Di Williamson,
I’m told, didn’t want a funeral. Apparently, she told her husband Nick that
people who want to say nice things about her should do so while she is alive.
She had a
point, I guess. I never told her enough how much I appreciated her – none of us
ever do. But I did browse through the folders on my laptop, looking for
memories, and came across this:
During the
big Covid lockdown of 2020 and 2021, I occupied myself by jotting down some thoughts
and memories. The idea was that I might publish them as a memoir, but
afterwards I realised they were probably too personal and ego-centric to
interest anyone out there and, besides, the gloomy pessimism of the times is
too prevalent. We weren’t quite sure that sport would ever be played again,
remember, and the government told us we couldn’t have a beer, or buy a grilled
chicken at Woolies.
Anyway, in
the customary fashion of memoirs, I got to compose lists of things I’d seen and
people I interacted with – the best players, the greatest games etc. I also made
a list of 10 adults who were around schools sport and who left an impression on
me.
Di
Williamson was at number six. Here’s what I wrote in 2021:
6 Di
Williamson
Di
Williamson began teaching at Highlands North Boys’ High School one year after I
did. She stayed there for another 16 years after I left and then moved across
to Saheti School where, although she has retired now, she still coaches the
swimmers.
Di was a
gifted science teacher who produced good results in the classroom, but it was
as a swimming coach that she is best known. She coached at the school, and also
had her own squad of swimmers who she coached professionally, a number of whom
went on to earn provincial and national colours. Later on, she specialised in
coaching competition lifesaving and open water swimming and has had much
success in those.
When I
became involved in swimming administration I came to lean heavily on her
support. Her phenomenal work rate, combined with the friendly relationships she
had with the swimmers and their parents, made her the ideal team manager. She organised,
and largely ran, countless internal provincial tours and two overseas trips
with SA Schools swimming teams. I accompanied her on most of those and they were
highlights of my time in school sport.
Her
scientific background meant that she was able to fathom the intricacies of
swimming electronic timing devices in their early days when very few others
knew how to operate them, so she became a fixture on the ETD computer at provincial
and national galas, along with everything else she was doing.
Di
Williamson epitomises one of the essential foundations of school sport: the
indefatigable, behind the scenes worker without whom things would never happen.
There are many of them in schools - most of them women - Di Williamson was the
one I was blessed to have as a friend and colleague.
For those who might want to know – here is the full list of
10 adults who made a difference. I’m not sure if you will know who all of them
were. They all left a huge impression.
1 Mike Brady, 2 Norman McFarland, 3 Morgan Pillay, 4 Dave
Pitcairn, 5 Brian Webster, 6 Di Williamson, 7 Adi Norris, 8 Tutty Faber, 9 Ernie
Botha, 10 Khaya Majola.
