Coon Rapids woman works Olympic hockey ice
My corrections of quotes below in orange... yes I sent an email after reading this to correct the facts:)
Thursday, 11 March 2010
by Sue AustrengWhen the puck dropped for the U.S.A. versus Canada Olympic gold medal women’s hockey game in Vancouver, Kelli Rolstad was there. And she wasn’t just there watching the game from a seat in the stadium – she was on the ice. 
Kelli Rolstad, a resident of Coon Rapids, shows off Olympic souvenirs gathered after she worked as linesman for the gold medal women’s hockey game in Vancouver.
The Coon Rapids resident, a licensed member of the International Ice Hockey Federation, officiated the game and helped write Olympic history.“I will never forget this game. The house was rocking and we were a part of it,” Rolstad said.While the gold medal game, played Feb. 25, was by far the highlight of her Olympic experience, Rolstad said the night she got word she’d be linesman for that game comes a close second.“
The assignment sheet came in (Feb. 23) and I almost didn’t even look at it,” Rolstad said. “I had already worked four (three) games and (Canada’s) semi-final game and being an American, I thought they’d never let me work the U.S. game,” Rolstad said.“When I finally let myself look at the assignment sheet and saw my name for the gold medal game, I was hopping around the hotel room, yelling, screaming, crying. I was so happy I couldn’t believe it.”
And yes, even with the U.S. women coming up short in that game, Rolstad considers it the high point of her Olympic hockey career.“You can’t be upset over it – it was a great hockey game. A great hockey game, no matter who wins it, is a great hockey game,” she said.
An Olympic experienceRolstad’s Olympic experience was punctuated by puck drops, goals scored and referees’ whistles.But on days she wasn’t officiating, Rolstad’s Olympic experience included sightseeing, shopping for souvenirs and rubbing elbows with Olympic athletes, past and present.
“I met Wayne Gretzky and his wife,” (never met Gretzky or his wife, only said they were sitting 50 rows away and in the same VIP area) she said. “They were just the nicest people, so friendly. I couldn’t believe I was talking to them.” (I said this about the athletes that I met)
She also met Canada’s gold medal-winning men’s and women’s curling teams, Rolstad said.
Rolstad, describing the Olympic games environment as being like “the world in a bubble,” said she also met CEOs and presidents of international businesses as well as a few world leaders.
“I met the prime minister of Canada, the king, queen and prince from Sweden, the president of Finland. (never met these people only mentioned that they were in the VIP area and close) Everyone was so friendly, so relaxed. It really was like the world in a bubble,” (I said this about the athletes) Rolstad said.
When not rubbing elbows with the world’s elite, Rolstad took in some Canadian living.“We did some shopping, – lots of shopping – took the ferry to Gibson to visit some family friends, watched some curling, went to the Canadian Hockey House and the Molson Hockey House, went to Whistler and rode the Peak-to-Peak,” she said.
Her husband and parents were able to spend one week in Vancouver for the Olympics, while she was in there for 18 days, from Feb. 11 through March 1, Rolstad said.“If I wasn’t working a game, we’d go to the rinks and watch the U.S. team or watch and support the officials,” she said. “We were able to attend all the hockey games.”
Her 2010 Vancouver Olympic games linesman experience was the “first and last” Olympic games she would work, according to Rolstad.“There are so many names in that pool, so many hoping to get to work the Olympics. I couldn’t take that opportunity away from someone else,” Rolstad said.
Six months of training
To prepare for the greatest hockey game of her life, Rolstad, already fit and strong, put in countless hours training after receiving word back in September that she had won a spot on the roster of officials for the 2010 Olympic hockey games.
Kelli Rolstad drops the puck during the U.S.A. vs. Canada women’s gold medal game at the 2010 Winter Olympics. For Rolstad, a resident of Coon Rapids, officiating the gold medal game was the highlight of her hockey career.
“I was already skating every weekend and a couple of times during the week, but I had to train so I took two-hour lunch hours a couple times a week and trained at the Bloomington Ice Garden,” Rolstad said.
At the ice garden, she worked with trainer Eric Scott, a veteran trainer who had worked with the 1998 Olympic hockey team and members of the Minnesota Wild in the past.
Skating on the ETrain treadmill, Rolstad increased her stamina and strength and got Olympic-fit.
“That (work out) really kicks your butt,” Rolstad said, describing the intensity of her training sessions.In addition to sessions on the treadmill, Rolstad did some light weight lifting, ran sprints and did plyometrics, a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements.“
I wanted to be ready for these games, and Eric got me there. I worked hard, I worked four Olympic games plus the gold medal game and I survived,” she said.The four games Rolstad officiated before the gold medal game were the Sweden-Switzerland, Canada-Switzerland, and Canada-Sweden games and the Canada-Finland semi-final game.
The road to Olympic ice
Rolstad’s road to Olympic ice began back in high school when she played on the girls’ hockey team at Champlin Park High School (CPHS).
Hoping to make a little spending money, Rolstad began working as referee for local games.
In 1997, during her senior year at CPHS (was a year after), Rolstad went to national hockey referee camp at Lake Placid, N.Y., and skated into a full schedule working hockey games with a renewed passion.
Now in her 13th year officiating hockey games, Rolstad’s passion remains strong and her schedule is punctuated with dates fueling her obsession.
“I’ll work 40, 50 hours a week at my ‘real job’ (as business analyst for C.H. Robinson) then skate every weekend plus a couple of games during the week,” she said, naming youth, high school, college, WCHA, NCHA, as well as amateur men’s and women’s leagues among the games for which she officiates.Her work on the ice has taken her throughout the country and around the world, she said, counting games in Sweden, Canada and Germany on her international itinerary before taking on the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
“That gold medal game...that’s like the Stanley Cup of women’s hockey. It was a huge honor to work that game,” she said.
And Rolstad’s got the gold medal to prove she was part of that game.The International Ice Hockey Federation presented each of the gold medal game officials with a replica gold medal (not a replica and I showed this) – a fitting souvenir for their championship work.
We got lost but made our way there. We watched China pull out a win over the Swiss and took Anna over to the curling store to go shopping. At the curling store we ran into John's sponsor Erin (on the CA men's curling team) and an autographed jersey that we got to try on! Thanks Erin! 
We ran over to Canada Place after and met Johnny and a friend to watch the USA play Finland in men's hockey. After the game we met Johnny at the hotel and I was off to Gibson. The ferry wasn't till 5pm so we went and had a pop at the local stop. I wish I would have had more time to visit longer and see the sights in the daytime. We went over on the ferry and I got to visit with Mary Jo, her Mom and Johnny for a bit before Johnny dropped me at the ferry to get home. Good people.
