Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Wembley Stadium...  To the football (soccer) enthusiast, this venue is considered hallowed grounds and home for some of the most memorable matches in the sport.  On Sunday, many of us were fortunate enough to attend a group stage match there where Great Britain played host to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  The referee trio from Mexico officiated the match with Mark G. serving as the 4th official.

The venue was as magnificent as advertised, both from the field and the stands.  The atmosphere was electric with 85,000 fans in attendance, which certainly added to the overall experience.  The match was quite enjoyable and the referee team performed at optimal levels.  The venue managers have everything well coordinated, down to the flow of spectators leaving the grounds after the match.  Most spectators take mass transit to the stadium, so the "Tube" is the most popular mode for transportation to and from the venue.


Below is the actual cross bar from the 1966 World Cup Final where England and Germany squared off.


In all, quite a great experience.  Tonight we get to go to the stadium again to watch the Great Britain women play against Brazil in the last group stage game.
    
I had one hour before breakfast and our pre-game meeting to see a little Cardiff.  It  isn't often you can be in a castle and see a soccer (football) stadium.  A really cool experience and special thanks to the folks at the Cardiff castle for giving me the Olympic discount (read: free).  Off to the game Japan v S. Africa, as the 4th offical.  Wish us luck.  Every game at the Olympics is important and we are looking foward to it.
Cardiff Castle, with Millennium Stadium in the background


The Keep at Cardiff Castle

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Olympic Park and Appointments

Now that Kari has returned from traveling to Coventry as a fourth official for the match between Japan vs. Sweden, we ventured out to check out the Olympic Park. As officials for the Olympic Games we were issued Oyster Cards, which basically give us free access to public transportation. So today we rode the "tube" to get the Olympic Park, which was around a 35 minute ride from the train station near our hotel. On some days, we have been riding the tube to return to the hotel from the training fields as there is quite of bit of traffic and congestion and the train ride can be much quicker (33 minutes) than taking the bus (45 min - 1.5 hours). In the picture below, we are on the tube joined by Marie-Josee (Canada) and Kirsi (Finland).
Marlene and I had already seen the park the day of the Opening Ceremonies, but we enjoyed seeing it again, looking at the different structures, and of course we got some shopping in for official olympic merchandise. We left the Olympic Park at 12:30 pm in order to return back to the hotel. Our timing could not have been better as the park was very crowded by the time we left, and swarms of people kept arriving.
We returned in time to receive the announcements for the next round of appointments. Kari will be working as a fourth official for a referee from Greece and two assistant referees from Spain for the match between Japan vs. South Africa. She will be returning to Wales for this match. After lunch, we left for a late afternoon training session. Training today consisted of two parts: coordination & agility and technical. In the technical session, the assistant referees had three sequential throw in decisions, followed by a sprint up the field to make an offside decision, and then another sprint to the goal line to make another decision. We are putting in to practice the decision making skills that simulate situations that have been happening in the games. During these exercises, the referees primarily focused on team work, particularly in the goal/no goal scenario. As always, the goal is to give 100% effort in the training sessions, so that we are sharp and ready for our matches.
Today (Sunday July 29) was a fairly easy day for the men as we had the day off.  Officially it was a rest day for most of us, except for the crews working the matches today.  It was nice to relax a bit and take it easy, but I also got out to see some of the Women's Cycling event.  It was pouring down rain, but worth it to see the pack of riders come through.  In a few hours we'll head to Wembley stadium between Great Britain and UAE, where Mark will be the 4th official.

Tomorrow we expect to have a full day as we get back into the training routine.  We also expect to receive the next round of appointments, so stay tuned...

Thursday, July 26, 2012

"What an honor to blow the very first whistle of the entire Olympic games.  Both hard work and experience got us to this place, so let's have confidence".  Those were our thoughts as we discussed the match in our pregame meeting - Setting the tone for the Olympics.

Coming out on the pitch you could feel the nervousness of the teams.  Especially Team GB (that is what they are called here) as they had the pressure on them;  home country, first game, opening of the Olympics.  Our job was clear, to make sure the match was fair, focused on football and safe for everyone.  Luckily the very hot temperatures effected both teams equally.  We estimate it was about 90+ degrees on the field with plenty of humidity.  Apparently the hottest day of the year for 2012 in the UK!

As a team we are very happy with our performance.  We set the tone early, yet allowed for flow in the match where possible.  We worked together well as a team.  Always a few things to improve (as no one is perfect) and at tonight's debriefing we'll get some more specifics from FIFA on what adjustments team USA needs to work on for our next match.

Thank you everyone for all your support, we REALLY appreciate it!!




On Our Way

Somehow, no matter how much you prepare and how many times you've done it, the feeling of entering the stadium for the first time in the tournament fills you with a sense of awe and wonder at the unique opportunity to participate in soccer at the highest level.  We arrived in Cardiff two nights ago and after dinner, we were given a chance to walk to the stadium and see the field.  Looking up from the field, there it was "London 2012" written all over the the stands.  How wonderful and humbling it is to be given the honor to officiate the first match of the first sport to start the London 2012 Olympics.

We were staying at the same hotel as some of the teams in Cardiff.  So, on the day of the match, we climbed into our cars and followed the team bus to the stadium.  Looking out the windows, the streets were lined with people there to support Great Britain.  So many people had their faces painted and were wearing shirts supporting their team.  It was pretty awesome.  The only sport being played in Cardiff is soccer, so right next to the castle we passed by (they have a castle in town, isn't that cool?), they had a statue of a soccer player scoring a goal made entirely of flowers and plants. 

Soccer player scoring a goal in front of the Cardiff castle

As we proceeded through the city on the way to the stadium, we discovered that we were being led in by mounted police.  Not even Kari with all her experience at FIFA tournaments had seen this before, so you know it's special.  I'll let her tell you about the match itself.  Thanks for all the great support so far!


Mounted police in front of the team bus

Monday, July 23, 2012


Some great news from London:

Team USA will be kicking off the Olympic tournament with the game Great Britain V New Zealand on Wed 4pm in Cardiff Wales. We are thrilled to have the honor of the opening match!!!

On the men's side the usa team (with Canada) has been selected to officiate the match between Spain and Japan. A quality match for sure.

We are thrilled to kick off the tournament and will do everything in our power to make the USA proud of our performances.

The opening match appointment is a great honor, a testament to the strength of the crew to set the tone for the tournament.  You can see Kari, Marlene, and Veronica on the opening match on MSNBC starting at 10:30am ET.  The full TV and streaming schedule is below, be sure to watch Mark, Sean, and Joe and give them our support!





Friday, July 20, 2012

The men had the same morning schedule as the women, but we did our "light" training mid afternoon while the ladies picked up their official gear (pictured in Veronica's post).  The sun was out off and on today, but we did get some rain during our training run.  When they call it acclimatization, they really mean it!  Attached is a picture of the park we trained in today.

Olympic Uniforms

The day began with opening remarks for the Olympics. We were reminded how important our appointment is to the Olympic Games and how much these games mean to the players. Just like the players are aiming for the gold medal, as referees we should also aim high and set our goals for the reaching the final. We met and heard from all of the staff. We have many people here who are supporting the referees, which include instructors, assessors, video analysts, IT staff, physical therapists, masseurs, sports psychologist, and fitness instructors. The women received the Olympic uniforms today. The men will be picking up their uniforms tomorrow. We rode for over an hour to get the the Olympic distribution center. Along the way, several landmarks in the city were pointed out, including the Buckingham Palace, the Tower, and the Tower Bridge.
At the Olympic Distribution Center we were given two sets of clothes: one for casual wear, and the other is the official formal uniform. We are giving you guys a sneak preview of what you will be seeing when watching the Olympics. All the officials participating in the Olympic Games will be wearing these uniforms. We were also given a booklet with instructions on how to wear and care for our clothes so that the officials look "smart and stylish at all times." Sean posted a picture of the Adidas gear we received upon arrival. It seriously feels like Christmas in July! We have been given tons of new gear.
Tomorrow should be an interesting day. We will be doing the yo-yo test for training. Stay tuned...
Today's been a pretty long day.  We had our first meeting all morning.  After lunch, the women went off to get our Olympic gear.  When we got back, we did a light workout in the park to knock some of the travel out of our legs.  It actually kind of worked out for us since the rain stopped by the time it was time for us to run.  Finally, we had our medical exam and dinner. 

Jet lag is catching up to me, so I didn't want to write too much, but I just had to share one photo.  I know it's hard to see, but these four officials have each been to the last three Olympics (Athens, Beijing, and now London).  The sign behind them says "Inspire a Generation." Kind of cool huh?  From left to right they are Jenny from Sweden, Kari, Marisa from Spain, and Tempa from Benin. 
Day one in the books.  Mostly an informal day as referees and assistant referees arrived at various times throughout the morning and afternoon.  Everyone received their gear (uniforms, gear, etc.) and had the opportunity to exchange for different sizes as needed.  It was a long day for most as the time differences begin to even up.  Breakfast tomorrow @ 7:30am, then we have the opening remarks, followed by an outline of expectations and logistics for the tournament.  Stay tuned as the excitement for us builds a little each day...

Friday, July 6, 2012

The official paperwork has arrived, we now have our accrediation to the 2012 Olympic Games. All we need to do is find the accrediation station at Heathrow...  Follow the signs the instructions say.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

USA v Canada:  our final match before we head off to the Olympic games just concluded on June 30th in Sandy Utah.  Thank you everyone who got a chance to watch and support your USA WNT team and your referee team too.

The game checked in at over 100 degrees and over 4,500 feet of elevation.  This isn't the kind of thing we are expecting in London, that's for sure.


Just 15 days before we board the plane for the Olympics.  Focus, focus, focus.. pack!