Publisher’s Message- September 2019

There’s an effort going on by an advisory board of wonderful neighbors in Winter Park, who are passionate about aquatics, to build a pool at Winter Park High School (WPHS).  WPHS has quite a rich history of success, chalking up 14 FHSAA Boys Swimming Team Championships, 12 FHSAA Girls Swimming State Championships, six FHSAA Water Polo State Championships, and several FHSAA Diving State Championships over the years- while training at the undersized high school and Cady Way pools.  Neither pool has a dedicated diving well, nor are they up to modern-day standards to handle the demand of proper training and to host high-level meets.  These pools are also home to the Blue Dolphins Swim Club, The Central Florida Sun Water Polo Club, and the Orlando Diving Academy, who feed into the high school programs.

The advisory board consists of:

Joe and Bess Auer – Joe (Class of ’86) is the head coach for the Winter Park High School swim teams and head coach for Blue Dolfins Winter Park. Joe swam for the University of Florida and was inducted into the Winter Park High Sports Hall of Fame. His wife Bess (Class of ‘88) was also inducted into the Winter Park Sports Hall of Fame (gymnastics and cheerleading).

Barry Creighton – Barry is the head coach of the Winter Park High School water polo teams and assistant coach for Winter Park High School swim teams. He was a standout water polo player for Indiana University and has taught at WPHS since 1994.

Terry and Jaq Horner – Jaq is the head coach of Winter Park High School diving teams, and she and Terry are the head coaches of Orlando Dive Academy. Both were standout collegiate divers for FSU, with Terry having won an NCAA Championship and a USA Diving Championship, and he competed internationally for Team USA.

Kim Burke – Kim (Class of ‘85) is the assistant coach for Winter Park High School swim teams. She was an All-American swimmer at the University of Kentucky.

Vince Furey – Vince is a Winter Park dad with two current student-athletes who compete in both swimming and water polo. He is also the former past chair of the Winter Park High School Foundation.

Building a state-of-the-art home for swimming, water polo, and diving teams would build on the high school’s already impressive athletic facilities. It would create a place for adult swimming via a Masters Swim Program and serve as a gathering place for seniors, offering water aerobics and other exercise-oriented activities.  It would open the opportunity to host district, state, national, and international competitions in a variety of aquatic sports while also generating income to the facility, OCPS, and the community.

If you’d like to make a donation to this worthwhile effort, please visit https://winterparkpool.com.

As always, thank you for reading The Park Press and I look forward to the great things to come.

Rick

by

by