Reverend Ref +

I HOPE I'M READY FOR THIS

This weekend is Winterfest up in Virginia City. Notice that Game 1 of the broomball tournament kicks off the weekend.

Have I mentioned that I am the head referee for this thing? I'm beginning to wonder how I allowed myself to get roped into this. Oh yeah . . . I remember . . . the librarian asked me. She knows I ref football and thought that having someone "official" out there might cut down on the violence.

For those of you who don't know, broomball is something like hockey, except played with brooms instead of sticks, a ball instead of a puck, and tennis shoes (or cross trainers or running shoes or walking shoes or Nike or NB or ... you get the idea) instead of skates. Here are some official looking rules.

I went to the library last week to pick up the rules so I could familiarize myself with them. It was frightening.

1. Two 20 minute halves.
2. No high sticking.
3. No boots.
4. Helmets are required.
5. No checking.

As kind of a rules nut, um .... these left alot to be desired. Maybe that's one of the reasons there were so many fights last year. So I found the above site and sort of ... made some up. I couldn't just use them all, because those are from an official league kind of thing. So I used my best judgement to come up with enough rules that people don't go, "Oh man -- this was supposed to be for fun," and yet took care of some rather vague areas; such as, can you use your hands?

And being the good referee that I am, I made sure to include what we affectionately call "The Jesus Rule."

"The referee shall have the authority to rule on any situation not specifically covered in these rules in the interest of sportsmanship and safety. The referee's decision in all matters pertaining to the game is final."

So -- I've got the rules. I went out and bought new sneakers today, since my old ones couldn't get traction on pavement. I've got gloves and liners. I've got ear warmers. I've got my Under Armor and my long sleeve stripes. I've got warm pants.
I hope it's enough. There is an arctic front moving in and it's supposed to be nasty cold this weekend.

As an added bonus, St. Paul's will be providing spaghetti and hot dogs on Saturday and Sunday respectively. I hope they save some for me.

I hope I survive long enough to preach on Sunday. I might change the topic of my sermon to "Forgiveness."