For Weyburn’s Alex Clarke, the phone call was one that made a dream come true. It was the call to let her know she had been selected by the International Ice Hockey Federation to be one of the linespersons for the upcoming women’s hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. 

“I was waiting for it for a few months, and we knew it was coming for a few months so just to finally get the yes or no it was such a relief, and obviously a good one with the yes being the answer that I got,” Clarke told Discover Weyburn.  

The past year has been a whirlwind of a year for Clarke.  

In addition to being selected for the Winter Olympics, she officiated at the Women’s World Hockey Championships in Calgary, became the first woman hired to officiate in the WHL, was one of ten women hired to officiate in the AHL, has worked games in the SJHL, and has also worked minor hockey games in Weyburn and the surrounding area. 

Add to that the responsibilities of a full-time job, and being a mom. 

“Busy is just what it is, it's busy and I have a really good support system so I’ve been able to embrace every opportunity that’s come my way,” Clarke added. “I’m very grateful for all of them at the same time.” 

Clarke leaves for China on January 29th, and the tournament will start on February 3rd. The preliminary round goes until the 8th, with the quarterfinals on February 11th and 12, the semifinals on the 14th, the bronze medal game on the 16th and the gold medal game on the 17th.  

Clarke doesn’t know what her schedule will be yet, but she does know she won’t likely be working any of the Canadian games. During the Olympics, those responsible for assigning the officials strive to make sure the referees and linespersons don’t work any games involving their own country. 

You can listen to the complete interview with Clarke here: