Traveling to China

So I leave for Harbin, China to officiate the World Winter University Games on Friday. I will be out of the country from February 13th through March 1st. I've decided to keep a blog during the trip to help remember everything and to keep those at home informed about what is going on. I have never really written a serious blog before and have never kept a journal for myself, so we’ll see how this goes. I will have Internet at my hotel and will be checking my email regularly. I am also bringing my cell phone for emergencies only! Please do not call or text me while I am gone, I don't want my cell phone bill to be through the roof and it is going to cost me about $2.20 a minute for every phone call I make or receive and texts cost $ .50 for every one I send or receive.

I figured I'd start off this blog with a little background on how this whole thing came to be. When I decided to start refereeing 6 years ago I thought I would never stick with it. I was scared of the fact that there would times where coaches, parents, and players would yell at me. I was afraid of missing calls, not being in the right position, and also being part of a small percentage of females that referee the sport and being ridiculed for it. My first games in the Metroplex Hockey Officials Association mentor program in Dallas Texas were filled with a lot of learning, letting go of fears, and great mentors whom I am proud to call friends. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that one day I would be an internationally licensed referee.
Since then I've worked hard and I've also gotten lucky. Through USA Hockey I have had the opportunity to experience some great events –

2005 USA Hockey Women’s Regional Officials Camp, Lake Placid, NY
2006 USA Hockey Women’s National Tournament Referee. Buffalo, NY
2007 USA Hockey Women’s National Tournament Referee. San Jose, CA
2008 USA Hockey Girl’s National Tournament Referee. West Chester, PA
2008 USA Hockey RMD High School Tournament Referee. Farmers Branch, TX
2008 USA Hockey Women’s Select Officials Camp. Lake Placid, NY
2008 USA Hockey Women’s Elite Officials Camp. Lake Placid, NY
2008 IIHF Pool B Referee License
2008 IIHF USA vs. Canada series. Lake Placid, NY
2008 USA Hockey Women’s Four Nations Cup. Lake Placid, NY
2009 IIHF 24th World Winter University Games Linesman. Harbin, China
2009 USA Hockey Girl’s National Tournament Referee. Rochester, NY

And while all of these events have been a lot of fun and very memorable, I think the thing that I really appreciate most about refereeing is the people I have met along the way. I have never met a better, more caring group of people in anything that I have ever been a part of. It truly is a fraternity; through officiating I have made some lifelong friends from all over the country.

So, as I sit here getting ready to take the trip of a lifetime to officiate the World Winter University Games in China I just wanted to say thanks to all those who have helped me get here – friends, family, teammates, supervisors, fellow officials...without all of your support I would have never been given an opportunity like this.

Ice festival in Harbin, China

The website for this event is : http://www.harbin2009.org/en/

I will be posting all of my photos on : http://picasaweb.google.com/lauramjohnson32

My email address is : Lauramjohnson32@yahoo.com

If you have any questions or need to get ahold of me please email me.

More to follow soon,

Laura Johnson