Marina Zenk was a woman of the firsts in officiating.
The IIHF had started a Women’s World Championship in 1990, but for the first several iterations it featured mostly men as both referees and linesmen. In part, this was because there simply wasn’t the cohort of women officials with suitable experience, but after 1990 it became clear women were needed in this capacity.
By 1997, the IIHF believed women were ready not just to play the game at the highest level but also to officiate – on their own. And so, the 1997 Worlds in Kitchener, Ontario, were the first to provide only women as both referees and linesmen.
The first nod, though, must go to Deb Maybury, who was the only female referee at the first World Women’s in 1990, in Ottawa. In 1992 and 1994, more women were added to the list of officials, and in 1997, it was all women.
The last man to referee a WW game was Sweden’s Robert Lahti in 1994, and the first woman to referee the gold medal game was Sandra Dombrowski of Switzerland, who had the whistle in both 1992 and again two years later.
But 1997 was different. Every game was officiated by an entirely female crew, starting with Marina Zenk, on 31 March 1997, when she skated onto the ice for the opening game for that year’s WW between Norway and the United States. Later that tournament, Dombrowski again reffed the gold medal game, her third in a row.
Zenk was a special person in WW history. She was nominated for the 1998 Olympics the following year and was the first ref of a women’s game there as well. At the end, both Dombrowski and German Manuela Groger-Schneider were both feeling ill, so referee supervisor Bob Nadin gave the gold medal game to Zenk. This was the first time either a Canadian or American had officiated a game between the two countries, but Zenk’s performance was exemplary. A year later, she repeated her duties at the ’99 gold game between the North Americans.
Nevertheless, 1997 represents a watershed event for the women, and from that day to this, only women have officiated at the Women’s Worlds and in Olympic women’s ice hockey.
Click here for the overview of stories.
By 1997, the IIHF believed women were ready not just to play the game at the highest level but also to officiate – on their own. And so, the 1997 Worlds in Kitchener, Ontario, were the first to provide only women as both referees and linesmen.
The first nod, though, must go to Deb Maybury, who was the only female referee at the first World Women’s in 1990, in Ottawa. In 1992 and 1994, more women were added to the list of officials, and in 1997, it was all women.
The last man to referee a WW game was Sweden’s Robert Lahti in 1994, and the first woman to referee the gold medal game was Sandra Dombrowski of Switzerland, who had the whistle in both 1992 and again two years later.
But 1997 was different. Every game was officiated by an entirely female crew, starting with Marina Zenk, on 31 March 1997, when she skated onto the ice for the opening game for that year’s WW between Norway and the United States. Later that tournament, Dombrowski again reffed the gold medal game, her third in a row.
Zenk was a special person in WW history. She was nominated for the 1998 Olympics the following year and was the first ref of a women’s game there as well. At the end, both Dombrowski and German Manuela Groger-Schneider were both feeling ill, so referee supervisor Bob Nadin gave the gold medal game to Zenk. This was the first time either a Canadian or American had officiated a game between the two countries, but Zenk’s performance was exemplary. A year later, she repeated her duties at the ’99 gold game between the North Americans.
Nevertheless, 1997 represents a watershed event for the women, and from that day to this, only women have officiated at the Women’s Worlds and in Olympic women’s ice hockey.
Click here for the overview of stories.