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Hey Ref – An Olympic experience
By Duncan Ryhorchuk
Kelli Rolstad has had the Olympic experience. Not as a player or competitor, but she was definitely an important participant. She was an on-ice official for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. With the 2010 Olympics being completed now for approximately one year, Kelli took time to reflect on her life leading up to and her time at the Olympics.
Q: How long have you been officiating, how did you get your start officiating and why did you start?
KR: I am completing my 14th year officiating. I didn’t play hockey until 10th grade, which was the first year it was a varsity sport in Minnesota at the girls’ high school level. Until then, I played basketball.
My good friend Rachel Launderville talked me into playing as she knew I loved to skate. The summer before my senior year I was approached by a Showcase hockey official, and he challenged me to go to a seminar and try officiating. I always told the officials what I thought of the calls, and I took quite a few penalties when I played, so looking back this is most likely why he confronted me. This would also be the part-time job that I needed to earn gas money and it would get me some extra ice time while playing my senior year.
Q: Explain the process of the Olympic selection?
KR: A year after I started officiating I applied for a USA Hockey Women’s Regional Camp. The camp was held in Lake Placid, N.Y. They boarded us at the Olympic Training Center and we skated on the 1980 and 1932 rinks. If you have never been out there to experience the town, it is an amazing place.
The camp was physically and mentally trying but I must have done “OK” as Matt Leaf (USA Hockey’s Officiating Director) called me back a few months later and asked if I wanted to attend the Women’s USA Hockey Elite Experience. Over the past 13 years, I have attended many camps and performed well.
The decision makers also evaluate your performance in the leagues you are working back home. A few years after going to camp, I was invited to my first international experience with the IIHF. Matt Leaf called and asked if I wanted to go to China to work the Women’s World Championship A pool. Unfortunately this tournament was cancelled due to SARS.
Over the years, I was privileged to work two tourneys in Canada, along with one in Germany and one in Sweden. I performed well at these tourneys and when the Olympic year came around, I knew I was in the running to be asked to work the Olympics. The U.S. was given the opportunity to invite three officials to work and I was lucky enough to be chosen as one.
Q: Did you train any differently when you knew you were being considered for the Olympics?
KR: I was training similar to an athlete for my leagues at the gym and working games, but the day I heard I was going to officiate in the Olympics, I called my friend Eric Scott at Etrain over in Bloomington. He put me to work skating on the treadmill two times a week during a long lunch break from work and once a week with plyometrics, usually at night.
I only skated one night of games during the week, as I was working a full-time “real job,” and would skate every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Usually WCHA, NCHA women’s college, but I did travel and work some Junior games to keep on my toes. There were also many nights spent studying the rule book. With the league variation of rules, I had seven different rule books in my bag.
Q: How did you get notified you were selected? How many area officials were there with you (men side and women’s side)?
KR: Matt Leaf called and, I am not ashamed to say, I was crying like a baby. I was at work, in a meeting room and immediately called to tell my husband, Cory, my Mom and Dad.
There were three female officials from the U.S. – referee Leah Wrazidlo and linesman Megan Hishmeh (15 total female officials). There were five male officials from the U.S. – referees Dennis LaRue and Chris Rooney (both NHL guys) and linesmen Tim Nowak (NHL), Thor Nelson (NHL) and Peter Feola (28 male officials total).
Q: How long were you at the Olympics, and what was your schedule like?
KR: I was there a total of 19 days – Feb. 11 to March 1. I worked five games – Sweden vs. Switzerland, Switzerland vs. Canada, Sweden vs. Canada, Finland vs. Canada, and USA vs. Canada. It was a light game load for me as most officials in our area work three or more games in one night or we work 2-3 college games in a weekend.
The first few mornings we had a meeting with all the officials and supervisors to get the flow of things (transportation, credentials, etc.). With any free time, we shopped a ton and the people watching was fantastic. We stayed at the downtown Holiday Inn in Vancouver and with the hotel windows shut up tight I was awoken to people singing “Oh Canada” at 3 a.m., most nights.
My husband, parents, sister and niece came out for a week in the middle of my time, and I took them to a couple hockey games. One of the female officials had a connection and we rented a city bus that took us up to Whistler for the day to check out the other Olympic venues.
A few of us attended a medal ceremony and I went to two curling events. One night, we had access to the IIHF hockey house and the Molson Tent. We also had tickets to attend the opening and closing ceremonies. The coolest thing was that our credentials got us into any men’s or women’s hockey games and into the VIP section, including both USA vs. Canada men’s’ games.
Q: When did it hit you that you were on the world stage for officiating?
KR: It comes and goes in waves and still the whole experience feels like a dream. I was told early on by a good friend to enjoy the experience. That it is all about the people you meet and things you get to do along the way.
In one of the games, it hit me. I skated the first three games in the smaller rink at the University of British Columbia, with a capacity of 7,000. My fourth game was in the big rink, Canada place, which holds 18,860.
I remember skating behind the net, shortly after getting on the ice; they were showing a video before the events and then showing the “Inuksuk” (Vancouver Olympic symbol) on the screen when the crowd goes nuts. I skated to the referee crease and looked up at the screen and the packed house. I was overwhelmed and in awe as I thought this is why I have sacrificed so much over the past 13 years. (Over the years there was a ton of hard work and time that went into working leagues and driving. I have missed many birthday parties, funerals, weddings and family events due to working hockey games).
Another thing that stood out was the support that I received from friends and family. They blew up my Facebook page and sent me tons of emails. Technology is wonderful and I had a blog going so I could keep everyone updated (www.kelliobrian.blogspot.com).
Q: It has been one year since the Olympics, what is the one experience you will never forget?
KR: I will never forget calling my Mom at work and telling her that I got the gold medal assignment. I was crying and she thought something was wrong. I choked out that I got the gold medal game and she said, “No you didn’t; you can’t work it, the U.S. is playing.”
Before the assignment came out, I was sure that I would not be assigned that game as at that time, they didn’t want you working your own country’s team and I had officiated Canada three times already.
A question I get asked frequently by officials is how it is to work with other officials, from different countries, that do not speak English? The official language of the IIHF is English so most officials do speak some English.
Off the ice, you do tend to talk a lot with your hands to illustrate the conversation, but on the ice you cannot use your hands. Since you are all working the same system, you use your eye contact with your partner and awareness to communicate, and that crosses the language barrier. The best official knows what their partner is going to do and how they are going to react before they do it.
Q: What changes have you seen since you started officiating?
KR: Girls’ hockey has improved tremendously and it just keeps getting better. When I played my senior year in high school for Champlin Park, it was the year we split from Anoka, but we recruited and got 36 girls on the ice for captain’s practice. Most of the girls could not stop or turn and a few were having issues standing up on skates.
Today, as far as I’m concerned, girls varsity and JV games are all great hockey. In youth, they can skate well and have their heads up when they stickhandle. Every time I step out on the ice it is awesome to see how far the women’s game has come in such a short time.
Q: What advice would you give new officials?
KR: My mentor, Mike, started asking me, “Are you physically and mentally ready?” for whatever game and/or tourney I was working next. I made sure I was!
These are some other tricks that I use:
• Skate hard on ice and pretend you know where you’re going – you may just fool someone into thinking you know what you are doing.
• Face your toes to the puck and the puck will stop less in your feet.
• Work hard and the sky is the limit, but remember to enjoy the ride wherever it may take you.
Q: What leagues are you officiating in now? Are you striving to officiate at another international event? And, will we see you at the 2014 Olympics?
KR: Women’s WCHA and Women’s NCHA. High School Girls and Boys. Youth Girls and Boys. And Scott Brand still gives me a few junior games every year. I also instruct, teach, mentor and shadow new officials and work at camps.
I am still IIHF certified but do not foresee officiating at the 2014 Olympics. There are many talented officials coming up that have worked hard and will have the opportunity to earn the Olympic experience too.
USA Hockey and all the other leagues that Kelli officiates for are very fortunate to have an official that is willing to dedicate their time, effort and make personal and professional sacrifices. Kelli did this and received an Olympic experience of a lifetime.
Received a Breaking Barriers award at the State Capitol today; didn't do a very good job just blending into the boards on this one. Was a little nervous going into this as my stand-by suits won't clasp on my growing belly so had to get a new pair of pants to wear! Nothing like taking the ice in your old broken in equipment; there is no safety/comfort feeling standing on a stage if it is not made of ice:)
We hiked a little and saw some great scenery at the beaver pond. 
We stopped at Angel Rock on the way back and met John for lunch and rushed over to the seminar to finish up and take the closed book tests. After we headed over to get some food.
