In high-school and post-secondary gyms across the province in February, the typically grayscale-clad basketball referees will be flaunting a little dose of colour.
Pink whistles, lanyards and even jerseys are being worn by officials throughout the month, in what is the 16th annual Pink Whistle/Call A Foul on Cancer Campaign, to raise funds for the B.C. Cancer Foundation.
"Over 600 refs in the province are in this together," said Karn Dhillon, a longtime official with the B.C. Basketball Officials Association (BCBOA), who started the campaign 16 years ago.
Dhillon is personally affected by cancer. His sister, Amanji Payer, died in 2013 after a five-year battle with disease. She was 55.
"16 years ago, my sister was diagnosed with cancer," Dhillon told Black Press. "Two weeks later, an official from Richmond was diagnosed with brain cancer and two weeks after that, my nephew was diagnosed with brain cancer as well."
The litany of news was a gut punch for Dhillon. However, sitting around and wallowing was not in the cards.
"I knew that officials in Alberta had started a pink whistle campaign, and I knew the people at Fox40 in Hamilton (whistle company), so I called them up and asked if they can send some whistles to us in B.C.," Dhillon explained. "I asked the BCBOA folks if they were okay with us wearing them, and from there, the campaign started rolling."
Much like a snowball down a mountain. It picked up steam. Fast.
It started out with officials using whistles in February. Then, pink lanyards were added. Years later, pink referee shirts. Then, in 2024, breweries got in on the pink trend.
"In the last year or two, we had a couple of breweries get on board and help strengthen our layers of awareness," said Dhillon.
In the 15 years of the campaign, the total funds raised for the BC Cancer Foundation sits at $280,000. In the first 10 years, it had raised $60,000. However, in the five years since, it has raised a whopping $220,000.
"When you talk about momentum, and the 'give a damn' that is in the basketball community in the province, it's incredible," Dhillon said, after setting records in back-to-back-to-back years following COVID for fundraising numbers. "This snowball is growing, and it's not stopping."
Cancer continues to impact Dhillon 16 years into the campaign.
"My family suffered two huge losses in the past 18 months, with my niece, Nishi in 麻豆精选, and sister-in-law, Venee in Salmon Arm, both dying from cancer," Dhillon explained. "This year of the campaign is fully dedicated to them, as you won't get people who passed away from cancer back, but in their memory, we can find a solution.
鈥淐ancer is relentless, but so are we. We won't stop."
Those interested in donating can visit the BC Cancer Foundation website at bccancerfoundation.com/pinkwhistlecampaign. Email pinkwhistlelegacyfund@gmail.com for more information.
In 麻豆精选 at this weekend's Western Basketball Tournament, donation bins and QR codes will be situated in the 麻豆精选 Secondary School Gymnasium. All funds go directly to the BC Cancer Foundation site.
