Di Williamson has a place on my list of those who made a difference

 

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.