The CARHA World Cup was held in Ottawa from March 28th to April 4th, 2004. We are please and proud that two of our referees applied for and accepted an invitation to referee in this tournament.
Referees Ready For World Cup
by JASON PETERS, Prince George Citizen Staff, March 2004
Keith King is a whistle-blower. For close to 30 years, he has been an on-ice official for all different levels of amateur hockey.
This week will stand out as a crowning, moment, in his career.
King, who turns 53 on Wednesday, is in Ottawa, working as a referee at Canadian Adult Recreational Hockey Association (CARHA) World Cup. Joining King at the 126-team tournament is fellow Prince George resident Ron MacAdams. King and MacAdams, who normally officiate in the Prince George Oldtimers Hockey Association, applied to call games at the World Cup tournament and were accepted by event organizers.
MacAdams and King had to pay their; own way to Ottawa and are getting only a small, break on their hotel bills. For each game they work, they will be paid $25. King would probably do the job completely free of charge-that's how happy he is to be experiencing an international tournament.
"This is marvellous," said King, who will see his first duties today, the opening day of the tournament. "It's going to be fantastic hockey, and seeing all these people from different countries, it's going to be marvellous. We're going to have one heck of a good time."
Keith King Ron MacAdams
The Rusty Nuts, a local 50-and-over team, are entered in the World Cup and play their first game today at 11:30 a.m. Prince George time against, the New York Apple Cores. Other teams in the 50 and over division are the Orleans Bulldogs, Michigan Sting, Lanark Beet Nuts and SC Lucerne Oldies and Friends. The top team will get bye to Saturday’s championship game while second- and third-place clubs will face each other in a semi-final playoff game on Friday.
Along with Canada and the United States, countries represented in the tournament are Finland, Hungary, Norway, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland.
King started out his officiating career in Banff. Here in Prince George he has called games from the youngest age groups in minor hockey all the way up to Prince George Spruce Kings contests. King, however, has found a true comfort zone calling oldtimers games, like the ones he’ll be working at the World Cup.
"Oldtimer hockey is fun hockey," he said. "There's good camaraderie, there are excellent games. You're skating hard, working hard and it's marvellous. You feel really good after the games are over."
King also likes the fact he never has to step between two guys who are tossing punches at each other.
"Fighting does not belong in hockey, I don’t care what anybody tells you," he said. "It doesn't and it never did before."
The first CARHA World Cup was held in Toronto in 1996. The event shifted to Vancouver for 2000. This year's tournament has attracted close to 4,500 players.
