Ray Essick, the first Executive Director of USA Swimming, passed away on Saturday night. Essick guided the organization from its formation in 1980 until his retirement in 1997, when current Executive Director Chuck Wielgus took over.
Essick led the Swimming Committee for the AAU and then joined USA Swimming in Colorado Springs in 1980 when USA Swimming was formed. As executive director, he built a strong infrastructure of programs and support for the National Team.
Named to the “30 Most Influential People in Swimming over the Past 30 Years” list last summer, Essick was also a 2015 inductee into the American Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He was awarded the 1998 USA Swimming Award and the American Red Cross presented him in 1997 with the Good Neighbor Award, one of the highest national awards given to an outstanding volunteer.
“Ray Essick led our sport through a period of enormous growth and prosperity,” said Wielgus. “He brought his passion as a coach and his drive for success to his role as USA Swimming’s first executive director. He was a mentor and a dear friend.”
In 1960, Essick started Lake Forest Swim Club as head coach before leaving in 1966 to become head swim coach at Southern Illinois University. After a successful seven-year stint there, he was hired as head swim coach at Harvard University, where he guided the Crimson from 1973-76.
About USA Swimming
As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States, USA Swimming is a 400,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. Our membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games, and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success. For more information, visit www.usaswimming.org.
Swimming News release is courtesy of USA Swimming.
He was a great coach, that I swam under, during his time a New Trier High School.
A loss of a close and dear friend. He had a great coaching career first and then his twenty years with swimming.
It should read he came to swimming in 1976 as the first swimming person at the AAU house in Indianapolis. That is when swimming was begging to run itself with the hard work of many. The name change and bonified independce was finally finished in 80. But there was a process going on since the mid 70’s with many people involved. He came on board with with great foresight of what swimming needed to do. In the begining it was an office of two.
When we became USSwimming it was a name change with swimming people… Read more »
Sad news. Was a good friend to me over many years and I will miss him.
I agree. Swimming at Lake Forest Swim Club under Ray and his team of coaches was not only fun but taught me a great deal. I would not have been half as successful in life without that experience.