Two Weyburnites were on the ice for the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers Young Stars Classic in Penticton last month, albeit in very different positions.  

While Weyburn’s Quinn Mantei was skating for the Calgary Flames, Alex Clarke took on the role of referee.  

“I actually went to the same event last year, but as a lineperson,” said Clarke. “This year I'm doing a little bit of transitioning to reffing in the American League.” 

While Clarke has done much as a linesperson, including making history by becoming the first female linesperson in WHL and CHL history, she is looking to expand into refereeing and noted that the Young Stars Classic was a great opportunity to test her skills and learn from experience. 

“Yeah, it was a development opportunity. They're more about feedback than really putting the pressure on you to do a perfect job at those tournaments, so I felt like I learned a lot, and coming in as a less experienced referee, I felt like that was what was expected of me to learn and grow for the course of the weekend,” she said. “It was a little nerve-wracking. But it's a fairly controlled environment. The players are there to show their skills not to get in trouble. So it's a really safe place to learn and to try reffing.” 

She noted that the opportunities for the refs are also similar to those of the players 

“So similar to how players get the opportunity to go and be seen by their NHL teams and scouts and whatnot, it's pretty much the same for the officials as we get invited by the NHL as an opportunity for them to watch us and for us to get exposed to a high level of hockey and development. And so I was asked about a month prior to the tournament if I'd be able to attend. And we go, we get brought in direct by the NHL officiating department and then we have a NHL officiating coach there with us as well.” 

She also noted that the tournament presented the opportunity to be a part of some incredible hockey.  

“You have some of those best players from the Western Hockey League and some of those really talented players from the American Hockey League all sharing the ice together. It's such a clean, crisp game. It moves at a different speed and it's fun because you know that you're sharing the ice with those players who are the best in the world, but you don't know which of those players are going to be those big, big names in a few years. So five years, 10 years, they'll look back and be able to say you were on the ice.” 

One of those players was Weyburn’s Quinn Mantei. 

“It was funny.  I knew he was going to be there, but we were on the ice for his game and he looked over to me at one point and he goes, hey, you're from Weyburn, right? And I'm like, yeah, he goes, me too. And I'm like I know. So it was it was funny that he made that connection in the middle of that game.” 

Clarke noted that although she is looking to move to the American League and do more as a referee, it isn’t always easy to balance this work and home.  

“Honestly, it's this balancing act and our motto is divide and conquer,” she said of her and her husband and their family. “Unfortunately, we're usually divided in order to conquer, but I'm a big fan of you can kind of have your cake and eat it too, but there's a lot of other sacrifices you have to make. So right now has just been a lot.” 

She did note, however, that sacrifices have not been in vain as she believes the work that she and others have put in being linespeople and referees will open doors for future generations.  

“We've opened a lot in the last few years and I already feel like we've made progress and I've made things easier on myself. In terms of my experience from having my first child to having a second child, and then the stigma and the expectations. So that's just my goal is to make that process easier for women in general, but also for women who are deciding to start families on top of it.” 

She added that it is also a great opportunity for females who grew up playing hockey and want to enjoy the sport in a different way.  

“When I came through playing there, there wasn't anything past college. Really. I had never seen other avenues outside of just being a player, but now it's fun to explore those other avenues and to advocate. I think it’s really cool for people to see that you can pursue a career and other aspects of the sport, other than just being a female player.” 

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