Day 1 in Europe, Munich

Well Tuesday turned out to be a very long day. Went to work for a full day and then off to the airport for my 6:40 pm flight. This doesn't seem too bad until I realized that I was going to get to Munich on my direct flight until 8:50 am Wednesday. Knowing myself, I don't sleep well on planes, trains or automobiles, I didn't figure I was going to get much sleep. Just as I thought, other than maybe 30 minutes, there was no sleep, although I was sure the Jonas Brothers movie they were playing would have put me out, but alas even that didn't work. Other than no sleep it was a very smooth flight, one of the best I have been on. We landed at 8:40 am Munich time, waited for everyone to get all of their luggage, and got onto the bus. It was about 45 minutes to get to downtown Munich where we were meeting a tour guide to take us on a bus tour of the city. This ran from 11:00 - 1:30 and included a look at some of the beautiful archetechure, and a trip to the first of several castles we are going to get to see. I am amazed at how beautiful the city is, so will likely spend some time going for a walk this afternoon, before we go to hofbrauhaus for dinner.



For those who like beer, it seemed like every place we went past the guide was saying there was a beer garden there, they range in size from small (500 seats) up to large (9000 seats) so there is always someplace to get a cold drink.

I did get some pictures, and will try to post them at some point over the next week. Won't be today though, as I am too tired to go through them all.

After spending the day in Munich today, we are going to head out to Fussen tomorrow. Will be another day of site seeing, so should give us time to adjust to the jet lag before reffing our first game on Friday evening.

I was happy to see all my bags arrived, as did the extra bag that I brought for Karen (her reffing stuff) so we should be good to go. Out of the 100 or so bags that were travelling with our group, only 1 didn't make it (a players clothes) so all in all, that isn't too bad. At least nobody is going to be off trying to buy new skates.

That is all for today, I am off to see the city.

Finally got the IRF rules

Well it is Monday, July 27th and we are leaving tomorrow. I got an email from the Technical Director of the IRF that included what the expectations are in terms of what we are supposed to wear away from the rink (although the other Canadian referee left on Saturday, thankfully they fell within the guidelines we expected), and she also sent through the 42 page document that listed the IRF rules. I hadn't put too much thought into this previously however, there are some subtle changes from the Ringette Canada rules, which are going to be very difficult to switch back to. Ringette Canada made some rule changes 2 years ago, which took most referees 18 months to have become habit, as they were some significant changes in the way we do things. Well, for this event we now get to switch back. On top of everything else, this is going to add a large amount of stress. Most referees at higher levels react to situations, as you need to see, process, decide what you are going to call and make the call all within a half second. Not a lot of time for thinking, so most of our actions are because everything is so ingrained it can be just a reaction. Any time we change things, it becomes consious thought and is much more difficult. Well, we will have to see how easily we can switch back to the old way of doing things. It could be interesting.

Decided to take the family out for dinner last night, as it was my last night at home. They had talked about wanting to go to Red Lobster when I got back if they all behaved, so I surprised them with a trip there last night. Everyone had a good time, although, it is still distrubing when they have to give us a party table (as we need 7 seats, which generally means a table for 8) just for my family.

I finished the last of the laundry last night so that it was all done for the family before I left, and was able to finish packing. I also finished up the "honeydo" list, so now it is just time to get some sleep and then one more day of work, before it is time to go.

Very exciting.

Busy weekend before I leave

Well this past weekend was a very busy one. I was trying to spend some time with the kids before I had to leave, had to start packing, went to the gym, and was also getting a bunch of work done on the house (new windows on Saturday and new roof on Monday) so it was quite a crazy weekend. Didn't really get much packing done until Sunday night, but that is okay, I generally don't put too much thought into these things.

Are we supposed to wear our polyesters and stripes for two weeks?

This was the quote from an email from the other Canadian referee on Friday when she realised that we were allowed 23 kg of baggage total. As our referee bags come in around 20 kg, her question was whether we were supposed to wear our ref pants and striped shirt for the entire time we were there. After some clarification, we found out that they did have a excess baggage allowance for the players and coaches, but had forgot to include the referees. Thankfully, after a few hours of worrying (excess baggage is at a cost of $15/kg) we heard back from Ringette Canada indicating that they got us included with the excess baggage allowance. Yea, we can bring clothes as well as our ref stuff. Thanks for the help Nathalie & Stephanie...

It does mean that all the bags need to travel together, and I need to take Karen's (other referee)bag with me to accomidate that (as she was going to Paris for a few days of vacation first), but that isn't a big deal, at least they will get there, and we won't be paying $300 per bag!

Less than a week to go

Well it has been an odd week, I have managed to make it to the gym every day this week, although wasn't sure if I was going to make it Tuesday, as I had to take my 1 year old to the hospital late Monday night as he spiked up a fever that wasn't being helped by Tempra and Motrin, but none the less, I was able to make it. Generally I am feeling better about how the training is going. I do about 45 minutes - 1 hour of solid cardio a day, so I think I am on the right track. I have never been the weight lifting type, and really my biggest concern was around my cardio. Hopefully come next week, I will at least have a fighting chance.

I have also now done some of the running around required before the trip, ordered some small amounts of each currency that I am going to be needing (as Czech currency has to be ordered 3 days in advance at the bank), I also picked up a plug adaptor and read a nice tip about bringing a small North American powerbar as opposed to picking up multiple adapters, this should allow me to plug in all the electronics that are a reality of trying to travel and still get work done. I have also been working with the kids to prepare them for Daddy being gone for 12 days. The 1 year old isn't going to understand, although the 3 year old says she understands I don't think it will be real until I am gone. I think the older 3 (ages 6 1/2, 8 1/2 & 10) all get that I will be gone for quite a while, although they too likely don't really know how it is going to effect them. They have trouble when I am gone for a weekend early in the season, and even more trouble when I am gone 8 days for CRC's, this should be a real test. Sharron hasn't really said too much, she knows this is a big opportunity for me, although leaving her at home with 5 kids isn't easy. I guess this would be the mixed blessing of this particular opportunity, I wish I had the finanical ability to take them all with me, but it just isn't going to happen. Hopefully it all works out well, and they will all survive while I am gone.

Finally found a gym

Well we went up to the cottage for the weekend, so there wasn't much excersising going on, but it was nice to spend some time with the family. Got home on Sunday and did the normal domestic stuff (Sunday is laundry day, and with a wife and 5 kids it usually takes me a significant amount of time to get it all done), but I was able to spend a little while in the afternoon continuing my search for a gym that would sell me a 1 month membership. I don't know why this is a difficult concept for gyms to do, but I guess they all bank on people signing up for a year, and not using it after a month. After going to 4 different places, and almost having to finalize with a 3 month, I stopped in at Premier Fitness (in the old Deville's for those of you in the Whitby area). Didn't have time to work out yesterday, as I had to get home to finish the laundry, but did get signed up with the intention of going before work on Monday.

So this morning, I got up at 5:45 and off to the gym I went. I had planned on doing some time on the bike as my main focus is on cardio. I ended up spending 45 minutes on the bike at a pretty good speed and heartrate. I am not sure if I can rely on the distance the computer told me I went, as I did 8 km last Monday and felt like I was going to die on a real bike, and this one said I did 30 km in my 45 minutes, and I feel really good. In any case, after the pain I was in running last weekend, I didn't want to kill myself again (as I still have to go into work afterwards). Overall I was happy with the workout. Will be back again tomorrow and have to push things a little bit harder.

Back on the ice

Well last night I skated two games in Waterloo. It has been a month since I have been on the ice at all, and I have only done 3 games in the last 3 months, so needless to say, headed off to u19's is coming with some concerns. Karen and I made the drive out to do our games, fairly uneventful, but I was certainly feeling not being in mid-season form. The feet were hurting part way through the first game, and my cardio just isn't where I would like it to be. But alas there isn't much I can do about that now. My feet actually started to feel better partway through the 2nd game, I am not sure if that is because they hurt so much I couldn't feel them anymore, or whether they actually got used to the skates jk, but it is still the cardio side that I need to do something about. As it was a long drive home (thanks to various construction along the 401 in the summer) I had a fair bit of time to think, Karen and I covered most of our talking points in the 1 1/2 drive there, so there wasn't much left to chat about. Not to mention it was 11:15 at night when we left Waterloo so we were both tired. I came to the decision that I was going to try and join a gym for a short period, just to have a place I can get on a bike and ride. Unfortunately finding a place that offers a one month membership just isn't all that easy to do. I will keep trying, but may have to stick to the old fashion training.

11 days until I leave, still have a lot to get in order, have to get a couple power adaptors, get to the bank, figure out if I want to use my blackberry over there, and figure out what I am going to be bringing with me. I am sure the time is going to fly by, so I should probably get started on this soon.

Why Run When You Can Ride

Well after the pain that my knees were in after my run on Saturday, I decided to try something else, as walking wasn't going to cut it for cardio. I asked my sister-in-law if I could borrow on of their bikes to use a few times for the next 2 weeks. She agreed, so I was all set. I had planned to go for a ride last night, but Sharron was feeling under the weather again, so I spent the night with my 5 kids. Not a bad way to spend the night, but it doesn't help the excersise, even if I am rolling around on the ground playing with them. So I decided to get up early this morning, and go for a ride. I figured just down to Hwy 7 and Hwy 12 would be a good place to start (it is about 4 km each way). Well today was a learning experience on a number of things.

1. It does take some time to come back to you, when you haven't rode a bike in about 10 years.
2. I should remember to take my mp3 player with me (thought the same thing about my run after the fact).
3. Borrowing a bike from someone who is 6 inches shorter than you poses some challenges, and adds to the workout.
4. When borrowing a bike from someone ask how the gears work before going for a ride. It isn't a good time to try and figure out that you are in the lowest gear, when you are halfway up a hill.
5. Biking isn't as easy as it looks
6. Most importantly, when planning a route, do not leave the biggest uphill climb until the last 1/2 km. This almost killed me.

Thankfully, I have 2 games that I actually get to referee tonight in Waterloo. Finally some excersise that I enjoy. I may have to break down and get a 1 month membership at the gym across the street from work. Atleast there is some level of control over the machines there.

I will update more tomorrow with how the games in Waterloo go tonight, it is a summer league so not very intense, but still not a bad skate.

My holy crap moment

As a Christmas present for the kids we decided to take them to Orlando to see the sights of Disney. Our trip was planned for June 27th - July 5th. This was before I knew anything about U19's. Needless to say this took a lot of planning, and we finally got our trip. We got back on the 5th and had all the normal house stuff to get caught up on, and we also had some planning for Kaity's 10th birthday party on the 10th. On the 9th I had one of those moments, when I realized that it was less than 3 weeks until I leave. Where did the time go? And I am now realizing, this is the offseason. I haven't skated since early April. I am in my offseason shape. This isn't going to work as this is going to be a major event. I need to be in top shape. Ughhh, this is going to mean getting some training in. Well I don't have much of a choice, as it is going to have to happen. Starting this weekend I will go for a run. So on Saturday the 11th, I head out, once all the kids are down for their afternoon quiet time. I just figure I will jog to the end of our street and back. For those of you who know our street, this isn't exactly your regular subdivision. I live in the middle of nowhere. What was I thinking. Nothing like starting your training with a 5 km jog. Needless to say I was sucking some pretty serious wind, but generally didn't feel too bad. That was until later that night, I remembered why I don't jog. Someone with two bad knees shouldn't jog. The next day I was in a lot of pain, but need to push through, as I need to get in a shape other than round. Sunday and Monday I went for an hour walk, as the knees couldn't take another run. Took Tuesday off, and we will see how tomorrow looks for another run (likely not quite as ambitious as the first).

U19 Championship Event itself

From the look of the itinerary we will have 2 games per day to ref, one in the morning and one in the late afternoon or early evening on each of the 4th, 5th and 6th. There will also be opening ceremonies on the 4th and tournament party and fireworks on the 5th.

August 7th there are no games in the morning, as it is semi-final day, so we will have a walking tour of Prague Castle & Old Town, along with lunch and some sightseeing. In the evening, I will ref one of the two semi-finals, and then back to the hotel for dinner.

August 8th are the gold and bronze games. This will take much of the morning and early afternoon. Will want to make sure I am there to watch any games I am not reffing. After the games we will be heading to Wurzburg, Germany where we will be spending our last night in Europe.

August 9th we leave for Frankfurt, and leave out of Frankfurt for home at 2:40pm. If all goes well we should be home around dinner time Toronto time.

My first look at the itinerary

Well I got my first look at the Itinerary for the event in early May, and saw that the Canada east team was leaving late on the 28th which would mean that I wouldn't have to take another day off work, so this might work to leave the evening of the 28th, as it was another day away from home, but Sharron was willing to allow me to be away for another day. Work would be more difficult, as they had already been very accomidating. So this is what things look like:

Arrive morning of July 29th in Munich Germany, tour of Munich until lunch, after lunch head for downtown Munich for some sightseeing, meet up with the Canadian teams to walk the Hofbrauhaus and then have a buffet dinner and entertainment at Munich Hofbrauhaus.

July 30th we head to Oberamergau, Germany and spend the afternoon, sightseeing around Oberamergau and have dinner at a local restaurant, the evening was free to do as we would like.

July 31st We have the morning free, and then head to Fussen. We have some time on our own to see Fussen, and then go to see Neuschwanstein Castle. The evening of the 31st there is an Exhibition game that I will ref between Canada East and Canada West in Fussen. Dinner at a local restaurant to follow the game.

August 1st The teams are going to Oberstdorf for a practice, not sure if we are going along, but then back to Fussen for lunch and some afternoon sightseeing, and then an exhibition game in the evening between East and West followed by dinner.

August 2nd We leave our hotel and go to Linderhof Castle for a tour on our own. We leave here just before lunch for Hallein, Austria. Stop on the way to Hallein for lunch and then tour the Salt Mines near Hallein. We then stay the night in Hallein.

August 3rd We leave Hallein for a tour of Salzburg. We have a walking tour of downtown Salzburg, and in the early afternoon depart for Prague. We will stop on the way in Ceske Budejovice and dinner at the Budweiser Brewery Restaurant (where else do you go with a bunch of u19 players?) jk. Arrive in Prage that night.

The event itself will be the next posting.

Not just Czech

It was a couple of days later that Ringette Canada let me know that the intention was to have some exhibition games prior to the competition as well as some tours, so they would like me to go on the 28th or the 29th. They were going to be going to Germany for a few days and Austria for a short time. Well now we are added an extra 2 days. This was going to be more difficult. They said it would likely be possible for me to fly out the 30th, but would have to take a cab to the train station from the airport, take a train to Fusen, and then a cab to either the hotel or the arena, depending on exactly when I got in, so that I could catch up with everyone and make it for the exhibition games. Well I didn't like the idea of travelling for 12 hours, and go straight to the arena and ref a high level game. That just wasn't going to work. So it was back to work and Sharron to find out if I could get more time away. Thankfully, I was able to work it out with both. So now I was looking at leaving on the 29th. Still a day later than the Canada East team, but much easier to catch up with them. Should be able to make this work.

Starting to fall into place

Well after some work, and figuring some things out and the understanding of the opportunity by work, I was able to get the time off work. I also talked with Sharron, and she likely would never had said no anyway, but was even more willing to let me go, as she said she was feeling guilty about me having to come home from PEI, so she was okay with me going. So it looked like it was all going to work out. I had planned to have the 31st of July off anyway, so told Ringette Canada I could go as early as the evening of the 30th. Everything was looking good for me to go to the Czech Republic.

The phone call

About a week and a half after the end of nationals I got a call from the Director of Officials for Ringette Canada. I figured she was calling just to see how things were going with Sharron, and how I was doing. After going through all of that, she told me I had been selected as one of the two officials to go to Prague, Czech Republic for the U19's. I was shocked, to say the least. Not having any idea what the selection criteria was, and having written it off in my head, it was certainly unexpected. I was told the event was August 4 - 8 but she didn't have much more information beyond that, with regards to when we would be leaving etc. I told her that I woudl have to get back to her, as I hadn't planned for any of this when I was booking vacation with work for the year, so now had to figure out what I was going to do.

April 2009, flash forward to nationals

Well, I was pleased to get asked to officiate once again at the nationals for 2009 in Charlottetown. I hadn't put any thought towards u19's since the fall, and just wanted to have another good nationals. This was going to be a different event, as they had 10 of us doing just NRL games and the rest of the crew doing the Belle and Junior divisions. I am still working on having the same level of confidence at this division (more psychological than anything), so my goal was to have a good week. Well on Tuesday, after reffing 2 games, I got a call, Sharron had been taken to the hospital by ambulance with breathing difficulty. I was on the first flight out of PEI (which wasn't for 15 hours) but the week was over just as it started, as my attention had to be somewhere more important. There was always next year.

My first thoughts of U19's

About two years ago I heard some talk of two new championships, the world club championships which had the best local teams from Finland and Canada playing off in a championship, and the U19 championships which would have 2 teams from Canada (east and West) and 2 teams from Finland that are both U19 and Sweden and the US would send their national teams. The hope was to use it as a development opportunity. I felt I had just had a good showing at my 2nd nationals, and thought there might be an outside chance I might be able to get my game to a point of being asked to one of these events. I continued to hear little bits here and there about both events, but wasn't really sure of what the selection criteria was to get to these events. Over the next season I decided to just do my thing and do my best, and what will come will come. During that season, I heard an announcement that the world club championships would be held in Sault Ste Marie in November 2008. I still had some hopes that I might get asked, but wasn't sure of what the selection criteria was. I just continued to do my thing, and ref to the best of my abilities, and again felt I had a good nationals, which resulted in being asked to officiate the Belle gold game. As the next season came to a start, I hadn't heard anything about WCC's so figured there were others that were more highly ranked, that would do the event. I would just keep reffing my game, and giving my best day in and day out. I thought there was a very slim chance of u19's at this point as I hadn't got my level 5 after the last nationals so I had basically put it out of my head. I continued to ref my game and work on development for some of our younger officials as these were what was really important to me. Everything else will come with time, and I need to focus on what is in my control. So that is what I did.

Start at the beginning

Well I have had a couple family members suggest keeping a blog of my experiences around the U19 World Junior Ringette Championships, to be held in Prague, Czech Republic August 4 - 8 so I will try my best to keep these updated to the best of my ability.