WALL OF HONOUR
The OAS Wall of Honour was created in 2021 to highlight the contributions of some of our province’s most dedicated athletes, coaches, volunteers and officials.
Would you like to nominate someone to be included in the Wall of Honour? Email us your nomination.
HONOUREES
Diane van der Pol
Working with athletes, coaches, judges, administrators and many experts Diane has touched the lives of thousands of artistic swimmers since she joined the sport almost 55 years ago.
Diane has had an extensive career in artistic swimming, starting in Quebec as a swimmer and coach. Her judging began in 1975 and culminated in reaching the “A” level for FINA. Over the many years she has officiated and evaluated at many competitions, both nationally and internationally.
Suzanne Laroche
For the past three decades, Suzanne has been a dedicated and loyal Official in Ontario. Over those years, she raised her family and worked as a Registered Nurse.
Suzanne has always been welcoming to new officials, acting as a mentor to all. Her inclusive attitude helped form friendships and make the judging community within Ontario a family. Her dedication to the swimmers was evident when she often stated that “we do this for the athletes.”
Leslie Taylor
A volunteer, a coach, a builder and a judge – in one capacity or another Leslie has touched the lives of thousands of artistic swimmers since she began her involvement back in 1965. She started out coaching a small group of girls in Hamilton where she was the aquatic director.
“I loved that this was a sport where girls could excel,” she recalls. With some encouragement, she became affiliated with Synchro Ontario, now Ontario Artistic Swimming, where very shortly the team from Dalewood began to dominate.
Joyce Corner
Over the course of over thirty years, Joyce Corner was instrumental in the growth of Artistic Swimming Provincially, Nationally and Internationally. Beginning back in 1969 Joyce first introduced synchronized swimming to Mississauga by offering recreational classes for interested swimmers.
In 1973, Joyce co-founded Mississauga Synchronized Swimming Club and later coached for the Kawartha-Trent Synchro Club. In 1974 Joyce was also elected President of Synchro Ontario.
Janice McLaughlin
Janice served 31 years as an Official in Ontario, President of Synchro Ontario from 1995-1997, Synchro Ontario Judges’ Chair from 1990-1993, and Treasurer of Synchro Ontario from 1993-1995.
As a FINA Level Judge, she also officiated at Junior World Championships, FINA World Masters, and FINA World Series to name a few but a few competitions.
Jennifer Saunders
With 12 years of service as a Canada Artistic Swimming National Level Judge, Jennifer’s focus was on flexibility and resulted in BSSC developing the Jennifer Lloyd-Saunders Flexibility award of Excellence in 2005.
She was also a member of several committees including the Synchro Canada Participation Committee, Ontario jury of appeal and Ontario Hiring Committee.
