Gulf Coast Swimming Association celebrates 50th anniversaryth It's only fitting that several of the swimmers returned last week to celebrate this anniversary, and that the coach who started it all, Dana Abbott, will be joining them.
He flew in from Texas to reunite with his former swimmers. We are excited to introduce you to one of our swimmers. Miss Rose Mary Collins is 96 years old, but she's still going strong.
“I'm so glad she did this. I'm so proud of her. She's just setting a great example for everyone.”
“It keeps her healthy. It keeps her body and mind in tip-top condition.”
Tom Collins, Rose Mary's son, said: “She loves to swim. She swims with me in the morning before work. She hates missing out on that and loves being in the pool.'' If I can't take her, someone else will.”
“I think swimming is one of the sports that you can do for a lifetime because it doesn't hurt your joints like jogging. That's why anyone can swim.''
Rose Mary said, “Still, go into the pool, swim a little bit, and then come out.''
“Today is our 50th anniversary.th Our swim team was formed in the early 70's with Coach Dana Abbott, who came directly from Tulane and was our first coach and who organized the GCSA (Gulf Coast Swimming Association) here. ”
Coach Abbott said, “When I came here the first summer, she was my surrogate mother. I actually lived with the Collins family. We lived in College Park, across the street from each other. They lived in two houses, they fed me, gave me a room, I coached 8 of their 10 children, and she still swims. She's still swimming today at 96 years old. She's still one of the best people I know.”
“We always called my mom Coach, and that was also her nickname. So Coach was always in the back office doing clerk work, processing all the cards, and then I kept tabs on everything.”
“None of the kids are swimmers, so seeing them at a young age makes them feel very young.”
Martha Collins Letard, Rose Mary's daughter, said: The amazing part of her life is that she has raised her children through swimming and now she is actually becoming a swimmer and we are becoming cheerleaders. ”
“(What's it like when you swim in that pool? What's your mental state?) I'll call you when I'm done. All I'm worried about is getting from one end of the pool to the other.”
Rose Mary's inspiration proves that no matter how old she gets, she can't slow down. She also qualified for the 2025 Summer National Senior Games.
