82-year-old soccer referee receives life membership in ref association

George Tweedlie was honored by his peers for his outstanding contributions to refereeing in Greater Vancouver.

When George Tweedlie was growing up in Allanton, a small village in Scotland, he and his friends liked to kick around the soccer ball — although they didn’t often have proper one. They would use a rubber ball, a tennis ball or whatever they could find.

The thing is, the ball didn’t really matter as much as the magic of playing together.

That’s what has kept the 82-year-old Richmond soccer referee in the game for so long.

“Soccer, for me, is a team sport. It’s the team spirit that matters,” said Tweedlie on Monday, just hours before he was to receive the honour of a life membership in the Vancouver Area Soccer Referees Association.

He may not be the oldest ref in B.C., or the longest-serving (Tweedlie isn’t aware if anyone keeps track of those things), and said the honour took him by surprise.

“I wish I knew why they’re giving this to me,” said Tweedlie.

Elvio Chies, past-president of the British Columbia Soccer Referees Association, said Tweedlie was selected by his peers for his outstanding contributions to refereeing in Greater Vancouver, including many years of instructing and mentoring other refs.

“He went far beyond just doing games,” said Chies.

Tweedlie, a retired structural engineer, moved from Scotland to Richmond in the 1970s with his wife, Joan, and four young children.

“My two sons got involved in soccer, and I was just a normal soccer dad,” said Tweedlie.

It wasn’t until his daughter, Jacqueline, got involved in soccer (“Much to her mother’s dismay,” said Tweedlie), that he saw her team needed help and started coaching.

When Jacqueline was in U-14, Tweedlie coached her Oldon Pirates’ team to a win at the 1986 Canadian national championships in Oshawa, Ont.

“We didn’t lose a game and came away with a gold medal,” recalled Tweedlie.

By that time, Joan had enthusiastically embraced her daughter’s soccer playing, and Tweedlie’s rather time-consuming passion for the sport.

“I like to believe that I’m helping others to enjoy the game and sometimes in a rather pointed way, letting players know what is and isn’t acceptable without being a control freak,” said Tweedlie.

Tweedlie decided he wanted to go further, and got accredited as a ref. He refereed at various levels in youth leagues and then became a referee with the highly competitive Vancouver Men’s Soccer League.

He was in his 70s before he felt it was necessary to step back to youth-level soccer again.

“About eight, 10 years ago it became obvious I couldn’t keep up with their skill level, there is a fitness level required. I know my limits and referee within them,” said Tweedlie.

But that won’t stop him from continuing to referee in youth leagues, mentoring other refs and enjoying the spirit of the game.

As for the World Cup, and Canada’s performance on the field, Tweedlie takes the same kind of measured, but “rather pointed,” approach that he always brought to games as a coach and a referee: “No comment, but I believe Canada has a future.”

dryan@postmedia.com