SUMMERSIDE CELEBRATES LOCAL ATHLETE
City hall event marks the 30th anniversary of Barb McNeill’s successful swim of the English Channel
SUMMERSIDE — Barbara McNeill was cold and tired as she hit the 16-hour mark of her swim across the English Channel.
As she fought the currents, she spared a thought for her hometown and the people there, cheering her on.
“Every hour, I had a dedication to each side of the boat, so I thought of someone each hour. I never really worried if I was going to finish it. I just knew each hour was a new swim for me because it was dedicated to people,” said McNeill.
McNeill said she thought of her hometown and what it meant to her in that last hour of that swim.
“The City of Summerside and my community — they were so supportive throughout (the journey).”
McNeill swam the English Channel and landed on France’s shores 30 years ago on Aug. 24, 1989.
She became the first Atlantic Canadian and 15th Canadian, at the time, to accomplish the feat.
On Monday night, the City of Summerside celebrated her milestone and her retirement as the aquatic manager of the Credit Union Place, a position she held for more than 40 years.
Former broadcaster Paul H. Schurman recalled the time when McNeill first stepped into his office at the CJRW radio station and asked him to help her find a way to accomplish her dream.
“Paul, I want to swim the English Channel,” McNeill said to Schurman. “Why don’t you?” he asked. “I don’t know how to go about it,” she said.
“Be prepared, physically and mentally, and leave the rest to me,” he told her.
Schurman would end up heading the fundraising committee that helped McNeill make her way to England.
In 1988, she dove into English water and was only four kilometres away from the shore when she was told to abort her mission, due to rough currents.
The following week, she started her swim again but voluntarily got out of the water in an effort to perform CPR on fellow swimmer Renata Agondi, a 20-year-old Brazilian woman who had suffered a heart attack.
Before McNeill could reach Agondi’s boat, she was airlifted out of the water and pronounced dead later in hospital.
The third time really was the charm for McNeill. After a 17 1/2-hour swim she reached the shore of France.
As McNeill ends her long career as aquatic manager, she remembers her days at the Summerside pool.
“We had the Canada Games there with the synchronized swimmers. The main thing for me, though, was teaching the young people and being a leader for them and my staff.”
McNeill treasures the time she got to spend with her family at the pool.
“My favourite memory is teaching my nieces and nephews how to swim.”
When asked if she could give any advice to the new manager, she said self-confidence is key.
“Just believe in yourself as a leader. Trust in the young staff you’ll have and take passion in what you do.” After an inspection of the bus fleet earlier this summer, government decided to accelerate the replacement of some older buses by purchasing an additional 22 buses this year.
“With more than 300 school buses on the road every school day, we have to take every opportunity to create a safer, greener school bus fleet,” said Education Minister Brad Trivers. “The new buses will improve air quality for students on or near the bus, reduce carbon emissions, increase the visibility of buses and increase access to regular and spare buses.”
Islanders are asked to drive with extra care next week when school buses are back on the roads and students are walking to school.
“More than 15,000 Island students take the bus each school day. Their safety is our collective responsibility,” said Trivers. “We can all keep our children safe by slowing down in school zones and stopping until the red lights on a school bus stop flashing.”