Nancy Constantin is a first generation Lebanese living in Canada. Several days ago, she has been identified by the IIHF as the torchbearer for women game officials in Lebanon in the future. Now, she is one of nearly 20 referees participating in the first ever Olympic Council of Asia/IIHF U16 Asian Ice Hockey Youth Camp in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

There is only one officially registered umpire in Lebanon these days, a male. Nancy, a native of Canada, will be the first female referee from Lebanon and she is expected to carry the flag and spread the message among the Lebanese community in Canada. There are about 500,000 Lebanese living in Canada and Nancy wants to promote ice hockey to this community. She says, that there are no any ice rinks in Lebanon, so it is her job to return here one day, but now she’s work starts in Canada.

Nancy’s parents left Lebanon long ago, in 1980, and she was born in Canada. As a young girl, she participated in many sports. But, her favorite were basketball and ice hockey. Nancy started playing ice hockey at the age of 10. Then she left the sport and played a number of other sports before gravitating back to ice hockey a few years ago. She never played ice hockey at a high level but she hopes she can make her mark as an umpire.

“This camp has been an eye-opener for me. Having watched ice hockey at a high level, I had a basic knowledge of the rules, but now I’m learning more. This is all new to me and it’s been fantastic. I hope I can promote the sport when I get back home,” added Nancy.

ADIHIC will continue to watch all the news from the world of hockey in Islamic countries

The information for the artilce is taken from the official webstite of Olympic Council of Asia