Halifax soccer referee lives the dream at the Women’s World Cup

Soccer referee Marie-Soleil Beaudoin is back home in Halifax after representing Canada on the world stage at a record-breaking Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

She was one of five Canadian match officials selected for the tournament in July and August.

“To referee at the Women’s World Cup is such a dream for a referee, just like it’s a dream for a player to reach that level,” she said.

Beaudoin was the referee for two round-robin group stage games, before being part of the officiating team in a knockout game involving co-host Australia, in front of a huge crowd of more than 75,000 fans.

It was one of the biggest ever crowds for a Women’s World Cup match.

The tournament set attendance records, according to the sport’s governing body FIFA, which expected as many as two billion people to watch around the world.

“It’s great to see the growth of the women’s game,” said Beaudoin. “Even in the last four years since the last World Cup, the amount of interest has grown exponentially.”

‘Wow, I was there when this happened’

Beaudoin, who also refereed matches at the 2019 World Cup in France, has been refereeing internationally since 2014.

Her journey to that level began by refereeing grassroots kids’ games before she moved up to more competitive levels by earning her regional badge in 2008. Then progressing to the provincial level a year later, and eventually gaining her national badge in 2013. 

She has been refereeing professional men’s soccer in the Canadian Premier League since 2019.

At the Women’s World Cup, she took charge of Denmark’s 1-0 win over China in Perth, before being appointed to referee Norway’s 6-0 victory against the Philippines in Auckland. 

Beaudoin was then chosen as the fourth official, assisting the referee from the sidelines for Australia’s win over Denmark, at a sold out, noisy Stadium in Sydney.

“There is a bit more excitement, a bit more passion from the fans,” she said about being involved in a match with the home team. 

Being on the touchline to hear the screams and feel the emotion from Australian supporters when their team scored in a game that put them in the quarter-finals was one of her highlights of the competition. 

“Those are the type of moments in life you have to pause for a second and look around and say, ‘Wow, I was there when this happened.'”

Getting picked to referee games at the highest level is a reward for relentless training, preparation and validation for the continual assessment of her refereeing performances in the Canadian Premier League by both Canadian and FIFA officials.

“People often think of the World Cup as a four-week event, but for us as referees it has been a four-year process,” Beaudoin said.

She is also quick to pay tribute to the other members of her team, assistant referees Chantal Boudreau, from Saskatchewan and Stephanie Yee Sing from Jamaica.

They were the ones with the flags assisting her on the sideline for her games and are connected by electronic communication.

“We are selected as trios and we work with the same assistant referees leading up to the world cup for years in order to fine tune our communication and our understanding,” she explained.

The refs on the pitch are also aided today by video assistant referees who have access to replays of the action from a number of different camera angles.

Monitors on the side of the field allow the refs to check their decisions when necessary.

And there is technology in the ball itself. A sensor in the ball connects to the referee’s watch and sends a signal to it that vibrates when the ball crosses the line for a goal.

“When there’s a goal scored, if we’re lucky it’s really clear, but sometimes it just crosses the line by a millimetre and now we need the technology,” she said.

Still, the major focus is still being in the right place at the right time on the field.

“As referees we are really focused on getting the angles correct and communicating effectively with our team so that we get the decisions correct.”

To make sure she is in the right positions, Beaudoin follows a gruelling fitness regime which involves tailored training programs of one or two hours a day, seven days a week.

She considers herself an elite athlete and during a game runs between 10 and 12 kilometres, which is the equivalent of a midfield player.

Beaudoin is often seen training at Dalhousie University’s Wickwire Field.

Outside soccer, she is a senior instructor in the department of physiology and biophysics at Dal, where she is getting ready for the new school year and also refereeing. 

“I’ll be back on the field refereeing at Canadian Premier League games, you know, in the coming weeks and then we’ll set new goals and see what the next years bring.”