A History of Aquatic Greatness
Winter Park has a tradition of aquatic excellence. Our earliest residents swam in the many lakes that dot the area. In the 1800s, Rollins College students would even compete in swimming and diving events in nearby Lake Virginia.
Check out this gallery compliments of the Rollins College Archive:
✅ 1904: Early Olympic Swimming
The swimming at Rollins set the stage for Winter Park’s first Olympic swimmer: Rex Beach. The modern Olympic Games had just been launched, and the third set of Games was held in St. Louis in 1904. Rex competed in the one-mile handicap swimming race and in water polo.
The one-mile handicap swimming race was a type of competitive swimming event popular at that time. Unlike standard races, where all swimmers start at the same time and compete under the same conditions, handicap races were designed to level the playing field by giving slower or less experienced swimmers a time or distance advantage.
Olympian Rex Beach. Credit: Rollins College Blog.
However, the one-mile handicap race was not officially recognized as an Olympic event, and the water polo match was considered an exhibition game. Consequently, despite his participation, Rex did not secure an official Olympic medal.
✅ 1920s: Winter Park & Swimming Pools
Pools were not really needed with the abundance of beautiful, clear lakes; however, Rollins College built one of Winter Park’s earliest pools in the 1920s as part of the Lyman Gymnasium. This facility served the college for many years until the Alfond Swimming Pool was built in 1971, becoming the primary aquatic facility on campus. The Alfond Pool was named after Harold Alfond, a prominent philanthropist and supporter of Rollins College.
Construction on the Alfond Pool, 1971. Credit: Rollins College Archive.
✅ 1957: Cady Way Pool
The City also got into the pool business, starting construction on a community pool at Cady Way in the 1950s. The pool was named after F.W. Cady, who served as mayor of Winter Park from 1928 through 1933. The land for the pool was near the Showalter Airpark and the Dinky Line train. In fact, the pool had to be built at an angle from the road due to the curved route of the Dinky Line.
Top of the aerial photo shows the remains of the Showalter Airpark’s runways and the middle shows the Dinky Line railway curving around the Cady Way Pool. Credit: Orlando Memory
✅ 1966: World Record Set
The new Cady Way Pool was a premier facility at the time and hosted major swim meets. In 1966, swimmer Catie Ball set a world record in the 100m breaststroke at Cady Way Pool. Catie went on to win gold in the 1968 Olympic Games, set 13 world records, hold six American records, and be named “World Breaststroker of the Year” in both 1967 and 1968.
Olympic swimmer Catie Ball. Credit: International Swimming Hall of Fame.
✅ 1996 Olympic Swimming
Winter Park’s Jilen Siroky Bouwer started swimming competitively at age 5 for Coach Harry Meisel, the head coach of the Blue Dolfins. She says, “Coach Meisel watched me and gave me the chance to be part of a team when other coaches wouldn’t.”
That chance paid off just a few years later when Jilen made the U.S. Olympic Swim Team at just 14 years old, becoming the youngest U.S. athlete competing at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Olympic swimmer Jilen Siroky. Credit: Notre Dame University.
✅ 1980s – Present Day: High School Domination
This long tradition of aquatic activities in Winter Park gave birth to a high school sports tradition that rivals the best. The Winter Park High School boys' and girls' swimming and diving teams have won 26 team state championships and hundreds of individual state titles. Winter Park’s Water Polo teams have similarly dominated the field since being recognized by the FHSAA as a sport.
In addition to state championships, Winter Park High School aquatic sports have enabled hundreds of students to attend college via athletic scholarships.
Winter Park High School coach Joe Auer with the Girls 200 Freestyle Relay team, which won the state championship in 2018.
✅ 2024: American Records Set
Currently, Cady Way Pool is the home training pool for one of Winter Park’s most decorated swimmers ever: Lauren Bergquist.
Lauren competes all over the world, proudly representing Team USA. She holds six American records and is the fastest American to ever swim her T21 events. Lauren swims in the USA Down Syndrome Swimming League and is an incredible role model for all swimmers.
Team USA swimmer Lauren Bergquist. Credit: Leslie Bergquist.
✅ 2025: A New Olympic-sized Pool
After 66 years, Cady Way Park is being revitalized to continue providing an atmosphere where, as 5-year-old Jilen Siroky did, children can dream of Olympic greatness.
With the addition of a 50m Myrtha Pool (the worldwide gold standard) and a total renovation of the existing pool area, Cady Way will once again be one of the premier aquatic facilities in Central Florida. But it will go far beyond being a training facility—it will also allow for many more community events to be held there.
📌 Even more important than athletic greatness is the access to learning to swim, a survival skill that every child should have. When drowning is the number one cause of death for children under age 4, we believe it is essential that ample swim space for lessons be provided.
Our Blue Dolfins Foundation is making this happen with the City through a mixture of private and corporate funding from well-known community partners. However, more private dollars are needed.
📌 Donations are 100% tax-deductible and can be made in almost any form: cash, checks, Venmo, or even stock gifts. Gift some stock before the end of the year and take advantage of the deduction while avoiding those gains!
👉 Contact Anne Gustin for more info about how to arrange this.
Thank you for your excitement about this project and for being a part of the Blue Dolfins family, 50+ Years Strong!
I’ll continue to keep you updated as we go.
Coach Joe