It started 17 years ago with a newspaper ad in Kamloops. The story of Michelle Pye�s refereeing journey will reach its zenith at the 2015 FIFA Women�s World Cup. �It was the epitome of my goal, of all these hundreds of hours that I�ve spent, and all the sacrifices that my family makes for me to be able to do this,� Pye said. �The chance to achieve a World Cup is such a faraway dream. It�s so cool to actually get that opportunity.� The Beautiful Game�s 24-country summit runs from June 6 to July 5 in Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver. Pye, 36, and 38-year-old Carol Anne Chenard of Ottawa are the two Canadians among the 29 referees appointed to the tournament by FIFA�s Referees Committee, which picks only the best of the bunch from across the globe to work the World Cup.

The River City ref didn�t pick up a whistle until she was a 19-year-old student at the University College of the Cariboo, when her mother saw the newspaper ad recruiting officials to take a certification course. Working in the Kamloops Youth Soccer Association ranks seemed like a nice way to earn some extra coin, to help pay tuition. It turned out to be a lot more than that. Pye has climbed the officiating ladder, juggling duties with her family � a husband, a three-year-old daughter and 20-month-old twin boys � and her job as a teacher in Vancouver while honing her craft. �To get here after so many people thought there was no chance.. like, �You�ve had twins. You had to lose 60 pounds. How can you possibly do this?� Pye said. �There is no other female international referee in the world that has three kids.� Pye�s husband, Alain Ruch, is a former all-Canadian soccer player with the UCC Sun Demons and a national-calibre soccer official. Thoughts of calling games at the highest level became more realistic when Pye refereed at the under-17 women�s World Cup in New Zealand in 2008. In 2010, she worked the under-17 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago and was appointed to officiate at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Last year, she was part of the crew at the under-20 women�s World Cup in Canada. After giving birth to twins, Pye took extended leave following her allotted maternity absence from Handsworth secondary in North Vancouver to ensure she could remain in peak physical condition this year while taking care of three children. There was still another roadblock in her way - Chenard, Canada�s ace women�s soccer referee, who already has World Cup and Olympic experience under her belt. �Carol Anne is excellent. If they were ever going to appoint two referees from the same country, though, this would be the time. But, there weren�t any favours done because Canada is hosting,� said Pye, one of four female international soccer referees in the nation. �We�re up against the exact same standards of all the referees in the world.� Those standards are exceptionally high. The list of 44 potential World Cup referees was released in December and each of them flew to Portugal in February for sprint, endurance and agility testing. They met minimum-requirement benchmarks or they left their dreams in Faro. FIFA trimmed the list to 29 after the Portugal camp, but the monitoring had just begun. Each referee is required to download and complete six training sessions each week, recording their results using Polar watches and uploading them for review by FIFA. One of those sessions must be a match. Pye patrols the pitch during men�s and women�s soccer games on weekends in Vancouver. The officials will gather again in Zurich for fitness testing, blood work, technical sessions and video analysis that begin on April 18 and wraps up on April 24. Ten days before the World Cup kicks off, there will be one final seminar in Vancouver, where the list of 29 referees will be cut down to 22, with the remaining seven to act as fourth officials at the tournament. �However I can be there, I�ll be totally satisfied with that,� Pye said. �After having the twins, feeling like all you do is change diapers and wipe noses all day long, it�s an achievement.� As for the pressure of officiating at a World Cup on home soil, Pye acknowledged it will be immense. �There are 40-plus cameras around the field watching every decision we make and we sit in a room after the game with 40-plus referees analyzing the clips and picking them apart,� Pye said. �We�re used to the pressure. Of course, you don�t want to make mistakes in your own country, but I don�t want to make mistakes in any country.� What Pye decides to do on July 6, a day after the World Cup final at BC Place Stadium, is a matter she will have to discuss with Alain. �With the kids, it�s hard for me to have to ask my husband to hold the fort down while I�m off chasing my dreams around the world,� Pye said. �But, you know, the Olympics are in 2016 � and that�s not too far away.� The all-female officials list for the 2015 World Cup features representatives from 49 countries. There are 44 assistant referees, including two from Canada � 32-year-old Marie-Josee Charbonneau of Mascouche, Que., and 30-year-old Suzanne Morisset of Beauport, Que. Referees are not paid by the game at the World Cup, according to Pye. They receive a per diem each day of the 29-day competition, plus a tournament-bonus fee. Pye is not certain, but she expects the referees� per diem to be about $100 per day.