Swimming legend: ‘I haven’t acquired time to be a boring outdated fart’

“I’m the oldest, the shortest and the wrinkliest,” she says. “Because I’m so small, I always get wet right up to my neck.”

She can be one of many busiest. She nonetheless officiates on the prime stage in New Zealand, having been a professional starter for 42 years. In 2019, when she was a bit youthful – nicely, 83 – she clocked up 232 hours poolside, greater than another official. This included a visit to the Pacific Games in Samoa. Her officiating hours are additionally proper up there this 12 months.

While she inspects swimmers’ turns, making certain all guidelines are adopted, has began races and held the timekeeper’s stopwatch, swimming bosses advised her she was too brief to stroll down the aspect of the pool to guage swimmers’ stroking methods, a job referred to as “judge of stroke”.

“Damned if I know why,” she says. “They probably thought I was too short to see across four lanes, which is a load of rubbish.”

When aged almost 80, she officiated internationally on the Commonwealth Youth Games and was additionally a group supervisor on the Pan Pacific Games and Oceania Championships.

Earlier this month, regardless of lately breaking her toe, she began the races on the annual Mary McFarlane Classic at Dunedin’s Moana Pool. Just over per week later, she officiated in Auckland at trials for the Commonwealth Games, that are to be held in Glasgow in July.

The Mary McFarlane Classic is so named as a recognition of McFarlane’s years of service to the game within the area and a cup is awarded to the athlete with probably the most factors. She stated she was not initially eager to have a swimming competitors named after her.

“It’s embarrassing. I originally said ‘no, I don’t want it’. But they said, ‘we have to acknowledge you for the years you have put in’. I get the same enjoyment out of that as I do a national meet, I love watching the wee kids come through.”

McFarlane has been recognised in varied methods over the previous few years.

She is a cornerstone of the Otago swimming neighborhood, a life member of each Swimming New Zealand and Swimming Otago and is a former president and (since 2011) the present patron of the latter. In 2021, her contribution to swimming was additional recognised when she acquired the Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) honour.

She has intently witnessed the progress of swimmers corresponding to double Olympic gold medallist Danyon Loader and former world champion Erika Fairweather, each of whom are from Otago. You can’t get nearer than officiating poolside. She began officiating nicely earlier than Loader was born, additionally observing the progress of 1000’s of different swimmers.

“I’ve loved watching the likes of Erika Fairweather and Danyon Loader. I’ve watched those kids growing up from little kids to champions,” she says.

She says she is shocked New Zealand has not had an Olympic swimming medal since Loader’s double gold in 1996.

“I am, and I don’t know why the hell not … but you know, swimming has become a very expensive sport for parents, participants, officials, swimmers – everybody.”

McFarlane reads and knits day by day. For 10 years from her 50s, she additionally had her pilot’s licence. She is commonly out to espresso mornings with buddies. Having renewed her driver’s licence each two years, she continues to be commonly behind the wheel.

“Oh, hell yeah – I passed my licence very well last time,” she says.

She is extremely energetic for somebody about to be a nonagenarian.

“I haven’t got time to be a boring old fart,” she says.

At nearly 90, is she dwelling independently at residence?

“I am – I haven’t died yet.”

For years, she has additionally been up early 4 days per week to go to the gymnasium – besides in latest weeks.

“This is the 24th year but I can’t go just now because I’ve got a broken toe – and I’m just over a broken shoulder and a broken arm,” she says.

She’s most likely additionally damaged officiating data too.

In July, McFarlane goes to Africa for a month to satisfy her World Vision kids she sponsors; one in Malawi and one other in Uganda. It is a properly timed journey. She leaves simply after the Otago Secondary Schools Championships and will get again a few days earlier than the beginning of the National Secondary Schools Championships in Auckland.

“This will be my fifth time – and probably my last,” she says. “It’s a great experience. I remember one time I went. The whole village welcomed me and this wee boy cried and cried. I asked what was wrong. He’d never seen a white person and thought I was a ghost!”

McFarlane can be a reader and author for exams and assessments at Otago Boys’ High School and the Kings’ High School literacy programme, aiding college students who’ve issue with studying and writing.

“It’s good for my brain; I’ve been doing that since I retired from fulltime teaching in 1997 – I was only 61 then,” the previous St Clair Primary School instructor says.

Had McFarlane’s son Gregor McFarlane not been identified with power bronchitis in 1970, she wouldn’t have been concerned within the sport of swimming in any respect. At the time, she was busy being a pipe main of a pipe band and her two daughters had been champion Highland dancers.

“The doctor said, ‘I really think you should get [Gregor] into swimming,’ and I thought ‘Oh my God, I’ve only got Tuesday nights free’,” she recollects.

So she enrolled her son into the Kiwi Swim Club as a result of they met on Tuesdays, and he or she has been with the membership ever since. Gregor McFarlane skilled below Loader’s coach Duncan Laing, swimming put an finish to his bronchitis and in 1982, he represented New Zealand on the now defunct New Zealand Games.

“Duncan and I were great mates,” McFarlane says.

Gregor McFarlane ultimately stopped swimming however his mum saved on officiating. She is the Kiwi Swim Club’s patron, has been on the membership’s governance board since 1974, is a member of the awards committee, however is not the chairwoman.

“No, not now – I was 100 years ago – but I like going to meetings and seeing what’s happening,” she says.

McFarlane’s husband Paddy McFarlane, who died in 2013, was a footballer, and a wing half (referred to as a large midfielder these days) for the All Whites from the late Nineteen Fifties with Duncan McVey, who occurs to be the grandfather of Aqua Black Michael Pickett, who held the 50m freestyle nationwide document in 2024.

McFarlane says she has met many individuals by way of swimming, some who’re lifelong buddies – and it’s that social facet that has saved her within the sport for a lot of a long time.

“It’s the people I have met over the years; it’s the enjoyment and the friends I’ve made through officiating, and the laughs that I have. They are friends for life. I’ve got my gym family, my own family and the swimming family. There’s no way I could have done this by myself.

“Had Paddy been still alive, I would have finished, but he’s not here and I’ve got to fill in my time somehow.”

McFarlane says she loves travelling; officiating has taken her to locations across the nation and internationally. She has additionally officiated on the Special Olympics, for these with mental disabilities.

“Last year, I had four North Island trips – that’s not cheap,” she says.

She considers officers must be paid an allowance. “Yes, I do. But Swimming New Zealand doesn’t have the money.”

McFarlane was additionally concerned with the New Zealand Royal Life Saving Society from her highschool years. She turned an teacher and examiner in 1954 and continued to look at for 51 years.

These days, she will’t do as a lot as she used to. She not flies planes and may’t play heavy bagpipes now. At the pool, she used to pipe in athletes on the Division II nationwide championships, including a singular contact to occasions. She can also’t flip over the lap counters, required for races 400m or longer, or match backstroke ledges to the pool wall which help backstroke swimmers to begin their races.

“I can’t reach them – and I hate them, anyway. But everyone is very accommodating,” she says.

While McFarlane is shocked she has stayed within the sport so lengthy, she is not sure when she is going to ultimately cease officiating at swimming competitions.

“I don’t know, maybe before I’m 95. I won’t be doing it when I’m 100, I’ll just stop one day.”

This story was initially printed at Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.