216 days until Madrid!

We're only 216 days away from my departure on June 22, finally all the paperwork is in for the trip. Departure will be leaving Calgary the day after High School Graduation! Talk about an exciting time in one's life. I will walk the stage on June 21st, then on June 22nd I will fly Air Canada from Calgary to London, then Luftanza from London to Frankfurt, then Frankfurt to Madrid. Not the most direct route, but whatever gets there! Arrival in Madrid is Sunday night, and the tournament starts the next day, hopefully us refs are not too jet lagged.

While the details for Madrid are still sorting itself out, it appears as if that week the referees there will be provided with rental bungalows, and 3 meals a day. It is amazing how Tournaments Abroad is able to provide not only the opportunity to referee top notch matches at global tournaments, but they also provide you with great accommodations, and free food. You can't beat that! I'm not quite sure what my week in Madrid will shape up to be like just yet, but we are expected to referee 18-20 games there, this will be made up of Center Referee, Assistant Referee, Fourth officials, and in playoffs, we will be running with two goal judges as well (the official behind each goal featured in Euro 2012.) I will have to brush up on my Spanish before I leave as I hope to be able to immerse myself in the local culture and experience the city of Madrid with the help of the local referees we will be working alongside. The week promises to be spectacular, and will be capped off with highly competitive nationally televised playoffs, and great closing ceremonies. At the closure of this tournament, I will have two days to make my way to Lisbon.

I am undecided as to what to do for my two days in between tournaments, and also how to make my way to Lisbon. There is the possibility of a night train which would travel 8 hours over night between the two cities, which is a very European way to travel and could be quite the experience. I worry however that a poor night's sleep may cost me that competitive edge and sharpness on the field which is what I am there for. The most likely option flying on EasyJet with very cheap tickets, and either spend an extra night in Madrid or Portugal, let me know if you have any suggestions.



Estoril, home of the Iber cup

The Iber Cup would appear to be Tournaments Abroad's  flagship tournament, they are in charge of overseeing all referees to the tournament, and it truly is impressive to see the employees there work so hard to create a seamless process. This tournament is very exciting, whether it is on the field or off the field, it is truly an amazing tournament. 120+ referees from 31 countries with an average age of 22, what an experience! We will all be staying on air mattresses in a local school. Not by any stretch a luxury hotel, but when it comes to the overall experience, you can't beat it. There will be so many lifelong friendships formed in these two weeks. Throughout the week, we will have our assignments given to us daily, and each game will be quite the affair, and will go from an hour and a half prior to kick off right through to the hand shake at the end. We will also have daily meetings with our assessors, mentors, and fellow referees discussing disputed calls, and the day's events. While our matches are of course the priority, in our free time, we are free to do as we please, whether this is watching the great games occurring at the tournament, seeing old Lisbon, or going to the beach with fellow refs. We are completely free to do as we please, so long as it does not tarnish the image of TA and as long as we return to the school prior to 0300. Of course we are there to ref, so a good night sleep is not optional. The tournament will take place at over 18 fields spread out up the Estoril coast, ranging from the local pitch to high class 5,000 seat stadiums. The tournament will also feature a magnificent opening ceremony and closing party. The play at IberCup is highly skilled with pro teams around the world sending their youth squads. Playoffs are put on national television, and tend to host over 4000 spectators. That's about as close to the big leagues as you can get! Playoff appointments are not automatic, you must earn the assignment through your track record and history as a ref. Personally, I am aiming to gain a final's appointment and also win a medal for being a top referee under 21 at the tournament. These are very optimistic goals, but I believe through hard work and dedication, they are achievable.

In terms of refereeing style, and specifics as to how these two tournaments will be reffed, it is quite interesting. At the start of November I received a letter from Tom Edgerton, a Nova Scotia ref who is in charge of the 13 Canadians attending the tournament, he was last year's only Canadian ref so he had some great advice for us. First off, we were told to make the most of the social opportunities, a chance to learn and develop on the pitch by learning and developping from the best. We were also informed that we are hopefully to be sponsored by Umbro, which I really wish I had known before buying the new Umbro kits last summer, however given the way I sweat; multiple kits might not be a bad idea. We will also be using electronic flags and communication gear, which is very exciting as it will aid us in being able to officiate to the best of our ability. Where it will get very interesting is dealing with the new cultural differences and playing style featured at this tournament. When reffing a match between a Zambian team and a Norweigan team, you cannot simply tell players to calm down, language is a barrier for sure, and prior to the tournament, I must work on communicating purely based on visual signals and body language. I will make myself a phrasebook before the tournament covering basic soccer terms such as, "Calm down" "Advantage" and "Play-on." We as referees will have to learn to adapt, using hand gestures which are seemingly European. In terms of playing style, the Canadian way is a mix of British and American, incorporating pace, physicality, and tactics. at these two tournaments, predominantly European and South American style will be played with the much faster paced and there is no margin for error. As refs, we must be able to be keeping exceptional positioning and have impeccable fitness, along with firmly grasping the laws of the game. There will be a lot of running and a lot of studying to prepare myself for this tournament.

After these two amazing weeks, I remain in Portugal for three more days as a chance to stay at a nice beach resort to relax, unwind, and soak in the amazing events of the past weeks. I will continue to prepare in the meantime, continuing to study the lawbook, refereeing as many games as possible, remaining in good physical shape, and learning Portuguese to add to my current French and Spanish.

Only 216 more days :)