PhD Student calling Offsides on the WU Ice

 

PhD Student-Researcher Fred Monnaie calls the lines in Cavalese 

CANAZEI/CAVALESE – Today, 12 December, it was the second day of exciting competitions in the men’s ice hockey tournament of the Winter Universiade which is being played in the ice arenas in Alba di Canazei and Cavalese.

The game between the two former Soviet Republics Kazakhstan and Ukraine in Cavalese was intense but fair. For one particular guy on the ice it was also a special experience. Indeed, Frederic Monnaie is the only Belgian ice hockey game official present in Trentino and so far no Belgian Team has ever qualified to play in the Universiade Tournament.

“Through my participation in the WU I’m not only officiating excellent players, but I can also work with referees and linesmen of a very high level”, Monnaie said. “Some of the officials present here are involved at the highest level in their country of origin. There are three Norwegians, two Swedes, two Czechs, two Canadians, two Germans, two Finns, two Italians, one Slovak and me. And they all come from renowned ice hockey countries. So it’s an honor to be able to work together with these colleagues.”

The Belgian linesman praises FISU and the OC. “The tournament is very well organised, with everything to perfection, and I plan to learn plenty from my colleagues and the game level. We also have some experienced IIHF supervisers to give us plenty of advice to improve our officiating. This will be an unforgettable experience for me!”

Academic-wise, Frederic Monnaie fits in perfectly into this university multi-sport event. He is currently working on his PhD. in chemistry as a researcher at the University of Leuven (KUL), Belgium. He’s specialising in developing a generic protocol for the synthesis of functionalized conjugated polymer materials. These are organic electrically conductive materials that can be used in organic solar cells and LED lighting.

This is the third time in a row and Belgian game official was selected. In 2009 it was Christof De Weerdt (Harbin, China ) and in 2011 Karen Phlippo (Erzurum, Turkey) .

C. Pierre, FISU Press Officer