George Gate

George Gate

Quick Facts

Category: Coach/Builder
Name: George Gate

HIGHLIGHTS

GeorgeGate has developed 14 nationally ranked Canadian
coaches from hisswimmers, including 3 Olympic coaches,
the Johnson brothers and CliffBarry.
Olympic Coach: 1968
Commonwealth Games Coach: 1954
Pan American Games Coach: 1963
World Championships Coach: 1973

George Gate_bio
BIOGRAPHY

A champion swimmer, Gate immigrated to Canada after WWII and began swimming under the tutelage of fellow Hall of Famer, Percy Norman. During his World War II service with the British Royal Navy, George Gate saw action in the North Atlantic, the Pacific and in the British convoys to Russia. He had been a swimmer of modest accomplishment as champion of North England with the Border City Aquatic Club. At wars end he returned to become Cumberland and Westmoreland Champion. He wanted to become a forester in New Zealand but instead was a logger on Vancouver Island and then a mail clerk with Simpson Sears. In 1950, took a job as Pool Manager of the tiny Olympiad pool in the pulp town of Ocean Falls, British Columbia. During this time swimmers under his direction won an unprecedented 26 national competitions and half the Olympic team in 1964 was from his club. Gate coached Canadians at the Empire and Commonwealth Games with a team dominated by his Ocean Falls swimmers. Gate stayed at Ocean Falls for 14 years developing such great swimmers as Jack Kelso, Lenore Fisher, Richard Pound, the three Gilchrest brothers and Iron Man Ralph Hutton.
At the famed Montreal Athletic Association and at Point Claire he developed many more world class swimmers including world record holders Wendy Quirk and Peter Szmidt. All totaled, Gate coached 33 swimmers to Commonwealth, Pan-American, World Championship or Olympic Games, 10 from Ocean Falls and 23 from Montreal. He was head coach of the Canadian team at the first World Championship in Belgrade in 1973. He also coached the 1968 Canadian Olympic Team.
George Gate is most proud of his programs in diving, synchronized swimming and water safety. He has developed 14 nationally ranked Canadian coaches from his swimmers, including 3 Olympic coaches, the Johnson brothers and Cliff Barry.

Statsistics

Olympic Coach: 1968
Commonwealth Games Coach: 1954
Pan American Games Coach: 1963
World Championships Coach: 1973
Maccabiah Games Coach: 1977, 1981

Head Coach Aquatic Director of Ocean Falls, B.C.: 1950-1964
Head Coach Aquatic Director Montreal Amateur Athletic Association: 1964-1966
Head Coach Aquatic Director at Pointe Claire: 1966 to 1990’s
Selected 7 times as Head Coach for Canada’s National swim teams (1954-1985)

1982 Aquatic Hall of Fame Canada
1983 Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame
1989 International Swimming Hall of Fame