament with early morning ice practices and fitness sessions which I ran for the officials.  It is so nice to see him and to see how he is involved in helping the hockey run smoothly for the Olympics.  The officiating team is a community and a family across the world and so I introduced him to all of the female officials.  For one second, I am able to reflect on how amazing it is to be part of this team … the officiating team is unique in that it isn’t from one country, but it unites individuals from around the world into one team.  Whatever league you officiate, whatever country you are from, you are part of a unique and special team of officials.  It is a community and club that no one really realises exists unless you are in it … and once you are in it you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!  #teamstripes!

With the Olympic rings on the beach

Exploring the hotel surroundings

In-between all of this I did get 10 minutes to walk out the back of our hotel and finally see where we are!  We are right on the coast of the Sea of Japan!  There is a beach and it is currently filled with statues and art work related to the Olympics.  The Olympic rings capture my attention.  There is something addictive and magical about them.  Every-time I see them I feel excited and full of hope.  The Olympic rings symbolises and represents the union of the five continents, and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games.  However, for me they symbolise dreams coming true.  I’m grateful to have the chance to experience the Olympics as a referee supervisor and continue living my Olympic dream off the ice.