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Lethbridge Herald Article Oct , 2009
| It's Official: History is made |
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| Written by Dylan Purcell |
| Monday, 26 October 2009 |
Of all the University of Lethbridge students who took to the basketball court Friday night at the 1st Choice Savings Centre, Stephanie Nordlee was the only one guaranteed to win.
Of all the females involved in Friday night’s Montana Western-Pronghorns women’s basketball contest, only Stephanie Nordlee walked off the court richer than when she stepped on it.
And, as the first Southern Alberta Basketball Officials Association female referee to work a university game, she was also the only person in the building to make history.
“It’s a pretty big occasion, I think,” said Keith Jorgensen, a long-time referee and SABOA administrator in a phone call to The Herald. “I mean, we’ve tried for years to get girls involved in officiating down here and to have one of our own make it at that level’s got to be celebrated.”
Nordlee, a Kinesiology student at the university, said “the boys” made a big deal out of it, and they went out after the game, but it was a good game and she felt like she called a good one.
“You go out and you make sure the players stick to the rules, I guess,” said Nordlee. “It was good. I’m happy to be the first, but it would be good to see more girls get involved.”
Jorgensen said despite the fact that the lineup of officials each year reads like the membership at Augusta, the referees would love to see more women. And he thinks a good young official like Nordlee can help.
“She understands the game so well,” he said. “That’s what makes her a good ref. She’s got a real grasp of what’s going on and she’s not afraid to blow her whistle when it calls for it.
“And, she’s young, a lot younger than the rest of us, that’s for sure. I mean, most of us are older than her parents, I’m sure.”
Nordlee said coaches and players at the university level have been calling for more women, too. The thinking is that female players will be more at ease with another woman behind the whistle.
“It makes sense,” she said. “I’ve seen it at the college level work like that.”
But this isn’t the suffrage movement. In fact, it’s all about the Benjamins.
“I had a teacher in Grade 12 who said I should do it and that I could make money.
“And you make pretty good money at it.”
In fact, it’s how Nordlee pays for her schooling. Hopefully, the men picked up the tab after her historic appearance.
Nordlee has worked college games in the past, and said for the most part, college coaches don’t give her any more or less grief about her gender. She did say high school games can be different, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle.
“She’s got courage to stand up to some of these guys,” said Jorgensen. “That’s a big thing when you’re young, never mind if you’re a man or a woman. It takes guts for a young kid to stand up to coaches who have sometimes won at a high level and tell them to zip it.”
And now that her history-making first game is out of the way, the U of L student, who lives near the school, said she’s looking forward to more games at the CIS level.
“I don’t have to go far to get there,” she laughed. “That saves me a lot of time.” |
Lethbridge Herald Oct 26, 2009
Dave Wells Article
Paul Rocca performed a rare if not not 1st time feat by officiating a CIS Womens Soccer Game and a CIS Womens Basketball game on the same day On Saturday, October 26, 2009.
U15 Boys Nationals Kamloops August 4-8
Congrats to Paul Rocca who officiated the Gold Medal Game at the 2009 U15 Nationals.
Well Done
Western Canada Summer Games
Congrats to Clayton Twigg who officiated the Gold Medal Game at the 2007 Western Canada Summer Games.
Well Done
Lethbridge Herald Article
The distinguished duo of Richard Thomsen and Bob Fettig were profiled in the prestigious Lethbridge Herald over the December holidays. While Bob and Richard have made the Lethbridge Herald numerous times in the past for their ability to negatively affect the outcome of games, this particular article portrays them and our organization in a positive light.
Be sure to thank them for bringing to light the challenges that we all face, although we all enjoy what we do.
Click on the link to see a copy of the article.
Richard and Bob Lethbridge Herald
Created by: Paul Rocca -- Last updated:Oct 29, 2009
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