Much loved swimming coach dies

THE South Coast lost a loving member of its local swimming fraternity last week when Maureen Pulker died.

More affectionately known as ‘Muffy’ to all who met her, she was a founding member of the local Blue Oceans Aquatics Swimming Club.

Muffy touched the lives of many and was a key driving force in developing local South Coast swimming talent, as well as providing Learn to Swim classes for many young and older locals from our community. Muffy had an exuberant love for all children and a passion for swimming, and just wanted to help everyone become a better and safer swimmer.

Along with her fellow coach and daughter, Mandy Koegelenberg, Muffy fulfilled a true motherly role in the club, always ensuring that all were safe, warmly dressed after a cold training session, and stayed on late to make sure that everyone left the pool deck content with what they had set out to do in their swimming session.

Likewise, Muffy unselfishly sat through many whole-day Level 0 and 1 galas in the heat and humidity of Kings Park pool, from the first till the last race of the day, both Saturday and Sunday, often on consecutive weekends, just to be there for each and every club swimmer. These were times she sacrificed her personal family life for the love of her ‘nooh-noohs’ and ‘my darlings’, just to help them better themselves and achieve their goals. For all of that she earned the gratitude of the swimmers and parents.

Her real joy however, and often a tear of happiness, came from watching those broad smiles on the children’s faces as they either ran straight past her to their parents with unbridled self-pride for finishing a race in ‘such a big 50m pool in front of all those people’ or stand on their respective pool podiums in front of their mates for excelling in local school galas.

Muffy was a fine example of a selfless woman who always managed to approach her swimming coach’s life with an ever present welcoming smile or a hug, day in, day out. She also never faltered in her desire to grow a local swimming club for the betterment of all those who might pass through it, and even whilst she was in contented retirement enjoying her well-earned time with family and grandchildren, she never let go of her desire to see her club and swimmers do well.

However, as with all hard training sessions, there is an end, and the time has come for all the swimmers who were privileged to have been guided by her smiles, wit and cheeky, steely glares to pass on her dreaded four words ‘3 – 2 – 1, hup!’