Welcome to the Kincardine Kippers' site as the team celebrates 40 years

Our wonderful 40th anniversary logo is courtesy of local artist and former Kipper Jessie Bisson!

Above, Coach Tracy Springer presents local artist and former Kipper Jessie Bisson with a 40th anniversary commemorative T-shirt featuring her design at a recent practice. The team will be selling the T-shirts to current and former swimmers. Anyone wishing to get one can contact any member of the Kippers executive.

Commemorative t-shirts featuring Miss Bisson's design are available for purchase by contacting any of the executive listed on the executive page.

40th anniversary celebration!

All Kincardine Kippers held the team's wrap up 40th anniversary fun meet and pot luck dinner/awards on August 9 at 6 p.m. In attendance were four former Kippers and former Kipper president Peter Dingle, who presented the award bearing his name. Also dropping by were Kincardine Mayor Glenn Sutton and Davidson Centre Pool Director Brenda Lance, who presented team president Dave Kohut and the team with a certificate and plaque recognizing the team's 40 years of fun, fitness and sportsmanship.

The following appeared in the Kincardine Independent on April 20, 2005.

By Liz Dadson
Dorothy Needham of Huron Township can remember coaching with the Kincardine Kippers in the 1970’s when the recreational swim team was practising in Sam MacGregor’s pool near Boiler Beach.
“I coached the younger swimmers and it was exciting to see them improve,” she says. “Years later, it was great to have them come up and say ‘Hi, you coached me in Kippers.’”
Her daughter, Janice Lamont, swam with the Kippers back when the team practised off the north pier in Kincardine Harbour.
“I remember we’d be out there and it was really wavy in the lake,” says Lamont.
“When you went to a meet, you could tell which swimmers were from Kincardine,” says Needham. “They were the ones who always had their heads up, trying to avoid the waves.”
The Kippers began in 1965 under the direction of former competitive swimmer Ann Sharr of Texas and Barbara Ann Eggleton.
Coach Kelly Young, a member of the Kippers executive, says that while the swimmers developed strength swimming off the north pier, they were unable to practise such skills as turning and head-down swimming, important components for speed.
In 1973, MacGregor graciously opened his pool to the swimmers for practices.
In 1976, a year after the Davidson Centre opened, the Kippers began practising there, charging swimmers to join the team to make up the cost.
“It was so much warmer at the indoor pool,” says Lamont. “MacGregor’s was an outdoor pool and we had to go in the early morning and it was so cold.”
Needham says the Davidson Centre pool also had the proper lane markers and starting blocks to train the Kippers for swim meets which, up until then, were always held in other centres.
Ron Taylor was president during that last season at the pier and the first in MacGregor’s pool.
“When the team moved to the indoor pool, Paddy Huber, the first pool supervisor, took over the main coaching duties,” recalls Taylor, “but Dorothy (Needham) and Barbara Anne (Eggleton) assisted.”
Others helped out, including Rebecca Hogg and Steve Jurkiewicz, says Taylor. “Lots of good swimmers participated in the early days. Ann Sharr coached some of the best butterfly swimmers I have seen at that level.”
The Kippers originally participated in the Lake Huron Zone Recreation Association. That was dissolved in 1982, prompting several area swim teams to organise the current South Western Ontario Recreational Swimming Association (SWORSA). It used to be a two-tier organisation but now has one tier, including Kincardine, Walkerton, Fergus, Elmira and Guelph.
As the Kippers gear up for their 40th anniversary celebration, Young has compiled team lists as far back as 1977, including some high-profile names, such as Sarah Bruce, winner of the 2003 Kincardine Women’s Triathlon; Arthur Turland, currently on a track-and-field scholarship at the University of Louisville; and Matthew Showalter, currently competing at the masters level.
Larry Needham, Dorothy’s son, currently coaches the St. Thomas Jumbo Jets swim team. He swam inter-collegiate for the University of Western Ontario.
To reach other former Kippers, Young has sent out an e-mail seeking information.
The swim team plans to hold an anniversary get-together on Aug. 13, following the current season. It is also selling commemorative T-shirts and is considering recognition of lifetime swimmers who competed in each of the five age categories during their time with the team.
The Kippers season began yesterday (April 19) and runs to Aug. 10. Any swimmer who can complete a length of the pool at the Davidson Centre and is under the age of 19 by Aug. 31 of this year is welcome to join the team.
“Even though we held our registration, we will accept latecomers with no penalty the day a swimmer starts practising,” says Young. The team practices every Tuesday and Thursday evening. Summer residents can also sign up their children when they arrive without worrying about missing registration.
At the end of the season awards are presented, including the B.A. Eggleton trophy for sportsmanship; the Peter Dingle award of merit; the Beta Sigma Phi award for the most improved swimmer; and the very special Emma Johnstone Memorial award for love of the sport.
Young says many lifelong friendships are formed among the swimmers and the coaches. “Most rewarding,” she says, “is watching the older swimmers develop a sort of mentoring relationship with the younger ones. They’re a great group of kids. And what’s really cool is that no matter how many kids are in a family or what their ages, they can go to the same practice at the same time and enjoy themselves.”
The Kippers last won the SWORSA championship in 1991 but Young says 2005 could be the winning year with a strong team and enough members to bring home the trophy.
However, the main focus is on fun, friendship, fitness and personal development of skills, she says. “The change over a season in truly remarkable. It gives the swimmers a great feeling of accomplishment and we try our best to encourage that. The ribbons are just icing on the cake.”
Those interested in the current season or who can shed some light on former seasons or want to check out the 40th anniversary festivities should visit the Kippers’ web site at www.geocities.com/teamkipper or send Young an e-mail at kyoung@tnt21.com or give her a call at 396-9574.

Brenda Lance, right, pool supervisor at the Davidson Centre, presented a congratulatory 40th anniversary card from the lifeguard staff that is almost as big as the Kincardine Kippers' youngest swimmer, 5-year-old Sophia Tomaini, centre, to the team at its May 10 practice. Also accepting the card on behalf of the team is this year's oldest Kipper, 18-year-old Mike Young.

Julia A. Richman, centre right, president and CEO of Merlin General Corporation of Kincardine, presents a donation of $500 to Dave Kohut, Kippers' president, amongst cheers from some of this year's 40th anniversary team.

View a list of former team members from 1965 to present by clicking here.

The Spring/Summer 2005 40th Anniversary Kippers Swim Team

Boys

Girls

Exhibition

Above, members of the 2005 summer team pose for a photo at the end of the 40th anniversary pot luck and awards.

The Fall 2005 Kippers 40th Anniversary Team

Ages determined as of August 31, 2005.

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