Calgary, Alberta, Canada - July 9-12
When I arrived in Calgary, I was promised that there would be no shortage of matches for me, which was an understatement. I was picked up from the airport and was on a pitch reffing a U15 club match within the hour. Useful to be aware that Canada (as well as Australia) employs a Mayday provision in their U19 laws, where extra precautions are taken during scrums. I was not aware of this, so while thankfully no one was injured, one of the coaches was a bit flustered at my "nonchalance" at checking that players were alright in a collapsed scrum. A lesson learned quickly though.
That evening we had a late dinner at a restaurant next to our tournament lodgings and I met many of the refs that would be working the ASAA Alberta High School Championship over the next two days. Refs came from the local area as well as from Edmonton (4 hours away) and Saskatchewan (6 hours away).
The first day of the high school tournament started early. While winter may be a dark time in Calgary, by the beginning of June the sun comes up at 4:30 in the morning. Even with blinds drawn, I was waking up at 5 every morning.
Calgary rugby has an impressive location with a large clubhouse (one of the largest I've seen), and four regulation sized fields (with a fifth one on the way). All fields were in use as there were 32 teams competing in the tournament, comprised of two tiers of girls and boys teams.
As to be expected, there was a range of experience and athleticism in the tournament, but overall I was impressed with the skills and proficiencies of the High School teams. Interesting to note that although the participation of rugby in Canadian high schools is high, there are still hurdles created by more established sports. Due to The Track and Field Championships overriding the Rugby schedule, teams from the Calgary and Edmonton city districts were unable to compete due to a school blackout for exams. Judging from the quality of the rural and suburban schools competing in their place, I am sure the level of the city schools is comparably quite high.
By the end of the first day I had reffed three 40 minute matches, and ARed another three. There was a little socializing on Friday night for the referees and I was presented with two Rugby Alberta referee jerseys which I excitedly wore the following day. Saturday was the finals and I reffed the Tier 2 girls consolation and the Tier 1 Girls Championship (60 minute matches), and ARed the Tier 1 Boys Championship and Tier 1 boys consolation.
Although the matches were abbreviated (so as to fit within the time limits imposed on U-19 players), the scores were not:
Day one
Tier 2 Girls: Beaumont 0 Highwood 33
Tier 2 Boys: McNally 0 St. Francis Xavier 29
Tier 1 Boys: Strathcona Comp 52 Lloydminster Comp 0
Day two
Tier 2 Girls Consolation: Springbank 46 Frank Maddock 5
Tier 1 Girls Championship: Raymond 44 Sturgeon 0
As if to give me the true scope of Canadian weather, day one of the tournament was a gorgeous sunny and mid 60’s day, punctuated by the mosquito happy hour at 4pm. Day two, in contrast, was drizzly and in the low 50’s. Luckily the real rain held off until after the final match of the day.
During the tournament I was fortunate to be reviewed by a few of the referee coaches and received helpful feedback on my approach and positioning as well as a forthcoming analysis of the Championship match and assessment of my overall performance at the tournament. Thank you to Bjorn Stumer and Mike Laporte each for facilitating the exchange, Mike L. and Jared Morrison for the reffing assessments, Andrew Petti for organizing the tournament, and to Danica, David and Lisa Robinson for hosting me on Saturday night.
That evening we had a late dinner at a restaurant next to our tournament lodgings and I met many of the refs that would be working the ASAA Alberta High School Championship over the next two days. Refs came from the local area as well as from Edmonton (4 hours away) and Saskatchewan (6 hours away).
The first day of the high school tournament started early. While winter may be a dark time in Calgary, by the beginning of June the sun comes up at 4:30 in the morning. Even with blinds drawn, I was waking up at 5 every morning.
Calgary rugby has an impressive location with a large clubhouse (one of the largest I've seen), and four regulation sized fields (with a fifth one on the way). All fields were in use as there were 32 teams competing in the tournament, comprised of two tiers of girls and boys teams.
As to be expected, there was a range of experience and athleticism in the tournament, but overall I was impressed with the skills and proficiencies of the High School teams. Interesting to note that although the participation of rugby in Canadian high schools is high, there are still hurdles created by more established sports. Due to The Track and Field Championships overriding the Rugby schedule, teams from the Calgary and Edmonton city districts were unable to compete due to a school blackout for exams. Judging from the quality of the rural and suburban schools competing in their place, I am sure the level of the city schools is comparably quite high.
By the end of the first day I had reffed three 40 minute matches, and ARed another three. There was a little socializing on Friday night for the referees and I was presented with two Rugby Alberta referee jerseys which I excitedly wore the following day. Saturday was the finals and I reffed the Tier 2 girls consolation and the Tier 1 Girls Championship (60 minute matches), and ARed the Tier 1 Boys Championship and Tier 1 boys consolation.
Although the matches were abbreviated (so as to fit within the time limits imposed on U-19 players), the scores were not:
Day one
Tier 2 Girls: Beaumont 0 Highwood 33
Tier 2 Boys: McNally 0 St. Francis Xavier 29
Tier 1 Boys: Strathcona Comp 52 Lloydminster Comp 0
Day two
Tier 2 Girls Consolation: Springbank 46 Frank Maddock 5
Tier 1 Girls Championship: Raymond 44 Sturgeon 0
As if to give me the true scope of Canadian weather, day one of the tournament was a gorgeous sunny and mid 60’s day, punctuated by the mosquito happy hour at 4pm. Day two, in contrast, was drizzly and in the low 50’s. Luckily the real rain held off until after the final match of the day.
During the tournament I was fortunate to be reviewed by a few of the referee coaches and received helpful feedback on my approach and positioning as well as a forthcoming analysis of the Championship match and assessment of my overall performance at the tournament. Thank you to Bjorn Stumer and Mike Laporte each for facilitating the exchange, Mike L. and Jared Morrison for the reffing assessments, Andrew Petti for organizing the tournament, and to Danica, David and Lisa Robinson for hosting me on Saturday night.