PRINCE GEORGE – A career in officiating nearly didn’t even happen for Grace Barlow, but as she says, her rubber arm was twisted and she reluctantly agreed to give it a shot.
Looking back now, standing before a camera after being named BC Hockey’s Official of the Year, the 23-year-old admitted she wouldn’t know where she’d be if it wasn’t for officiating.
“Officiating has been a way for me to continue to be an athlete, said Barlow. “I was an athlete since I was a child and I wanted to continue doing that. Without the focus that officiating provides me, and it gives me the drive to get up in the morning, I don’t know who I’d be or what I’d be without it. I can’t even imagine if I hadn’t been convinced to become an official, I don’t think I’d be the same person that I am today.”
The past year has been nothing short of a whirlwind for Barlow. She was a member of the first all-female officiating crew for a BCHL game, and more recently she will be travelling to Calgary for the WHL Exposure Camp, followed up by the NHL Exposure Camp in Buffalo.
While it’s her name stamped on the award of Official of the Year, Barlow admits there are a number of names that have gone into her achieving that award.
“It feels just so lovely to know that people are seeing and they’re recognizing some of my own achievements but also some of my peers’ achievements.”
