Sports columnist TIM GAVEL reflects on two special people involved in local swimming

IT was a desire to become involved in their kids’ swimming that led Joan Kellet and John Skene on a journey that, many years later, still sees them playing an important role in the running of the sport in Canberra.

It’s a story that has its origins in the early days of Canberra as a growing city.

Joan and her husband, Harry, raised four children after moving to Canberra. Harry was a Bronte lifeguard and Joan loved the water, so involvement in their kids’ swimming was a natural progression.

The only problem was that Dickson pool didn’t have a learn-to-swim program in 1967. That problem was soon overcome with Joan launching herself into the process of establishing one.

From that moment, a lifetime passion for swimming began.

Joan has held a number of positions in swimming in Canberra; in 1985 she was president of what is now known as Swimming ACT. She presided over the sport for almost 20 years. And she hasn’t shirked lobbying for more pools in Canberra, as any number of politicians will vouch for.

Joan’s daughter, Annie was the last of her children to finish competitive swimming 24 years ago, but Joan had the sport in her blood and couldn’t walk away. If anything, she found new challenges and was instrumental in developing the ACT swimming program for people with a disability almost 20 years ago. It is a program which continues to this day.

She says one of the highlights in swimming was her role as the meet director for swimming at the 2008 Pacific School Games in Canberra, at which she was given the honour of reading the participation pledge.

Joan, who has an Order of Australia medal, will receive a further honour later this month when she is admitted as an associate member to the ACT Sport Hall of Fame.

Joan, still an active technical official at most local swim meets, will have John Skene alongside.

He also has made an enormous contribution to the sport, having ventured  into swimming officialdom through his four children. Wanting to do more than  just sitting in the stands, he started time keeping for the Canberra Club. That was in 1974.

John is almost 78, and his last child to stop swimming was Michael, 20 years ago.

John says a highlight for him was in the 1990s when he was the lead referee for the selection trials for the Paralympic World Swimming titles. John has contributed in so many ways to swimming including driving to country centres to train and assessing technical officials.
A couple of months ago he too was awarded an OAM for his services to swimming.

From a personal point of view, my kids are involved in swimming and the sport would not be what it is in Canberra if it wasn’t for selfless people like John and Joan.

It is the case in many sports across Canberra where volunteers who put in countless thankless hours are often not recognised by the people taking part in the sport.