Thursday, February 25, 2010

A-MA-ZING!!!!!

I'm not even going to attempt to be all cool and collected in this post...

Today's game was unreal. It was such an honor for me to be on the ice with such amazing and dedicated athletes pouring out their hears and souls for themselves, their family and friends, and for their respective countries. Those girls all played hard for all 60 minutes, leaving nothing behind. In hockey, we like to call it 'emptying the tank' - and both teams certainly did.















Skating out onto the ice tonight was the loudest experience of my life. I admit, my heart was in my throat, my legs were a bit shaky, and I could not stop smiling. Such pride. :) Once the puck dropped though, I was just fine and had the time of my life.


































When the game was over, we left the ice to let the teams have their moment and eventually receive their medals. We were able to get a seat front and centre at the glass next to the Zamboni entrance. It was a thrill to watch the team receive their medals from such a close vantage point and to be able to watch the flags raised while 'Oh Canada' played.
When we returned to the hotel, we had an officials reception with all the male and female officials.... AND, GET THIS..... THE STANLEY CUP. Not the replica, the real thing. We were allowed to touch it, lift it, photograph it... I lifted it over my head! I had to... :) I do not have pictures of this on my camera, but will post them once my teammates have a chance to share.
At the reception, the officials who worked the bronze game were presented with a bronze medal from the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), and we were presented with an IIHF gold medal.
All in all, a phenomenal day. Certainly one to remember.
To my friends at TD, I had the shield in my back pocket...
To my OWHA family, I had our OWHA pin in my back pocket as well...!
On a side note... a special 'shout out' to all the students at Westmount Public School in Peterborough!!! :)

4 comments:

  1. Wow Heat, you totally rock. This blog was amazing. Thank you for making me feel what it must have been like there in BC. I'm so happy for you, knowing how hard you trained for that moment... I also want to thank you for setting the bar so high for our future referee olympians. You are going to be a hard act to follow both on and off the ice.
    Celebrate hard Rita....enjoy the rest of your adventure ;)
    luv Jan

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  2. Congratulations Heather! So proud of you! Enjoy the rest of the games!

    Jenn Tate (Sharpe)

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  3. Great job Heather!!! Congratulations on everything you accomplished in Vancouver and for such a great job on your blog bringing us all along for the ride.
    What an amazing journey!
    Jo

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  4. Heather, It was a thrill to watch the game knowing that a fellow TD'er was not only there but on the ice (doing a great job, I might add). Thank you for sharing your experience.

    Connie

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