The Masters Swimming Ontario SWIMS
Award
Michael Stroud - Silent Achiever
Wilma Pidhayny presenting Michael
Stroud with the SWIMS award at North York, December 17, 2000.
In 1980 Michael walked into a North
York Gators practice and started his Masters Swimming career.
He has competed locally, provincially, nationally and internationally.
In all this time Michael has always been a strong proponent of the
Masters Swimming Ontario motto of FUN, FITNESS AND FRIENDSHIP. To
this end he has been tireless in volunteering to assist and promote
Masters Swimming at all levels.
Locally, Michael has been involved,
directly and indirectly, with a number of clubs. He has swum for
both the North York Gators and the East York Hurricanes. He has
helped run meets for North York, East York, Burlington, and more.
He has been involved in club organization and administration and
has been one of the biggest cheerleaders around - encouraging meet
participation, transporting swimmers, organizing relays, recording
splits and cheering swimmers on to personal bests and championship
swims.
Michael also served nationally. In
1985 he helped organize the Master Games, in 1987, the Canadian
Championships and from 1992 to 1998 he was member of the Master
Swimming Canada rules committee.
However, Michael’s contribution has
been most evident at the provincial level, where Michael has been
the Top Ten and Records administrator for 13 of the past 16 years.
He has been a member and/or chair of the rules committee for much
of the last twenty years. Both strategic planning and the website
committee have benefited from his input. In 1999 he compiled and
edited the revised MSO Rulebook. He has helped organize a number
of provincial championships, including as co-meet manager (with
Darlene Brown) the 1997 Ontario Masters Swimming Championships at
Brantford. In 1997 he created the Master Swimming Ontario website
and in 1998 the SWIMS award.
Michael is being honoured for his
longtime commitment to and promotion of Masters Swimming in Ontario.
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