I have to say that the area we are in for the Region I Championship is really beautiful. Above is a shot from both of the mornings here. Let me tell you that it gets *cold* here in the morning as the fog would indicate.
Despite this fact, by 11AM the heat is up ... and we are ALL baking.
Over the first two days it has been a stark reminder just how much fitness is required at a multi-day tournament like this. Each referee is generally asked to serve as a referee, and then generally as an AR for (2) more matches. These can include shorter halves for younger ages (e.g. U12) or "regular" halves for the older ages.
Now while refereeing multiple youth matches is nothing really new for a referee who has been through "the program" (a euphemism I sometimes employ to describe a referee who has transitioned from the youth to other levels of the game), to do so at this very high level of play can be daunting, and require amazing focus. It can be read in their faces and gait as they walk to a field.
That noted, the spirits are buoyed and it is so clear they love what they do.
Now sometimes silliness sets in as it did tonight at dinner and while we were waiting for the presentations to begin, some members of some delegations were counting how long it took for a plate from the buffet table to be picked up when it was done being eaten from.
No folks you just can't make this stuff up either.
It was timed to take from 8 seconds, to 22 minutes 36 seconds. We guessed an average was under 4 minutes though. It was pretty amazing, the staff at Marshall University is terrific. For the record too, we were not teasing these folks we were legitimately eating dinner and came up with this silly game to pass the time. It worked, and was indeed very silly.
Something tells me as the week continues to wear on, we will get more tired and we will have more silly games to report on.
Stay tuned ... more to come as day 3 is on the horizon.
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