Since its inception in the summer of 1959, the Burnaby Barracudas have brought passion, sportsmanship and fun to Burnaby’s youth.
According to Keith Watson, the Barracudas’ head coach in the early 60s, the establishment of Burnaby’s original summer swim club was for kids “who (did) not have an opportunity to swim all year round (but wanted) a chance to compete in summer meets.”
The club marks its 60th anniversary with this weekend’s annual Barracudas Grand Prix meet at the Central Park Pool.
In the first few years, the Barracudas had about 50 swimmers. Today, the club has grown to more than 260 speed swimmers, water polo players and divers.
The club, affectionately called “the ’Cudas” by members and alumni, had humble origins at Deer Lake. Parents were required to register their children at city hall, and lesson-goers were picked up from their respective schools by bus.
Later, novice swimmers learned at Confederation Park Pool before being transferred to Deer Lake. The ‘Cudas trained out of Deer Lake from 1959 to 1964 before moving to the newly built outdoor pools of Central Park, MacPherson, Kensington and Robert Burnaby.
One of the original Barracudas swimmers is Jim Storie, retired owner of Vancouver’s Trolley Bus Company. Storie joined the club in 1960 and swam with the ’Cudas until he was 17. The club had 20 swimmers in those days, he recalls. Storie would win a silver medal at one of the first B.C. Summer Swimming provincials, in the individual medley. He remembers diving off a raft in the middle of Deer Lake.
“Swimming was a big part of my life. I made lots of friends that I kept in touch with over the years. I was competitive throughout my life in different areas but likely it all began with competitive swimming,” said Storie.
In 1964 the Barracudas hosted the first invitational swim meet at CG Brown pool with 12 clubs participating. Later that year the club competed in their first BCSSA provincial championship at UBC’s Empire pool. The club would eventually go on to host the provincial championships in 1997 and 2004 at Central Park Pool.
Burnaby archives indicate that Barracuda athletes had consistent and impressive performances, especially among the younger age groups. Some went onto higher levels of competition, including Brandon Jung, a member of Canada’s 2008 Water Polo Olympic team, and more recently, Octavia Lau, who in 2018 competed at World Junior open water championships and the World Junior Pan Am Games.
Throughout the decades the Barracudas continue the proud tradition to be competitive and have fun doing it. It’s all about bringing the best of competitive sport together with fun, friendships and a community spirit.
None of these great seasons or athlete development would have been possible without the substantial and dedicated efforts of parents throughout the decades. From hiring coaches, booking pools times, organizing meets and tournaments, writing grants, fundraising, purchasing equipment and working with city officials to deliver quality programming to youth.
After 60 years, the Burnaby Barracudas continue to bring the best of competitive sport together with fun, friends and community spirit. This weekend on June 7 to 9 the club will host its annual Grand Prix swim meet at Central Park and will celebrate their milestone anniversary with the ‘Cudas’ alumni and several clubs from the Simon Fraser and Vancouver regions.
