A Tribute to Marnie Tatham

It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Marnie Tatham on Sunday, July 18th from a heart attack. A well-known mentor, teacher and coach, Marnie touched and influenced many people in the Canadian diving family and will be missed by everyone.

Her funeral took place on Friday, July 23rd in Woodstock, Ontario at the Longworth Funeral Home. Anne Warburton, Diving Plongeon Canada

Gord Peterson -

We have lost one of our outstanding contributors to the sport of diving. Never a diver herself, Marnie Tatham embarked on a tremendously influential career as a diving coach, camp director and diving official that covered almost all of the 1970's and 1980's. During the mid 1970's to early 1980's, Marnie and her husband, Sid, constructed an outdoor diving facility, complete with a full tower complex, out of a used hydro tower. With that facility, Marnie operated a diving camp in her back yard ("Tatham's Pond") in Woodstock, Ontario and coached many provincial, national and international competitors. She developed two Olympians (Ken Armstrong and Randy Sageman) and contributed to the development of many others. It was rare, in fact, when one of the members of the Canadian Age Group Diving Team had not been to Tatham's Pond - partially because it was then the premier outdoor training facility in Canada and partially because Marnie had such a nice way with her that people wanted to go and be coached by her.

During that time, Marnie and Sid invited Woodstock to their house to celebrate Canada Day every year. There, the people of Woodstock and the surrounding community were exposed to world class diving, great food and a wonderful show of comedy diving, Olympic diving and even rope tricks - all done in the Tatham's backyard.

It wasn't just the Woodstock community nor the Canadian diving community that enjoyed the Tatham's Pond. For many years, Ontario had an exchange diving meet with New Jersey. Every other year, the competition was held in Ontario. In the mid-1970's, the Tatham's invited the Ontario-New Jersey competition to be held at Tatham's Pond and it was so successful that it happened on three more occasions. It was the most popular location because the American families could camp at the Tathams and everyone could enjoy a wonderful outdoor competition with tremendous camaraderie. Each time the exchange competition was held at Tatham's, the size of the American team increased and the people accompanying the team increased even more. I would venture that the Tatham's did more for US-Canada relations than any other initiative at that time!

Marnie's contribution will be a lasting one. Many of us have fond memories of our time spent there. Many others around the world will always remember Marnie for her positive attitude and willingness to help. The hundreds of children who went through the diving camps run by Marnie from throughout Canada, the US (and even Brazil and Jamaica) had a top notch experience at comparatively low cost. More importantly, Marnie made an impact on so many lives who continue her legacy to this day and impact on others in the manner Marnie herself did. We miss you Marnie! Thank you for making a difference.

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Shaun Panayi, Australia -

Sad to hear about Marnie. Remember her on many trips years ago as an official - always a friendly face to us Aussies.

Regards

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El izabeth Jack, Tasmania AU -

What sad news. As Anne says in her e-mail, Marnie was an important and influential person in Canadian diving over a very long time. I am sure many people will miss her.

Regards

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Joie Zeglinski, Pan Am Diver from long ago -

Please pass on my condolences to the Tatham family. I had the chance to join Marnie's camp in my early diving years and loved it. I have always felt a fondness for Marnie since then.

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Nancy Brawley -

Marnie was a special person that could always see the positive side of things. She knew how to think outside of the box and make the impossible happen. She had a passion for diving that we all appreciated and missed when she retired from our sport.

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Claude Cormier -

I was able to attend Marnie's service and I have to say it was truly a celebration of an incredible life. The comments from the several people who paid tribute to her, left no doubt of her accomplishments and impact on the people she came in contact with. She will be missed.

Marnie Tatham adopted me as a diving orphan from New Brunswick into her summer diving camp in Woodstock Ontario. From the first time that I heard her tell me to "take it up", I knew my life would change forever. Her dedication to the sport of diving and to any and all divers in Canada who shared her passion, was incredible. I think the "Tatham Pond" was the first true example of a Field of Dreams - "if you build it, they will come". National training camps, Provincial Championships, International Competitions, Training camps for people from Quebec, Manitoba, Ontario ... it truly was a "Pond of Dreams!" More significant however, than Marnie & Sid's contribution to the diving world, was Marnie's impact on the people she came in contact with. Always upbeat, positive and engaging, she always brought out the best in people regardless of who they were, what language they spoke and where they were from. Marnie always made time to talk to people and to really listen. I will miss this from Marnie as well as the positive energy that she radiated. How she found time to raise six incredible children, be a wife to a great husband and develop divers to be provincial, national and international superstars, I will never know. I only know that Marnie Tatham will never be forgotten by any of us who knew her.

Regards.

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Saul Marks -

I would be very appreciative of being able to contribute something to the newsletter regarding Marnie's passing. She was always there for me. I went to her summer camp and ended up staying the whole summer 3 years in a row from the age of 13.

I was in touch with her on last Friday night (July 16) to discuss my yearly summer visit which was to be the next weekend. I still have a laminated copy of the article which appeared on the front page of the Sports Section of the Toronto Star regarding the alumni reunion we had there the summer of 2003 titled, "The Pond of Dreams". I think some of the quotes from the article would be very appropriate for the newsletter.

I spoke with Sid and several of Marnie and Sid's children last night. Marnie will very much be missed.

Kind regards.

Ontario Aquatic Sports Hall of Fame

Attention Mr Rick Hannah. President

June 22, 2010

Dear Rick

I am writing in support of the nominations for Marnie Tatham in the Coach category and Sid Tatham in the Builder category of the Ontario Aquatic Sports Hall of Fame.

Marnie was a self taught diving coach who became well respected in Canada and internationally for her expertise. The high performance athletes she coached and their results that she helped them produce are well known. Sid, along with Marnie, was the driver to creating a high performance training center in their backyard. I was one of the lucky people who lived in the caboose a couple summers while training at Tatham’s Pond.

While the legacy of results and a high performance facility are worthy of recognition, I’d like to speak to an even more sustainable legacy they created and that’s the legacy of a ‘can-do’ attitude. Access to good quality training facilities is a challenge now and it was even more so 30 or 40 years ago. So they addressed this challenge by building their own and opening it up to any diver serious about their training. They created a high performance environment and encouraged high performance thinking. They created a positive training environment that supported the well-being of the athlete as a person. Marnie helped us believe that we could be the best. We cooked healthy meals at the open kitchen beside of the pond. Sid encouraged us to work alongside him in the garden. They helped me get a summer job lifeguarding at the local pool. They invited us into their home to play cards when the weather was stormy.

The facility they built was about more than a high performance training center and the fond memories we have from our time there. And Marnie’s coaching was about more than results. Their everlasting legacy is an attitude, an attitude that helped the Canadian diving community believe it should strive to be the best in the world and that it was capable of achieving that goal.

For this legacy, I believe Marnie and Sid Tatham truly deserve a place of honour in the Ontario Aquatic Hall of Fame.

Sincerely,

Linda Cuthbert

Past President, Aquatic Federation of Canada

Linda Cuthbert -

I attended Marnie’s visitation and funeral and it was really beautiful…exactly what Marnie would have wanted. It was a celebration of the life of someone who was welcoming, adventurous, aspiring and inspiring. It was also an opportunity for some members of the diving community to gather and reminisce. Some people who came to celebrate Marnie’s life and share memories of the Pond were: Ken Armstrong, Steve Brooks, Scott Sinclair, Mark Rourke, Saul Marks, Scott Cranham, Claude Cormier, Gord Peterson’s wife Mary, Ken Armstrong’s parents and brothers. It was good to see some of the friends, family and fans who used to be part of the scenery at the Pond.

The service was delivered by a female minister who was a friend of Marnie’s and knew the family. Marnie’s best friend Fran spoke and said her final act of defiance to Marnie was the fact that she was wearing a jacket that was ‘not her colour’. Marnie’s only daughter Mary Ellen spoke of their travels in various remote locations together. The final speaker was Marnie’s eldest son Rob who delivered the most moving, poetic tribute I have heard.

I was so glad that the nomination to the Ontario Aquatic Hall of Fame was successful and that Marnie was told of this achievement prior to her passing. Marnie was accepted in the Coach category and Syd in the Builder category.

It was great to see the photos of her and in every photo they showed the face of a person full of life, curiosity and enthusiasm.

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Rest in Peace Marnie. You were and will be an inspiration to all of us in our sport and in how we live our lives. Your sweet generosity and love of life will not be forgotten by those who were fortunate enough to have known you.

God bless!