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A referee from Saskatchewan is about to hit the ice at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
Alex Clarke, who hails from the small community of Drake, east of Saskatoon, made history by becoming the first woman to become a referee in the WHL. Clarke went on to officiate women’s hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and four years later she is once again serving as a linesperson at the Winter Olympics.
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She joined The Greg Morgan Morning Show on 980 CJME on Wednesday to discuss her journey ahead of the first women’s hockey games at the Olympics on Thursday.
Listen to the full interview with Clarke, or read the transcript below:
The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
GREG MORGAN: You were born and raised in Drake, which is not too far from Watrous. Is that where you began playing hockey as a wee little Alex?
ALEX CLARKE: I don’t even know how old I was when I started. Five or six years old. I got on the ice and started playing hockey with the boys. I would say I played for 16 years.
You did it on both sides of the border, too, right? You played here in Canada and you went to the U.S.?
CLARKE: I did four years of college down in Duluth, Minnesota, where I got my education and played, and that’s kind of why I ended my career.
When did you become a linesperson in the WHL?
CLARKE: I started in the 2021-22 seasons, so this will be my fifth year coming up where I’m working in the WHL.
Do you remember what was going through your head when you stepped on the ice in your first WHL game 10 years ago?
CLARKE: I don’t think I could have been more nervous, to be honest. It was a bit of an overwhelming process, so there were a lot of nerves, but it was exciting because I had some good support there for me.
Here we are today. You’re going to Italy because you’re that good at what you do – at being a liney. Tell me about this opportunity. How did it come about?
CLARKE: I started officiating competitively back in the 2015-16 season and getting to this point has been a 10-year journey, truly. Our selection process is very similar to players in that you get evaluated provincially first, recommended to the national program, compete at the national-program level, then you get recommended internationally. And it’s when you’re in the international system that you truly get evaluated and ranked up per division, eventually getting selected and “making the team” for the Olympic roster.
You have two young children and you’re on the farm. How does this all add up in your household for life?
CLARKE: That is a great question. Most days it doesn’t really, truly add up. I think I’ve taken the mentality of embracing the chaos, because every day is just chaos.
You don’t do just the WHL. What other leagues are you in?
CLARKE: Skating internationally, I referee in the PWHL, the American Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. I skate a bunch of SJHL and Women’s Youth Sport and then some lower, triple-A divisions as well, around Saskatchewan.
So what kind of impact are you hoping your journey here has on the next generation of girls coming up in hockey?
CLARKE: Throughout this whole journey, the last four years of breaking barriers, I just hope that girls see the opportunity in sport on the female and the male side of the game. It’s been highlighted a lot in all sports recently, but very much so on the player side and the athlete side, and I just encourage people to see beyond that, because there’s opportunity in all facets of the game to continue your journey.
