Cianna Lieffers will live her dream of Olympic hockey (referee) in Beijing: “It was a flood of emotions”

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Cianna Lieffers was 12 when she took off her cloth stripes for what she thought was the last time and said goodbye to life as a hockey referee.

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That first season, she says now, “didn’t go so well” – and halfway through, maybe a little more, she had had enough and was slipping into a life of early retirement.

“I’ve had a few bad experiences with coaches,” she said. “I took a step back; realized that might not be what I wanted to do. The following season, my mother convinced me to try again, and I’m glad she did. I wouldn’t prepare to go to Beijing if it wasn’t for her.

Lieffers, now 27 and a teacher in Asquith, Saskatchewan. when she’s not patrolling Saskatchewan rinks, she’ll be refereeing women’s hockey at the next Olympics.

His whistle course is long and varied. She has worked as a full-time referee in the Saskatchewan Men’s Junior Hockey League for the past three years. prior to that, she spent five years as a linesman on the same circuit. In 2019, she was part of the first all-female team to play in a Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League game.

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On the women’s side, she has worked on the international scene, culminating in last year’s women’s world championship, played in a Calgary bubble.

From that stellar presentation on the world stage came a phone call in December and an invitation to compete in the Beijing Olympics. The assignment has been a lifelong dream – and a difficult goal – for the Cudworth, Sask., native, and believe her when she says the thrill of breaking into the Olympic realm isn’t just for athletes.

“As soon as that call came, it was a whole flood of emotions,” says Lieffers. “I was jumping up and down, screaming and getting excited, then crying, because I was so anxious and waiting for the call.”

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Every on-ice official in women’s hockey competition at the Olympics is a woman. Lieffers is one of three Canadian referees chosen — the others are Elizabeth Mantha (Longueuil, Que.) and Lacy Senuk (St. Alberta, Alta.). The Canadian linesmen are Alex Clarke (Weyburn, Sask.) and Justine Todd (Smiths Falls, Ont.).

Lieffers has a laid back personality on the ice and she continues to chat with players and coaches. She can joke around with a goalie at the net between plays, for example, creating positive interactions like a hedge for when or if things get tense and she lands in the crosshairs.

She learned early on the value of thick skin in sports, and she put a lot of thought into how she behaves – reading, speaking, strategizing.

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The following season, my mother convinced me to try again, and I’m glad she did. I wouldn’t prepare to go to Beijing if it wasn’t for her

Lieffers jumped into the men’s world when she started whistling in leagues like the SJHL. Female civil servants were a rare sight; she remembers showing up at the players’ and officials’ entrance, and being told to walk around with the rest of the ticket-buying public.

“There was always this shock,” she says. “Sometimes I still get that from the odd fan; they’ll see me warming up, and they’ll look at me sideways or ask me what I’m doing, and I’ll explain to them that I’m the referee. But it’s much more normalized now.

And she’s no stranger to the difficult and often caustic situations that hockey officials routinely face.

“It took work,” she says. “When I started my career as a referee, I took a lot more things to heart. There were many more times after games where I would come home upset and thinking about some negative interaction that had happened on the ice. I found myself unable to pass him and move on to the next game. This has not been easy.

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“But I started taking these situations and looking at them, and saying ‘okay, how can I learn from this? How can I make myself better? What can I do next time to completely avoid the situation or to communicate better? What can I do on my end to resolve this conflict, so that I don’t go home feeling down about a game? It’s really helped. Conflict resolution and communication are an integral part of my game. I’m always ready to have that conversation, and it shows on the ice.

Lieffers has watched the slow and steady progress of female hockey referees advancing in the sport, and she was happy to see the American Hockey League recruit 10 female referees ahead of this season.

The Olympics have always been her dream, but now she thinks the NHL could also be a realistic goal. His next goal, once back home, would be to work games in the Western Hockey League. And, of course, to shoot for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

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She spent the weeks leading up to Beijing wading through a logistical stew: taking time off school and officiating to avoid COVID-19, filling out forms, planning PCR tests and trips, meeting regularly via Zoom with other officials.

Once in Beijing, she will get her first match assignment the day before, then she will be closely watched and evaluated as the Olympics progress.

“I’m here to do my job,” she says, “and the nerves always clear up after that anthem goes off and the puck drops and I whistle for the first time. That’s when everything settles down.

“But even if I say this now, I know there will be added pressure. Deep down I’m going to say ‘it’s the Olympics; it’s the world stage and a goal I’ve been working towards. There’s going to be that little extra pressure, the edge of the nerves there that probably won’t go away, if I’m being honest. But I’m going to prepare and make sure I’m ready for that first face-off.”

kemitchell@postmedia.com

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