Binetsky, Andrei "Ziggy"

BORN NOVEMBER 29TH 1959 IN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA, Andrei Binetsky, also known as Ziggy, is one of the most accomplished ice hockey referees Australia has produced. Growing up in Sydney, he completed a Higher School Certificate at Manly Boys High in 1977 and joined the Warringah Bombers ice hockey team at Narrabeen on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Binetsky and teammate Walter Roth attended a Referee's Course conducted by Rick Williams, the former state then national Referee-In-Chief for over a decade from 1982. "There was a natural talent in this likeable bloke," wrote Williams in 2021. "[I knew he] would become something special in the ice hockey world".

One of Binetsky's first officiating assignments after accreditation was the inaugural SLAPSHOT! Series in 1983 broadcast on ABC TV. Top players throughout the country competed in a format with rules modified for TV. The young referee quickly established himself nationally, officiating five coveted Goodall Cups in the men's Interstate Series, and at every level of the Australian National Championships, often as the Finals Referee.

In a career that propelled him around the globe, Binetsky officiated nine IIHF Championships, including major World Championships in England, Johannesburg, Lithuania and Sydney. Closer to home, he officiated the IIHF Asian Oceania Under-18 Championships in Seoul in 1990 and Beijing in 1994.

Binetsky also refereed professional hockey, including the English and Netherlands pro leagues. Fluent in three languages, he displayed the temperament and personality that players like to see in black and white.