Transvaal coach Zvi Katabi

 Coaches provide the continuity in any sport, although they seldom get credited with the success of their charges. They bring decades of experience, knowledge and passion for their sport to bear on the raw talent of their athletes, without whom the swimmers would have little chance of realising their own potential as competitors.

South African swimming coaches are usually independent entrepreneurs. They often build their own pools and generate additional income by managing a Learn to Swim program in addition to elite-level coaching. Swimmers are usually free to join whichever club they wish. There is also a growing number of larger set-ups, like the TUKS Aquatic club, which is associated with the University of Pretoria. Schools like Westville High near Durban have developed entire aquatic centres, where coach Graham Hill develops Olympic champions like Chad le Clos. Swimming has become big business in South Africa.

While most coaches remain largely anonymous, and the performing athletes become famous, some South African swimming coaches have become well known on a national level. In the 1920's, Jimmy Green of Pretoria (seen below with Olympic medallist Jennie Maakal), who was often mentioned in the press, and Rachael Finlayson of Durban coached the 1928 Olympic team to a bronze medal, and the Durban Beach Baths were eventually named after her. In the 1950's and 60's, Peter Elliot was well known locally in Port Elizabeth for producing national champions like Geoff Grylls and Brian Elliot.

There are many foreign coaches in southern Africa. Larry Laursen came from the USA to coach in South West Africa (now Namibia) in 1966, while Frank Gray was recruited from England by the South African government to coach in Kimberley, where he became famous as the coach of Karen Muir. Cecil Colwin is described as the 'first professional coach in South Africa', while Jonty Skinner has become a USA Olympic coach.

In Rhodesia, coaches like Sid Gibbons, Frank Parrington and his wife Lillian, who was a British Olympic swimmer, produced many South African champion swimmers. Their son, David Parrington, is a US Olympic diving coach. Other foreign coaches operating in South Africa included Dutch coach Clara Aurik in Cape Town, Australians Bob Campbell in Pretoria, Terry Gulliver and Jim Spring, and Karoly von Törrös of Hungary, who coached Sarah Poewe in Cape Town during the 1980's.

Swimming coaches have sometimes organised into Coach Associations, where their names would be recorded. Unfortunately, little evidence remains of these coaches associations, and the names and biographies of most coaches are unknown today. Below are links to a few swimming coaches:

Over the years a number of famous coaches have visited South Africa, like Americans John Harte (1937), Bob Kiphuth, Doc Councilman and Don Gambril (1960).

The coaches listed here are of no particular colour or nationality. The Pisces SC in Durban named Eddie Meth the first black coach with a swimmer winning a gold medal at the National Championship level.

Coach Frank Gray - with his son Simon Gray

Many coaches follow their parents into the job - like Graham Hill and his mother Doreen (below). Other families that coach include Olympic Dean Price and his American mother Janet; Frank Gray and sons Simon; David and Nicky; Peter Elliot and Brian from Port Elizabeth; Britons Frank and Lillian Parrington in Rhodesia, and their son David Parrington, USA Olympic diving coach; Doug Skinner and USA Olympic swimming coach Jonty Skinner. Many more families have continued the tradition - if readers can provide details, their names will be added here.

Coach Kees Jonker

Read the stories of some famous South African swimming coaches. 

Note: Only Dean Price and Wayne Ridden are still coaching in 2026.

Schoeman, Neethling make their mark

Roland Schoeman, of Northern Tigers, who is based at the University of Arizona, smashed the South African 100m butterfly record with ease on Monday night.

He clocked an Africa record 52.73sec competing in the semifinals at the South African championships at King's Park pool in Durban.

The championships double as the Olympic trials.

His Arizona team-mate, former Free State champion Ryk Neethling now swimming in the colours of KwaZulu-Natal, smashed the 200m freestyle record, recording a world-class 1.47.37 and dragging Pietermaritzburg's rising teenager Darian Townsend to an Olympic qualifier in the semifinals. Local lad Townsend recorded an outstanding 1.49.57, which should see that he goes to Athens in August.

"I was very happy with that," said Neethling after winning the final from Swiss Dominique Meichtry (1.49.21) and Townsend (1.50.07).

"I was hoping for a 1.46, but it was a good enough time considering that I had to work by myself up front all the way. I swim a lot stronger when I'm pushed by my opposition."

There was plenty of satisfaction for several of the home province's coaches as Wayne Riddin, Graham Hill, Alisdair Hatfield, Frank Gray and Margaret Martin all saw some of their charges making it to the medal podium over the opening three days.

Riddin saw 14-year-old Tanya Strydom snatch bronze in the 50m freestyle, an effort which will probably see her as the youngest medallist of the week - the championships continue until Wednesday evening - and has been Townsend's coach for many years.

Hill was able to share some of Riddin's glory, having monitored the progress of the former Maritzburg College star since the start of the year.

Hill, the Mr Price Seagulls coach, also had the satisfaction of taking a 1-2 in the 200m backstroke for women, with Melissa Corfe recording a 2.14.00, just a fraction of a second off the Olympic qualifying time, while Romina Armellini - swimming in the colours of Cental Gauteng - took the silver medal in the same event. Terence Parkin grabbed silver in the 100m breaststroke.

Martin's young 100m breaststroker, Ronwyn Roper, pulled out all the stops to grab the bronze, a feat matched by Hatfield's Jeff Norton in the 200m backstroke and Neil Versveld in the 100m breaststroke.

Gray saw young distance specialist Troyden Prinsloo taking silver in the 400m freestyle.

The coaches listed here are of no particular colour or nationality. Very little is known about the coaches in the non-white communities. The Pisces SC in Durban named Eddie Meth be the first black coach with a swimmer winning a gold medal at National Championship level.

A famous tidal pool once graced the shoreline outside of Port Elizabeth. Built in 1931, it the largest tidal pool in the country.

Unfortunately, the Seaview hotel was demolished in April 2014. A blog about the ruined hotel before being demolished can be found here.

(Note: Artefacts website states the pool was constructed in 1936 but originally designed 1934)

The bath itself is the largest tidal bath in this country, being even greater in size than the Sea Point one. The pavilion shown in the sketch is probably the first stage only of what will eventually be a series of similar terraces containing dressing-boxes, etc. The unit shown has accommodation for 160 persons of both sexes, with lavatories, stores and attendants' rooms.

The whole structure is of reinforced concrete left rough from the shuttering and bagged; with a final coat of light tan distemper.

The woodwork — such as doors, etc. — is to be painted in bright clean colours, while the undersides of the concrete umbrella-shelters are to be tiled with coloured glazed tiles.

The retaining wall is about 3 ft. (915 mm) thick at the base, as, during high tides, the waves break against it. The top is hollow — allowing plants to be grown along the parapet.

Future extension will consist of another "deck" of undressing boxes, forming yet another terrace behind the existing building.

The paving of the terraces and surround to the bath is in alternate blue and cream concrete slabs; the whole area of the bottom of the bath also being similarly treated.

The wall forming the sea end of the bath is arranged with funnel-shaped apertures facing the waves, and inclined tubes leading up through the wall, making a series of blowholes. Each wave that breaks against the wall sends a jet of water twenty feet into the air over the bath!

For some context to the Sea View pool, the Penzance saltwater pool in Cornwall was built around the same time, also with an Art Deco theme.

Part of just a handful of saltwater tidal pools left in Europe, the Jubilee Pool was originally built in 1935 to commemorate King George V's silver jubilee. Once package holidays came into play in the 1970s, the pool's popularity declined and became neglected and disrepair. After a £3 million-pound investment from the Coastal Communities Fund, the pool was restored to its former glory and reopened by Prince Charles in 2016.