After an incomplete day yesterday, today everyone finally arrived! The energy instantly shifted. Honestly, being at this camp feels like a totally different experience. Most of my refereeing development has been in Europe, but now, with colleagues from outside the continent, the levels and styles of officiating are very different… and you can really feel it! Yesterday, I’ll admit, I felt a bit “out of place,” still trying to get used to the pace and the environment.

But today, thanks to the sessions and the incredible support from the instructors  who wake up early and are always there to help! — everything went much more smoothly. We started communicating better, supporting each other, and improving as a team.

During Toby’s session, one sentence from one of my colleagues really stuck with me:

“We need to change our mindset from training game to official game.”

So simple, but powerful — and it really sums up what we need to do moving forward.

In the evening, after dinner (good thing nobody had anything to drink ), we had the most fun part of the day: a video session with clips from yesterday’s games. It was full of laughter, jokes, and moments that brought us even closer together as a group. Such a great team spirit!

And that’s how we wrapped up the day — with valuable lessons, good laughs, and a growing sense of unity.

I want to say a huge thank you to the instructors for their patience, dedication, and constant support.

And also to my fellow referees — we have an amazing group, where everyone motivates each other. If you ever get the chance, come to this camp. It’s not just about refereeing — it’s about growing together in such a comfortable and inspiring environment!

By Lisha Guo