Moose Jaw’s Michelle Stapleton has been selected for two high profile officiating jobs coming up early in the new year.

The local product will be heading to Budapest, Hungary for the 2017 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship Division 1 Group A tournament from Jan. 8-14 and then just a week later, she will be on her way to Almaty, Kazakhstan for the 2017 Winter Universiade.

“I remember when I got the call from our SHA Referee-in-Chief one day letting me know that I was assigned this Kazakhstan tournament and then the next day, he called me again and told me to sit down because he had another tournament to tell me about, so it was kind of surreal,” said Stapleton, who works as an official in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League, both male and female; CIS; Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League; and Prairie Junior Hockey League.

Both assignments are the culmination of years of hard work for Stapleton.

“This is definitely what I’ve been working towards,” said Stapleton, who is in her 14th season as an official. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the off-season and during the season doing everything I can both on and off the ice to set myself up to get an opportunity like this.”

This will be the first full tournament international experience for Stapleton after she worked as an official for a pre-tournament game between Canada and Sweden before the Women’s World Championship earlier this year in Kamloops.

“It’s going to be interesting,” said Stapleton. “I’ll be brushing up on the rules over the next couple of weeks because there’s some rule differences between IIHF and Hockey Canada, so I’ll be studying that hard over the holidays to make sure I’m up to speed on everything that’s going to be different.”

The 27-year-old has grown from starting out reffing minor hockey here in Moose Jaw as a 13-year-old to becoming one of the premier female officials in Canada.

Stapleton, who now resides in Saskatoon, was one of the first female officials in Canada to receive a Level V certification after Hockey Canada created that level for female officials.

“I started because my brother was an official back when he was younger and it seemed like a good idea to make some cash through a side job,” she said. “I ended up really enjoying it as soon as I got out on the ice and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

To get from there to where she is now is pretty exciting for Stapleton and her family.

“My mom tells almost anyone she knows in Moose Jaw when she sees them, so they’re definitely very excited for me,” said Stapleton, who has her sights set on one day receiving the call to be an official at the World Championships or Olympics.

Her first step towards that goal will start next week in Budapest, Hungary.