Nominated by their many peers and lifelong friends in the judging community, OAS is proud to share that Pat McCann and Lynda Furniss have been selected as our 2024 Wall of Honour inductees. To each of these remarkable women, we thank them for their decades of tireless service and dedication to Artistic Swimming in Ontario. Check out each of their Wall of Honour Entries below.
PAT MCCANN
Pat has been involved in artistic swimming for the last 37 years. She started her career as an official in 1987, working through her judging and refereeing levels. She was a level 4 judge from 1997-2011 and has been a level 4 referee since 2003. Affectionally known as Canada’s Referee Pat has touched the lives of thousands of swimmers from coast to coast.
Pat has volunteered on-deck at many national and international meets, including UANA (now Pan Am Aquatics) age group meets, Junior Worlds and FINA (now AQUA) World Series/World Aquatic Championships, three Pan Am Games, four Olympic Qualification meets and the 2012 Olympic Games and 2016 Olympic Games.
Pat has also worked in many other capacities over the years, as a member of the (now) National Officials Committee for CAS (formerly Synchro Canada), as a regional judges chair in Ontario, Pan Am Games organizing committee member, and as a Member VP for the CAS Board of Directors from 2011-2014. Since 2021, she has served as the President of Ontario Artistic Swimming.
LYNDA FURNISS
Spanning a career of 55 years, Lynda Furniss has made an impact on the artistic swimming community in innumerable ways.
Lynda began her career as an official in 1968 as a provincial judge, went on to become a national official in 1972, and a FINA judge in 1983, retiring as a FINA “A” judge in 2006. She has remained extremely active throughout her career and, in particular, has been a mentor to the community, as a FINA evaluator (2002-2015), a national judge and evaluator, and as teacher/course conductor, both nationally and internationally.
Lynda exemplifies unwavering dedication to the sport of artistic swimming. She was an active leader in the province, assuming the roles of Judges’ Chair and officials’ committee member, and on occasion, timer-extraordinaire! Throughout the past three decades, Lynda continued to make significant contributions to Canada Artistic Swimming, including by serving on the National Officials Committee and participating as a member of the selection committee for international officials, among countless other responsibilities.
Lynda’s impact extends globally, having judged and evaluated at more than forty international competitions, which include prestigious events such as World Championships, Junior World Championships, Pan American Games, Canada Winter Games, and the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. In recognition of contributions to the sport, Lynda received the Canada Artistic Swimming (CAS) Bridge Builder Award in 2008.
Lynda’s mentorship, dedication, and kind demeanour has made her a staple of the community, and we are honoured to include Lynda as one of this year’s inductees on the OAS Wall of Honour.