I had the pleasure of refereeing in the annual Super Series tournament in Hamilton last weekend, which was a great tournament and an enjoyable experience overall. I was fortunate enough to be invited to stay for the semi-finals and finals on Sunday and got to work some great games. The Midget final was my most memorable game of the weekend, as Halton Hills defeated Kitchener-Waterloo in a hard fought 6-4 affair. This game was exciting from start to finish and the players made it easy on the officials by playing the game intensely but at the same time staying within the boundaries. The best games to work are when the teams just simply play lacrosse and the game takes care of itself.
Tournaments are one of the highlights of the season for many referees. In the OLA there are many tournaments across Ontario every weekend throughout the summer. Lacrosse tournaments in Ontario can range from one to three days depending on the size of the tournament. Tournaments are often more exciting than a lot of regular season games, as there are many teams vying for the championship over a very short period of time. Many times there are intense elimination games throughout the weekend, followed by the championship games which are always exciting to referee and watch.
Tournaments require a large number of referees, as there are many different games being played throughout the tournament. Many tournaments I have worked I have refereed up to as many as ten games, which makes a long drive to a tournament less painful. I have had the opportunity to attend several tournaments in my refereeing career, with some being local and some out of town. When you referee an out of town tournament, the host organization puts all the referees up in a hotel or college residence. This allows referees to be able to travel to tournaments without having to worry about paying for a hotel room, which often is an attractive feature to referees.
This coming weekend I am refereeing in the first of two Qualifier weekends for the ‘A’ level teams in the OLA. This is a different playoff format than the rest of the divisions, who take part in the annual Provincial Championship tournament at the conclusion of the season. The ‘A’ level teams face off against each other in two tournament style events, which act as the playoffs leading up to Final Weekend. As a referee it is a great accomplishment to be invited to work a Qualifier weekend, as there are a limited number of games and the best referees are needed for these events. It should be a weekend of intense lacrosse and a great learning experience for all the officials.
