Kelly Edgeworth is the man in the middle at today’s Vanier Cup in Hamilton.
The St. Albert official is the head referee for the 52nd annual the Canadian university championship.
Kickoff is 11 a.m. between the Calgary Dinos and Laval Rouge et Or at Tim Hortons Field.
Edgeworth, 55, also blew the whistle at 2012 Vanier Cup, 37-14 for Laval over the McMaster Marauders at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
The 48th Vanier Cup was played the day before the 100th Grey Cup in Toronto and the game broke the attendance record for the event with a crowd of 37,098.
“I’m looking forward to this one coming up and it did help that I did the 2012 one definitely,” Edgeworth told the Gazette before flying out to Hamilton.
“One of things I was concerned about in 2012, and every game as well, is keep your nerves down so it’s even keeled kind of going forward,” he added. “It’s all about just doing the game and getting the best from the crew and the best from the experience.”
Edgeworth wasn’t a bundle of nerves over the daunting task of officiating in his first Vanier Cup.
“I teach for a living so I’m kind bulletproof to that,” said the department head of social studies at Centre High Campus in Edmonton.
“We have a lot of CFL support in terms of officials and before that game I went and met with Bud Steen (legendary CFL official). We talked about what to expect from the stadium because he did several games there. Even something as simple as what the dressing rooms will be like was discussed.
“There is a lot of mental prep and a lot of mechanical prep for that game.”
Edgeworth will be joined by officials from across the country who also have head referee experience.
“The cool thing about the Vanier is when you get to it all the other crew mates are really well qualified officials and everyone one of us can be interchangeable in terms of which spots. This one in Hamilton has got an eighth official so if somebody was to go down we can just bring that person in seamlessly and keep going with the game,” said the top-ranked Level 4 official.
So, what does a head referee do anyway?
“He administers the game. Everything in terms of the pacing, application of fouls and coordination between everybody goes through the head referee so the time keeper and the coaching staffs and players, everything would eventually go to him,” explained Edgeworth.
The former offensive lineman and linebacker for the Bonnie Doon Lancers (“I never came off the field”) remained in the sport as a coach before accepting a request to give officiating a try.
“I coached at Bonnie Doon for three years and coached out of town for a couple of seasons and then when I was transferring from my junior high job with Edmonton public to Victoria School one of the conditions that I was excited about was that I was going to be back into coaching again and then Victoria School closed down their program so a person (Darryl Hern) I worked with was an official and said, ‘Why don’t you try officiating for awhile and see if you like it?’ and I guess I did.”
Edgeworth started officiating in 2001 and remembers his first assignment.
“It was a community league game, so probably a peewee game.”
He now averages 80 games a year.
“I enjoy the community levels all the way to the university levels,” said the familiar figure in stripes at the Riel Recreation Park football field.
“We have panels that we get selected to so in our officiating ranks, like what you see out in Louis Riel, is our regular EFOA (Edmonton Football Officials Association) guys but then there is another level which is the prairie junior, which is the Huskies and Wildcats, and then there is another level above that which does the university games and so a lot of our members are members of all the boards, like all the panels but it does get rarefied as you go up the ladder.”
A combination of consistency and having a feel for the game goes a long way towards a smoothly officiated contest.
“What we try and do is we make sure we officiate the games at the same levels for every game. There are some hiccups, like weather might a factor. Too hot is actually the most common one,” Edgeworth said. “We also understand the emotions that are in the game as players and coaches ourselves. I understand the emotions that can come forward from players and coaches themselves and knowing that is happening and have a plan as to how to deal with it is probably the hardest thing that you would have.”
The verbal abuse of officials in football is not as rough as other sports, according to Edgeworth.
“We’re different than hockey and basketball because our fields are way further away from the fans so where I am in the middle of the field it’s hard to hear everybody. That’s one thing that is a blessing,” he said.
“Probably the biggest conflict we have is the rule variance from league to league and division to division. People that watch NFL or watch CFL games, their rules are different than ours and the rules have also changed over the years so what used to be something in the past has now changed to something different like the horse-collar tackle. It’s fairly new and variance in terms of how it’s interpreted. Now everyone wants a horse-collar tackle on a high tackle but it has to meet the criteria so that’s how we have people just rolling into us in terms of ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ kind of deal.
“But we do know what we’re doing at this level. This is why it’s called this way and hockey has the same thing in terms of what the rules variances are but that’s where it’s not a frustration but it’s a fact of life that we know that a lot of people don’t really know what the infraction is and what our application is to it.”
Edgeworth is a football lifer who credits officiating for keeping him in the sport he loves.
“I played a lot of sports out of school and football was obviously a good one for me but to still be part of a team, like when I was on the coaching staff there was a team aspect of that too, but with the officiating I’m with a team that goes coast to coast now. Every time I do a game in Calgary or do a game in Quebec you’re part of the refereeing team all way across the nation,” said the 2011 recipient of Football Alberta’s Harold Ferguson Football Officials Award.
“You also don’t get any closer to the action than us. You’re in the huddle and you’re in the plays, like if the fumble is coming right towards you what are you going to do.
“There is the physical aspect too. I get in good shape by this time in the season because I’m on the field five hours a night doing doubleheaders. You’re always on the move. You would do in a night anywhere from three to 10 Ks up and down the field.
“It’s just a challenge physically and mentally to keep sharp in terms of keeping your focus and knowing the rules well.”
Edgeworth had a rare weekend off to prep for the Vanier Cup and his last game was the 80th Hardy Cup on Nov. 12 as the head referee between the UBC Thunderbirds and the Dinos in the Canada West final at Calgary. The Dinos defeated the defending Vanier Cup champions 46-43 with receiver Brendon Thera-Plamondon (two catches for 28 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown) of the St. Albert High Skyhawks and defensive back Nathan Mitchell (four tackles) of the Skyhawks and Paul Kane Blues in the lineup.
Edgeworth joins Terry Connelly and Alex Motuzas as the latest St. Albert officials selected to the Vanier Cup.
“St. Albert has had a really good run of quality officials doing the Vanier,” said Edgeworth, the 2012 recipient of Terry Connelly Memorial Award, presented annual by the Metro Edmonton High School Athletic Association to an EFOA official. Motuzas was also presented the award in 2010 and 2013.
“I’ve learned a lot from all these other guys that have been doing this before me.”
