I would like to share with all of you the good news we received today. We will be officiating the third round game between Ivory Coast vs Australia on the 13Th of August in Tianjin. Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement through out our Olympic experience.
Thank you
Jair
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Nearing the end of the first round
The final assignments are out for the first round women's matches today.
As you know team USA had Brazil v Germany on the first day of the tournament. We received positive feedback from our assessors and colleagues alike.
You probably figured out we didn’t get a match on the second day (sans post); a nice few days of recovery. And now for the final day of matches in the group stages Kari has been assigned the 4th official of China v Argentina. Marlene and Veronica will be enjoying a few more days of recovery.
Keep your fingers crossed for us for the next rounds of matches.
Go Team USA
As you know team USA had Brazil v Germany on the first day of the tournament. We received positive feedback from our assessors and colleagues alike.
You probably figured out we didn’t get a match on the second day (sans post); a nice few days of recovery. And now for the final day of matches in the group stages Kari has been assigned the 4th official of China v Argentina. Marlene and Veronica will be enjoying a few more days of recovery.
Keep your fingers crossed for us for the next rounds of matches.
Go Team USA
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Match day one
August 6, 2008
Today we depart for the city of Qinhuangdao, by train the 7 of us are taken to the train station and we are placed in an area and surrounded by security people that do not allow people to enter, then we board and ride the train for 2 hours to the city, with uniformed security people on the train with us and then we were met by more of the event staff for the venue. They take us by police escort to the hotel and we are greeted by the hotel staff, They have people there that present each of us with flowers and a ovation as we enter the hotel people are standing on the second floor. And then we are taken to our room and we enjoy dinner in the hotel.
Match day
We depart the hotel at 5:30 for a 10 minute trip. The bus has a police escort that radios ahead we are comi
ng and they stop all traffic at any intersection to ensure we arrive without an
y problems. People are standing on the streets as we pass by watching us. The first game is going on as we enter so we head to the locker room and begin to prepare for the match. We begin to change and put on the belts for the communication device we have to help each other, put the device in the belts and the earpiece taped on our face and neck to keep it from moving around. Game went very good ended in a tie and we had one caution and one send off.It was very HOT and HUMID!!!!!!!
8-8-08
We travel back to Beijing in hopes of getting to the opening cermonies. As you have read before disappointment set in for our trio. We had to stay in the hotel and watch from the TV. FIFA did not have tickets for us and since Jair had to leave for ShangHai on 8-9-08 FIFA said he had to stay and We were not back when the bus left so we had to stay at the hotel as per directions from the bosses.
So for first match great game great experience great time.
Jair, Kermit
Friday, August 8, 2008
The Games of the 29th Olympics, Official Kick-Off
8-8-08 at 8pm, the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. If you haven't figured it out by now, 8 is a lucky number in China. And Marlene, Veronica and I were getting a bit of that Chinese luck on Friday. We were one of the few who didn't have match conflicts and were given the amazing opportunity to attend the much anticipated opening ceremonies. We were disappointed all of team USA couldn't be in attendance, but we took plenty of pictures to share.
There is no way in words to describe the feeling of being a part of this awesome spectacle of unity, beauty and human ingenuity. It was one “wow” moment after another and I nearly lost my voice cheering over and over for 5 hours straight. We are now officially part of the Olympic Games and extremely proud of representing team USA.
Enjoy the wonderful photos and feel the Olympic spirit yourself as you experience the games on TV.
There is no way in words to describe the feeling of being a part of this awesome spectacle of unity, beauty and human ingenuity. It was one “wow” moment after another and I nearly lost my voice cheering over and over for 5 hours straight. We are now officially part of the Olympic Games and extremely proud of representing team USA.
Enjoy the wonderful photos and feel the Olympic spirit yourself as you experience the games on TV.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
First Olympic Match!
We returned to Beijing this afternoon and we are exhausted from travel and last night’s match. As wide eyed first timers, we wanted to share a little bit about our experience.
With a long way to go, we were the first crew to depart Beijing. Our fellow referees gave us a send off we will never forget, cheering and clapping for us. It was an unexpected moment of solidarity that reminded us we have a football family rooting for our success. Upon arrival at Shenyang, we went on a short tour of the city and the Government Municipal Square. Many of the city residents take part in physical activities such as dancing, skateboarding, and jump roping on the square. In fact, there were a few thousand people at the square that night. Walking around the square was a perfect activity for us as we had a chance to see a local summer pastime and walking is a good way to loosen the muscles after flying.
We began preparing in earnest for the match by watching part of the World Cup Final from 2007 and discussing styles of play and strategies for dealing with specific situations. The next morning, we continued preparations with a pre-game at the hotel with our Argentinean fourth official. Veronica’s fluency in Spanish really came in handy to avoid misunderstandings in instructions.
Entering the stadium brought home the reality of participating in the Olympics. We went through the normal pregame preparations of walking the field and warming up, with the added step of testing the electronic equipment including the communication system, flags, and electronic sub board. We walked onto the field to the cheers of tens of thousands of fans. As the game began, we forced ourselves to ignore the distractions of the crowd and focus on the task at hand. Through the course of the game, we learned when to communicate vital information via the electronic system as well as when Kari was speaking to us and not to a player. At the end of the game, we were all drenched with sweat from the high heat and humidity. Although we were tired, we also experienced the exhilaration of working in a stadium with so many people, officiating the reigning World Cup champion and the runner up, and officiating at our first FIFA tournament. We were very fortunate to work our first game with a referee as experienced as Kari to help us with all the small protocols we never even thought of and calmed our nerves a bit with her confidence. 
As we all worked on the first match, we will not have assignments on Aug. 9th. This means that we will be going to the Olympic Opening Ceremony at the Bird’s Nest Stadium. We hear there will be around 15,000 performers who will take part in the ceremony. It will be a spectacular event bound to be one of the best in the Olympic history.
We are still pumped up from the match and the realization that we are now officially Olympians! As you probably know, the game ended in a scoreless draw. Last night was an incredible experience! Wu Lihe Stadium is a beautiful brand new stadium redone specifically for the Olympics. The crowd in the stadium was quite loud and there were several moments during the match where our communication system was quite useful.
With a long way to go, we were the first crew to depart Beijing. Our fellow referees gave us a send off we will never forget, cheering and clapping for us. It was an unexpected moment of solidarity that reminded us we have a football family rooting for our success. Upon arrival at Shenyang, we went on a short tour of the city and the Government Municipal Square. Many of the city residents take part in physical activities such as dancing, skateboarding, and jump roping on the square. In fact, there were a few thousand people at the square that night. Walking around the square was a perfect activity for us as we had a chance to see a local summer pastime and walking is a good way to loosen the muscles after flying.
We began preparing in earnest for the match by watching part of the World Cup Final from 2007 and discussing styles of play and strategies for dealing with specific situations. The next morning, we continued preparations with a pre-game at the hotel with our Argentinean fourth official. Veronica’s fluency in Spanish really came in handy to avoid misunderstandings in instructions.
We left for the stadium in a bus right behind Brazil and Germany. 
While we waited for the bus, the Brazilian men’s team departed to train and watch the match (Ronaldinho walked right past us!). With our police escort, we drove to the stadium while the locals waved.
Entering the stadium brought home the reality of participating in the Olympics. We went through the normal pregame preparations of walking the field and warming up, with the added step of testing the electronic equipment including the communication system, flags, and electronic sub board. We walked onto the field to the cheers of tens of thousands of fans. As the game began, we forced ourselves to ignore the distractions of the crowd and focus on the task at hand. Through the course of the game, we learned when to communicate vital information via the electronic system as well as when Kari was speaking to us and not to a player. At the end of the game, we were all drenched with sweat from the high heat and humidity. Although we were tired, we also experienced the exhilaration of working in a stadium with so many people, officiating the reigning World Cup champion and the runner up, and officiating at our first FIFA tournament. We were very fortunate to work our first game with a referee as experienced as Kari to help us with all the small protocols we never even thought of and calmed our nerves a bit with her confidence. As we all worked on the first match, we will not have assignments on Aug. 9th. This means that we will be going to the Olympic Opening Ceremony at the Bird’s Nest Stadium. We hear there will be around 15,000 performers who will take part in the ceremony. It will be a spectacular event bound to be one of the best in the Olympic history.
Marlene and Veronica
Monday, August 4, 2008
Happy Birthday Marlene
Today, Monday August 4th is Marlene's birthday. What a wonderful place to spend your birthday - the Olympic Games 2008. FIFA shared with her a wonderful suprise and was met with singing in many different languages. Happy Birthday!
All the assignments are out
Actually all the assignments are out and the USA will be represented by a trio in the Germany v Brazil match on Aug 6th. Yes, the same match up as the final of the Women's World Cup 2007. On Aug. 5th Kari, Marlene & Veronica fly to Shengyang where, on the following day, we'll be officiating in a stadium designed to seat 60,000 people and rumored to be a sell-out!
We are thrilled and can't wait to kick-off this wonderful event with a great performance by the USA officiating crew.
Thank you everyone for all your support - go USA.
We are thrilled and can't wait to kick-off this wonderful event with a great performance by the USA officiating crew.
Thank you everyone for all your support - go USA.
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