Sue Acampora, a fixture in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina swimming community for more than two decades, died in February. She was 61 years old.
Acampora coached the boys and girls swim teams at Parkland High School for 10 years, from 2011 until this year, and also taught swimming at the William G. White YMCA, the Gateway YWCA and the Westwood Swim and Tennis Club, among other places.
Enfinity Aquatic Club coach Tim Hellen announced Acampora’s death on the team’s Facebook page on February 15.
“Better known as The Lady in the Water, Coach Sue was everything to Enfinity Aquatic Club and Winston Salem/Kernersville swimming,” wrote Hillen. “Over the past 20 years, the number of swimmers Coach Sue taught was unparalleled in our community. There wasn’t any aspect of the sport that Coach Sue didn’t play a part in.”
Acampora also coached synchronized swimming and diving in the community when it was needed.
In 2012, she told the Winstom-Salem Journal how rewarding it was to see her swimmers’ progress after just a short time in the water.
“You’re spending half of your season getting them up to speed. We’ve made a lot of progress in a short time. The kids are walking away with a lot of personal bests,” she said at the time. “It’s like watching your children learn to walk.”
In 2018, the Northern Virginia native was named the Piedmont Triad 3-A Conference coach of the year, taking all 18 of her swimmers to regionals and 10 of them to the state finals.
“If you ever wanted to hang out in a parking lot for an extended period, you would have stopped Coach Sue and asked her how the Parkland swim team was coming along,” Hillen wrote.
Hillen also said that Acampora spent her last day lifeguarding, teaching water aerobics and giving swim lessons.
Enfinity Aquatic Club plans to donate money each year on Feb. 11, the date of her death, to a program that will teach swimming to children whose families can’t afford lessons.
I had the privilege to be coached by Sue in my age group days. I can’t remember a time where she wasn’t smiling! She will be greatly missed and forever a Winston-Salem great.