From the Olympics to the Scotties, curling ref has seen it all
Working as a physical education teacher and liking the rules of sports are two things that have contributed to Dianne Barker’s continued interest as a curling referee over the past 34 years.
“I love working with the athletes, I really do, whether they’re the juniors or high-performance athletes … ,” said Barker, a native of Kamloops, British Columbia, who was the chief umpire for the 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Moose Jaw. “I wanted to give back to curling. Curling has been good to me.”
Barker began her career as an official in 1986, which was the same year that TSN curling commentator Vic Rauter began calling games. Since then, Barker has umpired at the Olympics in Vancouver, Sochi, Russia, and Pyeongchang, South Korea, while she has refereed at several world championships; she will umpire her third world championship tournament in Canada in Prince George, B.C., from March 14 to 22.
As the Scotties’ chief umpire, Barker had a team under her that was responsible for the matches, including timers and on-ice officials. Her responsibility was to ensure they were prepared and to ensure everything ran smoothly.
Most of the umpires were from Saskatchewan, while one was from Whitehorse, Yukon. Everyone was a volunteer, which meant they took time off work to officiate. While there can be some expenses volunteers incur, Barker noted Curling Canada attempts to mitigate those costs by looking after hotels and transportation costs. There are great people in the curling umpire program across Canada, she continued. Whenever she is invited to act as chief umpire, she has found many referees have been well trained and were a pleasure to work with. “I just enjoy what I do or I wouldn’t keep doing it,” she laughed.
Preparation is the best way to avoid major stress, Barker said. She attempts to prepare for tournaments ahead of time and to look at all the possible situations that might arise. With the amount of experience she has, she noted with a laugh that she has come through most of the situations she has faced.
“I’m the last line of defence,” she continued. “If something happens out there and the athletes and coaches aren’t happy with it, then it falls on my shoulders to solve that issue, and hopefully, we do it to everybody’s satisfaction.”
Barker didn’t mind being a mediator, pointing out she is a mother. What makes the curling role interesting is there is something new to mediate every day.
For example, during this Scotties, a measurement found the difference in the position of rocks was fractional. She therefore ruled that a different player from each team had to throw again. While her on-ice umpire probably knew that, she thought he simply wanted her opinion as a backup.
“And that’s how the rulebook evolves. Things come up that aren’t in there and then you have to come up with the process,” she said.
Some of Barker’s most endearing memories come from the Olympics and judgments given there. Sponsorship and the use of technology are always issues, so in Vancouver, she had to rule on whether advertising was allowed on belt buckles. In Sochi, athletes were banned from wearing Apple watches since they could be used to cheat.
Barker is unsure if she will officiate at the 2022 Beijing Olympics since Chinese officials must send her an invitation first.
“I’ve had the opportunity to be at three. If they didn’t ask me this time, I’d be OK … ,” she added. “There are a lot of great umpires in Canada who would enjoy the opportunity to, and when you’ve had three chances, it’s pretty special. If I got a fourth, that would be wonderful.”