A Journey of Hope, Babyk Finds Escape in Basketball

By Myles Dichter

Any casual observer of the Fraser Valley-Trinity Western U SPORTS men’s basketball game on Feb. 14 would not have noticed anything amiss.

They would have watched as the Spartans withstood a late Cascades charge to win an overtime thriller.

They would have seen – though, probably not paid any mind to – Ukrainian referee Andrii Babyk.

But they could not have known that, just days earlier, Andrii’s brother, Viktor, was killed in war.

“For my dad, basketball helps him to not think about anything,” explained Bogdan, Babyk’s 13-year-old son.

Andrii continued: “When I have a game, it's two hours in the game, one hour in pre-game and one hour in post-game. These four hours, I think just for basketball in this time. And after again, I think about this situation. I'm calling my mom, my father, and we talk a lot. But for me, it’s important, when I said, ‘OK, I'll ref,’ I can’t cancel.”

Babyk is a lifelong basketball junkie whose journey will take him to the CEBL for a Vancouver Bandits exhibition game on May 8, followed by some regular-season assignments.

He and his family – wife Iulia, sons Dima, 23, and Bogdan, 13, and daughter Ieva, 5 — escaped Ukraine three years ago, relocating to West Vancouver, B.C.

But even as they find a semblance of normalcy, Babyk’s parents and sister continue to reside, and fight, in an active warzone in Kiev.

And so when Andrii received word of his brother’s death, he could hardly have been blamed for sitting out his scheduled game. He did not do that.

“I have been a referee for 27 years and I never cancel my game. I don't do it yet,” he said.

Babyk was originally introduced to the sport by a school friend, but his family lacked the funds to enroll him onto a proper team. Instead, he played his way on, convincing a coach to let him try out and earning twice-weekly practices. Quickly, two became five.

Eventually, Babyk played on his high school team, won a provincial championship, then continued down the basketball path until a hard fall damaged his shoulders.

“I have a problem three months, I can't move my shoulders and I understand I can't play after this, but I love basketball, what I can do the next step?” Babyk wondered. “I said, OK, I'm trying to ref.”

Babyk showed up to his first game as a referee without a whistle – luckily, an older ref had an extra one and gave it to Babyk. He still remembers that first whistle, though 27 years later, it’s no longer in use.

Meanwhile, Babyk also took up a position as general manager of the Ukraine women’s 3x3 team, which won silver at the world championships in China in 2016.

Six years later, Russia invaded Ukraine. Suddenly, basketball suddenly took a back seat.

The Babyks — who owned house, a store and two cars — suddenly had nothing.

“We had everything. That's why I have three kids. I can give my kids what I want, you know?  But when the war started, we lost this all,” Babyk said.

Iulia, Bogdan and Ieva fled to Bulgaria, then to Vancouver, where they were welcomed by a host family.

Andrii and Dima stayed behind in Kiev in an underground bunker for eight months. When they finally arrived in Vancouver, Ieva, then just two years old, did not recognize her dad.

“She forgot my face, she doesn't know who I am. It's really heavy because [on FaceTime] she sees me and it's different when she sees me in life. And we cried, me, my kids. It's really heavy,” Babyk said.

Iulia questioned her husband for not fighting in the war.

“My wife asked me, ‘what are you doing? The war has started.’ I said, I need to help you save the kids.”

Just before he got on a plane himself, Andrii made sure to find someone connected to Canadian basketball to get a foot in the door. Once he got settled, he sent a letter to the CEBL:

… War is a dreadful experience. I am grateful that my large family, including my wife and three children, is safe in Canada and can sleep in beds, not in basements. … I aspire to return to refereeing at a high level and would be grateful for the opportunity to join your team. … Thank you for spending your time on me! I will justify what you give me the opportunity to become a part of the team. …

It's now been three years since the Babyks first began arriving in Canada. Andrii has worked for Uber and Doordash as well as in construction. The family now lives in its own apartment near its original host.

All the while, Babyk has stayed in touch with basketball, reffing in whatever leagues will let him on the court.

Mike Thomson, a member of the CEBL Referee Advisory Team, said it didn’t take much longer than 10 minutes to recognize Babyk’s talent after he first saw him at a training camp.

“You're always looking for somebody that can be adaptable, can be flexible and can learn very quickly,” Thomson explained. 

On the court, Babyk demonstrated a knack for discerning between contact with consequence and run-of-the-mill in-game physicality, Thomson said.

“Andrii's game didn't need to get better. Andrii just needed to be comfortable in an environment that was culturally different,” Thomson said. “As a referee on the floor, he may not be able to respond as quickly and concisely verbally as somebody that, English is their first language. So he has to do it by demonstrating that he has a deep understanding of the game and earn respect immediately by showing that he understands the game.”

Apparently, Babyk’s talents are genetic, too. Dima has also taken a liking to the ref stripes – he will work some CEBL games this season at the scorer’s table.

But Thomson has higher aspirations for Dima.

“There are no more than a small handful of officials in Canada that have the level of potential that Dima has. When you see Dima on the floor, you immediately go, that guy's a referee. Dima actually has the ‘it factor’ with him. He carries himself like a referee,” Thomson said.

Babyk had a slightly different take on Dima.

“I'm really critical father. Because Canada is really different culture. For me, when Dima have a mistake, I tell him. You need to do [this], need to do that. ‘Father, why you tell me that?’ Because I want to help.”

Babyk worked his first CEBL game during pre-season last year.

“I realized that this is a chance for me to show my boys Dima and Bogdan by my example — everything in life is possible — I CAN BE IN BASKETBALL - I CAN BE PART OF CANADIAN BASKETBALL AND BENEFIT AS A REFEREE,” he said in a text message.

"If you were given a chance — then use it. And most importantly, never forget in your life how and when you got your first chance — APPRECIATE IT ALL YOUR LIFE. My credo in life — Where there's a will, there's a way."

Indeed, Babyk’s background and story are undoubtedly unique among Canadian referees.

Think back to that game at Fraser Valley now.

“You talk about resilience — when I saw him that particular night out at Fraser Valley, it blew me away that he could go on the floor and completely compartmentalize that and referee the game without that on his mind,” Thomson said.

You never would have known.