WATCH: Canada won’t just have players at the upcoming Women’s World Cup…there will be a couple of referees as well, including a local woman. Michelle Pye who has worked games all over the world and now gets a spot on the biggest stage there is. Jay Janower reports.
With Canada’s Women’s World Cup just weeks away, it’s not just the players furiously training to get in top condition.
“You’ve been working so hard, and training so hard, and the fact we’re a week-and-a-half away from getting into the camp, the pre-tournament camp, I’m ready for it,” says Michelle Pye.
Pye, born in Kamloops, is one of four Canadians among the 73 referees for the World Cup, which begins June 6. To prepare, she’s been working out at least six days a week to get rid of 60 pounds of post-baby fat, and has temporarily left her job as a Vancouver teacher to fully dedicate herself to preparing for the games ahead.
“It’s going to be a lot of pressure, but I think the group of women that is together, there’s 73 of us, we’re such a team and a family, I’m really looking forward to that,” she says.
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Pye joins Carol Anne Chénard as main referees from Canada, while fellow Canucks Marie-Josée Charbonneau and Suzanne Morisset will be assistant referees.
Chénard, who was the lone Canadian referee at the 2011 Germany World Cup and the 2012 Olympics, knows the training only means so much when the games begin.
“Really it doesn’t matter how many games you’ve done or how many videos or how many matches you’ve watched, the same thing never happens twice. That’s the beauty of soccer. That’s what makes it really exciting,” she says.
The all-female officials list represents 49 countries from Argentina to Zambia. The 24-country World Cup runs June 6 to July 5 in Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Pye knows the chance to referee on the game’s highest stage in her home country is an opportunity she’ll never forget.
“I have a gift of a beautiful family, a great husband, a great life and on top of that, I get to go to a World Cup. Who could not love that?,” she says.
“There’s part of me that’s got that nervous anticipation, but also I’m really excited.”
– With files from Canadian Press
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