Kanga Cup the norm for Armstrong
Norm Armstrong is the perfect example of what events like the Kanga Cup are all about.
For the past 11 years Armstrong has travelled down from Brisbane to referee at the tournament, making him just one of many people covering vast distances to volunteer their time at Canberra’s greatest annual sporting event.
The thing that makes Norm stand out from the rest though is the length of time he has been involved in the tournament.
His reasons for coming back year after year are simple; getting to watch some great soccer and have a lot of fun.
“From a refereeing perspective it’s one of the very few chances a large group of us have to get together and learn off each other,” Armstrong said.
“It’s also a great opportunity for me to watch some really varying styles of football, and there’s a great social aspect as well.”
Armstrong said he had been impressed with how this year’s carnival had ran so far, and was really glad the weather had finally joined the party, with conditions on Wednesday perfect for players and spectators.
These days Armstrong focuses more on his role as a refereeing inspector than actually spending time on the pitch himself.
As one of only two level one inspectors at this year’s event, Armstrong has an important role to play in the education of the younger referees.
It is a full-time occupation for Armstrong back home in Brisbane, which see’s him working with referees covering local competitions, right up to those working at an A-League level.
Waramanga referee supervisor David London believes Armstrong is a real role model to the other referees involved here during the Kanga Cup.
He himself hailing from Maitland in NSW, London believes the work done by all those travelling interstate to help out at the carnival is a significant factor behind the tournaments success.
“Especially in the refereeing stakes, we get people travelling from all over,” he said.
“You get guys like Norm who has been coming down from Brisbane for the past 11 years, or someone like Paul Smith who has come all the way from Ne Zealand to be involved as a referee.”
“And this is all volunteer work as well.”
When asked if he would return again next year, Norm replied with some certainty; “of course I will be back.”
“Every year I come down here and freeze myself half to death, so that when I go home I’m always saying ‘that’s it I’m never going back’, but I always do,” he remarked with a smile.
“I’ve been here 11 years now; my aim is to get to 15. After that I’ll see where I’m at.”