05/04/2012
It is with regret that I announce that the Philadelphia Officiating Camp will not continue in 2012. As some of you know, I am moving to Southern California at the end of this month. With that in mind, I have decided I cannot run the camp remotely the way that it needs to be run in order for it to be successful. I did not make this decision lightly, but the camp has reached such a high level of success that anything less would diminish the name.
The camp was started 11 years ago when a couple officials approached me for power skating lessons. In the first year there were 3 officials and myself working on power skating techniques for one day. During that following season word spread throughout the area officiating community and as a result more officials were asking to be a part of the camp. I asked my friend Nygel Pelltier to get involved and by the second year we had 25 participants. In one year we had grown from a handful of officials meeting at the rink one day to a camp with over two dozen participants occurring over two nights. Adding to the credibility of the camp the second year was the on and off ice instruction provided by Nygel and NHL officials Ian Walsh and Tim Nowak. Thanks to the dedication of both the instructor/support staff and participants, the camp gradually grew each year, to its all-time high of 115 campers/officials.
The camp could never have seen success it has without the hard work and passion of a lot of good people. I would like to personally thank my good friend NHL referee Ian Walsh; his passion for officiating is contagious. He was always willing to help the camp anyway he could and showed his commitment by serving as a staff member for all 11 years. I would also like to thank my friend Nygel Pelletier; his enthusiasm and love for officiating is amazing and brought fun, happiness and passion to the camp each year. I was grateful to have him on staff for 8 years until he moved back home to Ottawa.
I would also like to thank NHL officials Paul Devorski , David Banfield and Tim Nowak. These fine men volunteered time from their summers to instruct at the camp numerous times. I also must thank AHL officials Paul Carnathan, Jameel Chaudry, Leo Boylan, Chris Cozzan, Luke Murray, Chris Allman, Bob Fyrer, Paul Nichols and Aaron Lundboum. Additionally, I am grateful as well to international officials Dave Brown, John Barnard and Pat Britt who also instructed at the camp for many years. A special thanks to ECHL officials Pat Cunningham and Tim Lyons; as two former camp participants who moved up and on to pro hockey, I was very pleased to have come back as camp instructors. A final thank you to former NHL players Mitch Lamoureaux and Larry Courville for being willing to add another dimension to the camp as guest speakers.
Most importantly, I would like to express a big THANK YOU to everyone that attended the Philadelphia Officiating Camp. I ran the camp for you! Over the years, we had a lot fun, we learned a lot about officiating and as a result, quite a few officiating careers were advanced by attending the camp. I am going to miss the Philadelphia Officiating Camp, it has been a significant and rewarding part of my life.
With every ending there is a new beginning. I would like to recommend that if you are interested in attending a summer camp, please go to the Rochester Officiating Camp. (http://www.rocofficiating.com/index.html) The camp is run by Chris Woodworth; he shares the same philosophy about camp as I do. I strongly recommend Chris and his camp.
Thanks again to everyone involved in the camp over the years and if you are ever in Southern California look me up. I would love to share a pop with you.
All the best!!
Mike
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