B-Pool play begins

Monday, January 30th - B-Pool play begins
While up late, sleep was interrupted by some noisy upstairs neighbors, but still was sharp for the days morning match. Typical breakfast plus a bowl of porridge with some diced apples, raisins and walnuts.
Met Russian referee team mates in lobby at 10:00 for the police escorted mini-bus ride to the Central Stadium and the start of Group B play. The bandy rink is set up on the practice field next to the soccer stadium. Four portable refrigeration units have been set up to feed the coils under the rink. The ice is quite fast, but there are a couple of lumpy bits, and one corner has a slight bump.  All in all, the venue is a very nice urban setting with some relatively new residential high rises towering a few blocks away.

 Security Cordon at the perimeter of the bandy rink

 Additional police presence and view of the massive cantilever support for the soccer stadium canopy

The long walk from locker room to the rink (with skate guards on)

 The smog is still thick enough to cut with a knife as the workday traffic contributes quite an inversion, similar to what Salt Lake City might experience - nestled right at the foot of the mountains. This morning, I could make out the television tower and the snow covered peaks thru the haze, but by the time we left for the match, they were completely obscured. I am glad the temperature is reasonable (just below freezing).
The tournament is using mixed referee crews, and I am the only American among three other Russians, so communication by the two-way radios will be impossible for me to understand. No matter, for our game is controlled by a system for control, and by making constant eye contact with my head referee, we are able to do a good job of controlling the game. The game features the Netherlands versus Latvia with many of the players coming from hockey background. This resulted in seven penalties (70 minutes) in the first half. The referee made correct decisions in all situations, and the players responded. There were zero penalties in the second forty-five minutes. The run of play seemed much closer than the scoreline, as the Dutch won by quite a large margin. A very nice Russian referee tradition that I was exposed to was that just before going out to the rink, the whole crew take a seat and have a moment of silent contemplation. This is something that I believe is quite nice and beneficial for the crew as a whole. This is also done before going out for the second half.
Post-game, we found the oppulent referee room quite crowded, as the crew for the next game had arrived and begun their preparation. Therefore, we did not go thru our assessment with the match delegate. We plan to review our match at the hotel after lunch (which has become an identical buffet - difficult to determine whether it is lunch or dinner time). Lunch is complete at 15:00 and I retire to my room (USA ref teammates have game at Central stadium). I draw myself a hot bath, and begin a soak and use the time to do some washing of the tech undershirts for use tomorrow. After the hot tub, I decide to put on the slippers (and underwear) and step out on the frigid balcony ... what a great way to finish off soak.
Eric has heard of a grocery market a few blocks to the east, so we head out to find some more malty provisions. As these trips evolve, it seems that each day we find better and better grocery shopping. Today, we find a store with a distinct German flavor. It is complete with a small kiosk with a woman filling bottles with fresh tap beer (Fifth-Ocean.com). I decide on a one liter bottle for T560 (US$3.75) and a couple of local beers. We also get a box of muselix bars, for there will be some full bandy days with out access to our hotel lunch.
With a long day of bandy tomorrow, I decide to stay in hotel room and watch USA vs Kazakhstan on the television. It is quite nice to watch our game on TV, a luxury that comes at times very few and far between. The weather has turned a bit, and there is a beautiful snowfall at the Medeu Stadium. After the match (21:00) I head for the banquet room for dinner, and begin to write todays blog entry. Soon, however, I am joined by the Finish referee crew, and we enjoy some cammeraderie and conversation.
Dinner time flys by and soon we must break for the evenings meeting begins at 22:30. The days games are all reviewed in the conference room that is full with twenty two referees, and five supervisors. Each game is reviewed by the Supervisor with comments that the rest of us can take some education. Even as these refrees are the best in the world, we can all learn something after each and every game (and some of us, more so than others). The assignments for the day after next are indicated, whih takes us thru Thursday matches and the run up to the Semi-Finals and Qualification games between the groups.