Paul Babich honoured for 50 years of dedication and leadership to Balmy Beach Old Boys hockey

By ALAN SHACKLETON

The Balmy Beach Old Boys hockey league recently honoured club legend Paul Babich with an award honouring his decades of service to the sport and the club.

He was the inaugural recipient of The Zzivio Award, and was presented with a plaque in recognition “of over 50 years of unwavering dedication, exceptional leadership, and boundless spirit for the Balmy Beach Old Boys.”

Along with being the first person to receive the award, which was part of the Old Boys 50th anniversary celebrations last month, it also is named after him. Babich’s nickname for decades has been Zzivio.

“In Slovenia, where my mother is from, ‘zivijo’ is like a toast or a salutation meaning good life to you, and I would use it often,” said Babich.

A member of the Balmy Beach Club since 1958, Babich is originally from Malartic, in northwestern Quebec close to Rouyn-Noranda.

Born in 1939, Babich first started playing hockey in the regular men’s league at the club in the 1950s, and then as he got older went on to help form the Old Boys league for so-called “oldtimers hockey” in 1976. Players in the Old Boys league are age 35 and older.

Babich said he “retired” from hockey in 1991 after having both hips replaced.

Babich is still actively involved with the Old Boys hockey league, and he was coaching one of the league’s teams in a game the very same night he was presented with the award.

The Balmy Beach Old Boys started sending teams of players of age 35 and over to hockey tournaments pretty much since its formation, and that became a major part of the work Babich did with the league.

“We first went to a tournament up at rink on Victoria Park called Hylands (later Centre Ice), and after that we decided to start or own tournament in 1976,” remembered Babich. “The Face Off tourney ran for 25 years. It started with 16 teams and at one time we had 24 teams. It started on a Friday at noon and the last game would be the Sunday at 4. Teams from California came, from New York City, Halifax, ”

Since its formation, the Old Boys have travelled to numerous countries including Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Austria, France, Slovenia, Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Croatia, as well as cities in Canada and the United States, for tournaments.

“We’ve been on 20 tours, and I’ve been on 19 of them,” said Babich of the Old Boys and their travels. “It’s important. It gets people together, it gets people the opportunity to play hockey and travel to tournaments.”

He said the hockey on the ice was at a good level and taken seriously during the tournaments, but there was also fun to be had.

However, Babich said he had no stories to share of famous Beach residents and Old Boys having too much fun on tour beyond a memory of one player famously putting ear drops in his eyes and eye drops in his ears — which predictably resulted in a temporary loss of vision.