Laura White Profile - Lady Zebra Home Ice

Back in 1996, two friends of mine from Team Abbey wanted to start officiating. At the time, they said you could make a ton of money per game for just one hour's worth of work. Sounded like a good idea, so I tagged along. My two friends never reffed a game, but I haven't stopped. I ref women's, co-ed and kids. I have recently started to ref some pretty high level games, including the recent Tier Championship for kids. Hopefully this April I will be going to Minnesota to officiate the Girls/Women's Finals, and hopefully on to Elite camp this summer in Lake Placid, NY.

Why did you become an ice hockey official?
At first, it was the money. Now I do it for fun. I love the sport and love to be involved. It is also a way to challenge myself, making myself a better official and a better person. I've met a lot of great people that I am proud to call friends through officiating as well.

What's the best thing about being an ice hockey official?
The camaraderie. Being involved in the sport.

What's the worst thing about being an ice hockey official?
The whining and bitching from the coaches. It's actually funny sometimes when they whine and haven't got a clue as to what they are talking about. It's made me a stronger person to be able to deal with that aspect of the game.

How do you think being a woman has affected your career, good or bad, as an official?
I think it took a while for the other officials to warm up to me. I feel that once I proved I knew what I was doing, they accepted me as one of the team. I still feel sometimes I have to work twice as hard every game to prove to the coaches and players that I belong out there. It helps that I have had some great mentors to help me along the way, to help me know what to expect and how to handle things.

What are your goals as an official?
Basically, I want to be the best official I can be. That is a very limitless goal, but that's good because I will never stop working on improving. I want to get into the National Officiating system, do college games, and maybe, God willing, international games.

Relate a memorable event you've had as an official.
The one thing that always sticks out in my mind didn't happen while I was an official, but a spectator. I was at a Sharks game and Vinny Damphousse fell. The official that night did not make the call, because there was no call to make. But 17,495 people at the Arena thought otherwise and let him have it. As the boos rained down on the official, I thought, "If this guy can handle 17,000 people booing him, I can handle the 10 I usually get." It was an epiphany of sorts, and it's something I'll never forget.

I started roller blading while trying to hold a stick and shoot pucks when the Sharks came to town. Just went to the local school and goofed around. All of a sudden one day, I decided to actually play, bought skates and stuff at Play it Again Sports and on Tax Day 1995, my life was changed. I had my first "Adult Hockey" lesson at the Ice Centre and it's been nothing but fun the whole way. I soon joined NCWHL, and met new friends who had decided to form their own team called Team Abbey. We started as an all-women team at the Ice Centre playing against teams where 99% of the players were guys. We now play at the Fremont Iceoplex, soon to move to the Intermediate Level.