With less than one month until puck drop in China, meet the five Canadian officials who will represent our country in women’s hockey at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games
As the start of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games draws closer, Canada’s
Women’s Olympic Team is busy preparing to compete, but those 23 players
won’t be the only Canadians on the ice in Beijing.
Alex Blair, Cianna Lieffers, Elizabeth Mantha, Lacey Senuk and Justine Todd
have been chosen to represent Canada at the Olympics and officiate the
women’s hockey tournament. Before the puck drops next month, get to know
the quintet who will wear black and white in Beijing.
Alex Blair (Linesperson)
Hometown: Drake, Sask.
Blair began officiating when she was 11 years old as a way to spend more
time on the ice. After she graduated from university, she restarted her
officiating journey to stay connected to the game she loves.
“I think with anything in sports, it’s all the people that you meet along
the way,” Blair says. “People don’t understand that officiating is a team
sport, too. You have your own teammates, and you build a lot of
relationships with other officials throughout your journey.”
Blair became the first woman to officiate in the Western Hockey League
(WHL) in September 2021 and she is one of the first to officiate in the
American Hockey League (AHL). Looking back on her journey so far, one of
her most memorable games was officiating a Rivalry Series game between
Canada’s National Women’s Team and the United States in 2017.
“That was my first international exposure, but it was to a sold-out crowd in Edmonton,” she says. “That was where opportunity and
officiating became a real-life thing for me.”
Outside of hockey, Blair works as a financial lender for Credit Canada and
has a two-year-old daughter. She is thrilled to have achieved her goal of
working at the Olympics.
“As cliché as it is, it’s just a dream come true.”
Cianna Lieffers (Referee)
Hometown: Cudworth, Sask.
Growing up in a town of about 800 people, Lieffers grew up playing many
sports, including volleyball, track and field, and basketball. As the
middle child and only girl, she was inspired to try hockey because of her
brothers.
“I played on a boys’ team with my younger brother. As soon as my older
brother started to ref hockey, I had to follow in his footsteps,” she says.
Now in her 11th season of officiating, Lieffers works with five leagues…
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