National Volunteer Week 2025

As part of National Volunteers Month and National Volunteers Week April 27-May 3, Swim Ontario would like to thank our hard working volunteers who give their time and commitment to help our sport and community on a daily basis. We will be highlighting many of our wonderful volunteers over the next few weeks.

When people arrive to watch swim meets, the focus tends to be on scoreboard watching and monitoring how athletes finish in races.

There is, after all, people of all ages striving to do their best, and improve their performance times. In most situations, swimmers also tend to contribute to their own celebratory opportunities while there is a furor of elation, hype, and excitement. For others, there are setbacks and misfortunes.

Planning, meticulously, for success in the pool – especially in the Canadian border city of Windsor – takes a team of committed officials and volunteers.

One of them is Sherry Gibson.

Gibson is a senior administrator for a charitable non-profit organization in a culturally diverse city referred to, by many, as “the automotive capital of Canada”. The southwestern Ontario city is also the home of one of the oldest and largest swim clubs in the country – the Windsor Aquatic Club.

For the past decade, Gibson has kept things functioning in the parent-run club. It’s not an easy job – and she’s been President for the past five years. She’s also a swim official and has done it all – timing, judging, administrative desk duties, meet managing, and the list goes on.

Her remuneration amounts to seeing happy faces, people enjoying competition, youngsters striving for success and so much more.

Volunteers like Gibson, and an array of others, formulate a special kind of team. It’s one that doesn’t look for the limelight and the glorification, but is crucial to staging meets. Simply put, without officials and volunteers, there might be a pool and water – but no opportunity for swimmers to achieve their goals and get their next personal best.

April is a month when people recognize the major impact of volunteers like Gibson. It’s National Volunteer Month - a time to celebrate and highlight the contributions of millions of people in Canada who have made a major impact of the lives of others by volunteering their time to improve life in communities across the country.

In Canada, National Volunteer Week is from April 27 to May 3 and the theme just happens to have a teaser to swimming - “Volunteers Make Waves”. It’s an opportunity to highlight the power and impact of volunteer efforts.

“In swimming, to run a meet you need about 40 or 50 people per session,” said Gibson. “It is an army of volunteers, most of whom are parents of swimmers and are excited to support their child succeed in a sport they love.”

A bit of irony, Gibson doesn’t know how to swim. However, in water, she’s not one to panic. As a graduate from the University of Windsor with an honors degree in Commerce, Gibson is also the owner of lots of accreditation. In fact, she is close to obtaining her Level 4 status. Level 5 is the highest in Canada. Regardless of the standard, to be an official requires lots of studies, clinics, courses, and a commitment to follow rules.

“We are parents and officials too, we must follow the boundaries of the rules – there are no exceptions,” she added. “Fairness for everyone. Our goal is to be a role model for others and, for me, giving back to the community is a great thing to be excited about.”

While Gibson has been officiating for 12 years, she believes the rewards of volunteering last a lifetime.

“The beauty of officiating is that everyone has a role - and you work together,” she said. “I’m not unique, I’m just one of so many amazing people who volunteer and enjoy the sport. It’s connecting with people. Watching others have fun. I enjoy the challenge, being engaged and committing my time. We have a passion to do it.”

The 48-year-old Gibson, who has two children that swim, might be at the tail end of her parental obligations to the (WAC) swim club, but has no plans to pack it in.

“I hope to keep doing this long into retirement and to mentor new parents, as well as volunteers, in the sport - and make sure kids always have a place to swim and compete."

David Grossman is a veteran multi award-winning Journalist and Broadcaster with some of Canada’s major media, including the Toronto Star and SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN, and a Public Relations professional for 50+ years in Canadian sports and Government relations.