Olympians Cammile Adams, Ryan Berube Among Inductees to Texas S&D Hall of Fame

The Texas Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame inducted 4 new members and 1 team, as well as giving out a Lifetime Achievement Award over the weekend.

The Texas Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame is based out of the University of Texas Swimming Center in Austin, but is designed to acknowledge contributions of individuals and teams throughout the state and at all levels.

The class inducted on Saturday was the Class of 2020.

Texas Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame Class of 2020

  • Cammile Adams (Swimmer)
  • Ryan Berube (Swimmer)
  • Scott Donnie (Diver)
  • George Block (Coach & Administrator)
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: Tom and Carolyn Boak
  • Wally Pryor Distinguished Team: Alamo Area Aquatics Association

The class includes a trio of Olympic athletes: Former Cypress Woods High School and Texas A&M swimmer Cammile Adams, who finished 5th and 4th, respectively, at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, and was named a captain in 2016; Ryan Berube, a 26-time NCAA All-American and 1996 NCAA Swimmer of the Year at SMU who also won a relay gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games; and the 1992 Olympic silver medalist on the 10-meter platform Scott Donnie, who also competed collegiately at SMU. Donie is currently the head diving coach at Columbia University in New York City.

George Block was inducted for his success as a coach, which includes developing 9 Olympians, 50 UIL state gold medalists, and more than 285 NISCA All-Americans, working mostly in the San Antonio area. He also has served as vice-president of the USA Swimming Board of Directors and the president of both ASCA and WSCA.

The 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award was given to husband and wife duo Tom and Carolyn Boak for their contribution to Masters Swimming. Tom chaired various national USMS committees and served as USMS President from 1985-1989, then as USMS Treasurer from 2006-2007. He is currently on the USMS Board of Directors and the treasurer of United States Aquatic Sports. As a competitor, he was a three-time Masters World Champion in 1988. Carolyn has also served on the USMS Board of Directors, chaired the international committee, and served on both the championship and rules committees. As a competitor, she has set many masters world records.

Both are members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame: Carolyn as a competitor and Tom as a contributor.

Alamo Area Aquatics Association, the largest team in the San Antonio area, originated as an administrative umbrella organization in 1977 to help support multiple teams across the city. It would eventually be reorganized and unified into a program that has around 1,300 registered swimmers. The team has produced 20 Olympians representing 7 different countries in 3 different aquatic sports in the last 45 years.

Full Bios, Courtesy Texas Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame

Cammile Adams

Adams is a Houston native. She graduated from Cypress Woods High School in 2010 and Texas A&M University in 2014. Adams is a two-time Olympian (2012, 2016). At both Olympics, she swam the 200 butterfly and placed fifth and fourth respectively. At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, she was nominated as the Women’s Team Captain. Adams now owns six SafeSplash Swim Schools around the Houston Area. She enjoys watching kids set goals for themselves and master skills in the pool. Promoting water safety in Houston is her dream job. Cammile and her husband, Rad Brannan, were married in October of 2016 and are in the process of adopting a child.

Ryan Berube

A 26-time NCAA all-American swimmer, Berube finished his senior year at Southern Methodist University by being voted 1996 NCAA Swimmer of the Year after winning the 200 individual medley and the 100 and 200 backstroke. Internationally, he won relay gold medals at the 1993 World University Games and 1995 Pan American Games. His career culminated with an Olympic gold medal anchoring the 1996 4×200 freestyle relay in Atlanta, Georgia. Berube spent more than 20 years volunteering within USA Swimming before stepping aside to focus on philanthropic endeavors in Dallas. He is currently the Chairman of the Dallas chapter of Swim Across America, worked on the team that spearheaded the fundraising for SMU’s new aquatics facility, serves on the board of the southwest chapter of US Olympians, and manages to find a little time to coach young children in the pool. Berube is currently a wealth manager at UBS focused solely on entrepreneurial families, helping them grow and protect their assets. He lives in Dallas with his wife, Michele, and two sons, Jack and Rush.

Scott Donie

Donie moved to Texas at age 12 and dove with Terry Faulkenberry on the Woodlands Diving Team. He won his first national age group title when he was 13 and made the senior national team when he was 15. He ranks as one of the most successful and accomplished divers ever to compete for SMU. Donie competed for the Mustangs from 1987-90, and he was an 11-time SWC diving champion and three-time NCAA champion. Donie earned all-America honors in 1987-90. His success did not stop at SMU, as Donie was a member of the U.S. national diving team from 1985-96. He was an 11-time national U.S. diving champion and he won the Phillips Performance award and multiple High Point awards. He is a two-time Olympian, winning the silver medal in the 10-meter platform in 1992 while competing for the United States. After retirement from diving, Donie moved to New York City and became the head coach at NYU where he remained for 16 years. He is now head diving and age group coach at Columbia University. He is a member of the NYC Olympic bid committee and he continues to deliver motivational speeches at schools and camps. Scott and his wife Kaili are proud parents to their daughter, Lucy.

George Block

Block served as director of aquatics and assistant director of athletics for the Northside School District. He developed the Northside Aquatic Center into an internationally recognized center for athlete development. Block developed nine Olympians, 50 UIL state gold medalists, more than 285 all-Americans, Olympic Trials qualifiers in 1984-88-92-96-2000 and 2008, and numerous national and junior champions. He has produced Olympians in three different sports (swimming, triathlon and pentathlon) and Olympic swimmers from four different countries (United States, Nicaragua, Egypt and Algeria). He was awarded the Phillips 66 Performance Award and was named the Coca-Cola Texas Coach of Honor. The United States Water Fitness Association named Northside the top school district/community facility in the nation and Coach Block its top aquatics director. He also received NISCA’s Outstanding Service Award. Coach Block served as vice president of USA Swimming and as the president of both the American and World Swimming Coaches Associations. He earned the Silver Award of Excellence for 20 years of national finalists, was inducted into both the ASCA and San Antonio Sports Halls of Fame and awarded the United States Olympic Committee’s “Rings of Gold.”

Tom and Carolyn Boak (Lifetime Achievement Award)

Tom and Carolyn have been competitors and contributors in United States Masters Swimming since the 1970s. Tom chaired various national USMS committees and served as USMS President from 1985-1989, then as USMS Treasurer from 2006-2007. He is presently serving on the board of United States Masters Swimming and as treasurer of United States Aquatic Sports. He also won three masters world championships in breaststroke in 1988. Carolyn has served on the USMS board of directors, chaired the international committee, and served on both the championship and rules committees for multiple years. She has set many masters world records in freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke, and individual medley. Both have been meet directors of USMS National Championships (Tom five times) and continue to serve at meets and on the board of their local masters club, Woodlands Masters Swim Team. They have been active in the Gulf LMSC for many years. Both have been inducted into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame, Carolyn as a competitor and Tom as a contributor.

Alamo Area Aquatics Association (Wally Pryor Distinguished Team)

A unique entity in Texas swimming, the Alamo Area Aquatic Association (AAAA) was established in 1977 to serve as an organizational and administrative umbrella for multiple programs. At the time the organization was first established, there were three separate, distinct, and independent age group swimming programs in San Antonio, one of which, the San Antonio Aquatic Club (SAAC), was the second oldest of its kind in the state of Texas. The three teams were often at odds with one another over several matters of mutual concern, but particularly the scheduling of meets within the city. It also became obvious that there would undoubtedly be certain advantages to be realized when championship relay teams were selected if all three could somehow resolve their differences in the interest of bettering the sport. Each member team is in some way affiliated with a school or community college district or a university, but the San Antonio Aquatic Club no longer exists. In September of 2001, the North East Independent School District (NEISD) absorbed the team and re-established it under district management as the North East Aquatic Team (NEAT). The AAAA now has some 1,300 registered swimmers working out and competing in several separate, multi-lane facilities. The Alamo Area Aquatic Association and the Alamo Area High School Swim League has produced 20 Olympic athletes representing seven different countries in three different aquatic sports since 1976.

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AThomas
2 years ago

Berube coming out in the winter gear in ’96 and then smashing the anchor leg was legit.

Steve Donie
2 years ago

Thanks for the story! There is one spot in the article where Scott’s last name (Donie) is mis-spelled with two N’s (Donnie).

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