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Big year for Rankin Inlet ref Darrell Greer Northern News Services Published Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Now in his ninth year as a Hockey North official, MacDonald, 24, will be officiating at his second Arctic Winter Games (AWG) event this coming March in Whitehorse, Yukon. He will be the only Nunavut hockey official at the Games. MacDonald also earned his Level 4 designation this year, becoming only the third Nunavut official to hold the highest rating available in the Hockey North branch. MacDonald said he enjoyed his first AWG in Yellowknife in 2008. A bad experience with a tournament scheduler kept him away from the 2010 Games (MacDonald was assigned as a linesman before the scheduler had ever seen him officiate), but he said that did nothing to curb his enthusiasm towards this year. "I loved taking part in the Yellowknife AWG," said MacDonald. "It had a great atmosphere and it was a real learning experience for me. "The problems I had in 2010 were mainly because of one scheduler, not the AWG themselves. "I worked the bantam gold medal game in Yellowknife and I'm looking forward to doing my best in Whitehorse." MacDonald said he was pumped and excited when he obtained his Level 4 certification this year. He said the higher level means more responsibility, so he's going to keep hitting the books to stay on top of everything. "I've always tried to show respect for being an official and follow all the rules and guidelines. "Being a Level 4 won't change my respect for the officiating program, the players and calling the game." MacDonald rarely turns down an invitation to officiate at a sanctioned tournament, and has called more than 100 games each of the past four seasons. He said he still gets as pumped for an event now as he did when he first started. "I really enjoy going to the rinks and I still get the butterflies before a big game. "Like most refs, I look forward to seeing my name put in for a big game because that tells me I'm doing good. "But when I see someone else's name there, I know they deserve it. "I'll always encourage that person 100 per cent to do a great job."
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