Jim Pye has been a member of our club since it was formed in 1968 and was an active member of
the NSW Swimming community for over 40 years. In that time he saw a countless number of swimmers
through the NSW Swimming structure and participated in all levels of our sport.
Jim devoted an incredible amount of time to Swimming on a Club, District and State
Level. Jim is a Life Member of Blacktown City and Merrylands Swimming Clubs, the
Cumberland District, Metro South West Area and is also a Life Member of CHS (Combined High Schools Sports Association).
Jim has been a qualified referee since 1974 and has played a strong part in District and State
administration in that time. He has been a club delegate to the Cumberland District since 1973 and
celebrated an outstanding 25 years as the Cumberland Delegate on the NSW Swimming Metropolitan
Committee, before stepping down in July 2003. Jim has also been a member of the Cumberland District Finance
Committee.
Jim officiated at his first Australian Championship in 1975 at Perth and still officiated at this
level until early in the 2000s, whenever the Championships were held in Sydney. Despite officiating at the highest levels of the
sport in this country, Jim always made himself available to local clubs in his area. It was not a
rare occurrence to watch Jim pull out the whistle and referee at any number of small, club or
inter-club events, always with a pocket full of minties ready to hand one to a passing swimmer or
parent.
Jim has received a number of awards for his service to swimming. In particular, in 2000 Jim received
the Australian Sports Medal and in February 2004 he was awarded a Distinguished Long Service Award at
the NSW Sport Federation Awards for his service to all levels of the sport.
In 2006, Jim's service to our club was formally recognised with the naming of
the Club Room at Merrylands Swimming Centre after Jim and his wife Glad. The Club Room was
officially named the "Glad and Jim Pye Club Room" by the Mayor of Holroyd, Councillor Dr John Brodie,
at a special ceremony on Saturday, 9th December, 2006.
Jim and his wife Glad now take a particular interest in school swimming and referee at many zone and
regional meets thereby officially recognising the performances of the registered swimmers competing.
Some highlights have been the Pacific School Games in 1988 Sydney, 1992 Darwin, 1996 Perth and Sydney
2000.
Jim passed away in October, 2010.
See Also