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INUVIK - Volleyball is a part of Clara Allen's life and she plans on keeping it that way for years to come.

"I just love the game," she said.

A former player of the sport, Allen now stays in the middle of the action perched high above the court as an official.

From left, Paulatuk player Georgina Wolki, Inuvik player Jacinta Larocque and official Clara Allen talk before the start of a championship game during this past weekend's volleyball tournament. Allen stays involved in the sport by officiating local games. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

From her viewpoint high up beside the net, Allen said she looks for scored points and also makes sure the players obey the rules.

Allen served as referee in this past weekend's tournament held at Samuel Hearne secondary school.

This is the third annual event at the high school and Allen officiated at all of them.

After looking at the scorecards, Allen calculated the number of games she had officiated in this most recent tournament.

"With three games left to go, right now I'm on my match 28 right now in the finals for the junior girls," she said.

"It's good to see the youth out. They should always be involved in some sport or physical activity," she said.

Allen said she has 30 years of experience in the sport, as a player and later as an official.

Before the day of championship games got to a start, Allen ran over some housekeeping items with vice-principal Lorne Guy and pinned a badge to her shirt.

"This is my Volleyball Canada referee badge," she said.

Allen said getting certified is easy as long as you know the rules and the general ins and outs of the game.

"I've been certified for over 10 years," she said.

Staying involved in the sport is important for Allen because she has roots in the game from her high school years.

Allen said she started with the high school team and continuing her playing career through the senior women's program.

She said the past three years of tournaments remind her of the glory days of the sport in the region, when games with other communities were more common.

"We'd have regional events like this and the communities would bring in their teams for the weekend," she said.