Swimming NSW extends its heartfelt thanks to Patrick Troy for his many years of service on the Swimming NSW Board. Pat yesterday announced that he will retire as a Swimming NSW Director at the end of 2019.
Pat has been involved as an active contributor in our swimming community for over 40 years and has willingly served as a volunteer and technical official at all levels of the sport throughout this period.
Pat’s level of commitment to the sport has been widely recognised both within our state and nationally. He has previously held the position of Swimming NSW President and has served on numerous Club, District, State and National Committees and Boards. At each and every level he has worked diligently to advance the sport of swimming and provide service to its members. His efforts have been justifiably recognised through Life Memberships at Club, District, State and in 2014 he was awarded Life Membership of Swimming Australia.
Aside from his vast experience as an administrator, Pat has reached the highest levels as a Technical Official, working his way up from assisting at local club nights to officiating at international competitions, including the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. To reach this level requires a high degree of expertise and also a willingness to listen and learn from others. Pat recognises that he has had some great mentors that assisted him with his officiating and he has therefore spent countless hours passing on his own knowledge to other up and coming officials with the same dreams that he had of representing Australia as an official on the world stage. There are but a handful of individuals that can boast Pat’s international representation for Australia as a technical official.
To this day Pat spends most weekends attending Swimming meets, whether this be a State Meet or travelling all over NSW to provide our clubs and districts with electronic timing equipment for their local meets. A service he provides generously without payment. Travelling thousands of kilometres each year across the State brings Pat into contact with many Swimming NSW members across a wide range of clubs and he is always willing to listen to their concerns, assist them wherever possible, and of course come back and visit again.
It is fair to say that Pat has spent the majority of his free time over the past 30-plus years in service to the sport of swimming. His time and effort at all levels of the sport, from official to educator to administrator, has been and continues to be an invaluable contribution to our sport.
Pat’s resignation from the Board will be a significant loss for Swimming NSW but we respect his decision that now is the right time. We wish Pat all the best for the future and we are sure we will still see him around the pool deck.
