Hey There! A Bit About Me:
I was that brand-new 16-year-old kid who had just been certified, refereeing her first finals match. I was a young female, trying to transfer my confidence as a player to my confidence in making calls as a referee, with my red-flushed cheeks betraying my composure, giving away my nerves.
Due to the development model at the time, and whether a clinic for each level was even being held that year, I had to go to Lethbridge to get my level 1 badge, Edmonton to get my level 2 badge, and then finally get my level 3 badge in Calgary.
I've hit that red tape administratively in recent years as ZRL, with many requests to head office for the development funds my referees paid into, being rejected.
I've personally spoken to at least 50 referees, for at least 20 minutes, within just my first 6 months with UCVA, asking what the issues and opportunities are to improve this refereeing function. I have a subcommittee of active, senior referees that regularly challenge my ideas and help me think outside the box Canadian referees find themselves in.
I sit on a board of 4 other club directors, who collectively run over 125 club teams in Western Canada, where we regularly debate the role and function of the referee.
I get it.
Now let's do something different.
Karina
Professional Experience
Karina has been an active referee in the community for 15+ years and has refereed/supervised over 1,750 matches. Earning her Regional badge in 2018 she has refereed all levels up to and including ACAC.
She propelled Zone 2 (area around Calgary) from a pilot project and grew the zone's active referee count by 300% over 4 years as its Development Coordinator, many of the referees attended her clinics and were personally certified by her. Before Zone 2 was amalgamated back into Zone 3 in 2024, she achieved a 186% retention rate over the 2023/2024 season as its Zone Referee Lead (the second-highest retention rate was 125%). She improved league coverage rates from 73% to 88% from 2022 to 2023, partly due to the zone 2 referees receiving the highest compensation in Alberta.
Her professional experiences includes the buckets of recruitment, sales, and administration. Starting a fractional EA business in 2022 she now serves a few select CEO/Business Consulting clients across Canada, with the largest and longest client being the CEO of a $250+ transportation business.
In 2024 she joined the board of UCVA to continue her trajectory of success within the volleyball grassroots world.
Karina passionately believes in supporting referees, honoring their work to allow this sport to thrive, and intends to have an open-door policy regarding ideas for building a good foundation for UCVA.
