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Paul Corkum: An oral history of an officiating legend

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In many ways, last year’s Canadian Swimming Trials represented the first “normal” Swimming Canada national event in three years. But as technical officials descended on Victoria, one familiar face was not there. Longtime official Paul Corkum had died on March 30, and the officiating community will never quite be the same without him.

Swimming Canada asked a small group of officials to gather after a session at Saanich Commonwealth Place and share their memories of Corkum. That “small group” ended up being 17 people who formed a circle of chairs and told seemingly endless stories about Corkum’s enthusiasm for the sport.

“I’m still referring to him in present tense, I can’t quite get my head around the fact he’s past tense,” commented Glenn Greig at one point during the conversation.

Corkum got involved in swimming when his children started with the Pickering Swim Club and was an active member of the swimming community for over 20 years. He became a master official in 2008. While moving up the ladder towards his Level V, he served in many board positions with the Pickering Swim Club, including president. He was a member of the Ontario Swimming Official Association board for five years and served as Regional Officials Representative for the largest region in Ontario for many years. He was a member of the Swimming Canada Officials Competitions and Rules Committee (OCRC), Swim Ontario Officials Committee and Ontario Aquatic Hall of Fame board.

As an official and volunteer, he helped run successful competitions at the regional, provincial, national and international levels. He was appointed as a UANA referee in 2012 and as a FINA referee in 2015 and 2019. He attended the 2013 FISU Games, 2016 FINA World Swimming Championships (25) and 2017 FINA World Championships as an International Technical Official. He also served as Meet Manager and chair of the Sport Organizing Committee for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games. Domestically he served as National Meet Director & Competition Coordinator at several Swimming Canada events, including Meet Manager for the 2015 Pan Am Trials in Toronto

Corkum was the recipient of several Swim Ontario and Swimming Canada awards for his excellence and expertise in officiating, in particular, the 2015 Elizabeth Collins Ralph Award & Ken Filippelli Award of Excellence in Officiating and in 2017 the Gord Noddle Award.

Corkum’s friends in officiating remembered a loquacious, gregarious family man who was eager both to learn and to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with others. He represented Canada on the international level, was honoured for his work behind the scenes in Canada, and his impact as an unsung hero can be felt at countless clubs and swim meets throughout Ontario and beyond. He was also a great guy to have a beer with.

Here are just a few of the memories Corkum’s officiating peers shared (edited for length and clarity):


On his attention to detail and enthusiasm

Jeff Holmes, World Para Swimming starter

I and a couple of others picked on Paul because he showed such enthusiasm for the sport. He was always ready to learn, always asking questions, and always committed to anything he could do to make the sport better. We started working on him from the time he was a Level 3 official all the way through. He got his Level V in 2007 and in a short time went on the UANA list and the FINA list (of international officials). It’s an example of how committed and dedicated he was. He was always a positive influence on the deck. And known to express himself in the maximum number of words possible.

Glenn Greig, FINA starter

And the maximum number of decibels possible!

Holmes

When he was coordinator for the (Toronto 2015) Pan Am Games, he sent out 570 emails. I did it for the Parapans and I sent out 17. He was always absolutely determined everybody know everything about what he was thinking and how he had reached his decisions.

Cynthia Pincott, FINA referee

Everything was a scenario. There were always other scenarios possible that were presented and discussed, and solutions for any possible scenario.

Maggie Middleton, FINA starter

Then he would say, “I understand.”

Holmes

Or, “I understand… but.”

Greig

It started at the Pan Am Games, all his organization. Then he went on and was instrumental in organizing the Ontario Junior International, which has become quite a thing. He ran that for at least four years before finally passing it off to Daryle Martin. Obviously at the national level he’s been national meet director for I don’t know how many different meets. He was such a tireless volunteer and so meticulous. He was so fixated on getting every detail in line and it showed in how those meets ran.

Holmes

Prior to the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games, Swim Ontario called Paul and I in to organize a series of events, two test events leading into the events in the summertime. The Ontario Junior International was conceived as an event to try to give people an impression of a bigger meet. Paul did that in spades and it became the keynote event of Swim Ontario’s calendar.

Larry Chrobot, PanAm Aquatics referee

He was always looking over his glasses. He was a highly communicative individual and would give the backstory on how a decision got made. He’d take you there and educate you, and never made an assumption.

 Jim Fleury, FINA referee

What most people could tell you in a few minutes, he’d take all night. He’d go over every single detail and he’d make it interesting. You’d look forward to those meetings, we’d get together and have a few drinks in every city that we worked together and it just became a thing.


On passing his enthusiasm along to others in the officiating world

Greig

He was all about everybody else’s success. He tried to steer me and put me forward (for opportunities). It was just amazingly supportive to have somebody like that.

Louise Leblanc, FINA Technical Swimming Committee, Olympic referee

He was the wind beneath a lot of people’s wings.

Holmes

He had that deft touch. He never made you feel like an idiot for not knowing something. He helped you understand what a rule was or why you should do something in a particular way, bit it was always a pull instead of a push.

Norma Lachance, Level V official

He was always that friendly reminder that everybody is welcome on deck, everybody can help, and we’re all part of a team.

Trevor Cowan, Level V official

What always impressed me about Paul beyond organizing committees was, as much as he did nationally he never slowed down locally. He was instrumental in lifting people up. It was his tirelessness in making time for others and lifting them up. He was a quintessential gentleman. I’ve never seen him behind the scenes raise his voice. He was through and through a class act.

Greig

(Canadian officials are) an amazingly welcoming group and a big piece of that was Paul drawing people in and making people feel at home.

Chrobot

When we were at short course worlds in Windsor, there was a good contingent of Canadian officials there the first night before the whole thing started, and all the officials were staying at the same hotel from around the world. We told everybody we were going to this pub, and took all these people from whatever nation to this pub. He was 100 per cent Canadian, making sure they were looked after, and all these officials going into the meet had a great night that night.

When I got to work with him, I was excited. He treated people like equals and he was fun to be around.

Pincott

We can only hope to be half the mentor he was.

On what they will remember most

Middleton

He was one of the kindest individuals you would ever meet

Lachance

His Christmas emails were the best, those mass emails he would send out were such a nice way of creating that community, and he was always thinking about creating that community.

Cowan

I would be interested to know how big that list is, the number of people who corresponded with him just after Christmas is enormous.

Pincott (Note: after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer in Dec. 2019, Corkum told some other officials about his situation in Jan. 2020)

He acted like everything was fine. He limped into Olympic Trials and all he had in his pockets was Tylenol. He was going to be a referee that year so no way was he going to be impaired. He just had two Tylenols in his pocket in case he needed them. He’d say, “Oh, it’s fine. It’s going to be better next week.”

Cowan

I think it says a lot about a person when you get a diagnosis like that, you keep doing what you do. He kept on at work, he kept going to swim meets. He was already doing what he loved.

Greig

He just managed to put such a positive spin on everything, even that he had us believing it was all good. Somehow we figured he would beat it, because how could he not? How could somebody that positive not? 

Sheila Nelson, PanAm Aquatics referee

For me, it was his voice and his laughter. You could know instantly Paul was there when you heard his laugh.

Greig

He was so conspiratorial, he really loved to have a beer… followed by a beer.

Cowan

Whether it was “scenario mode,” or just his mannerisms in speech were so unique as well. His committee work it was his politeness. “Can I ask a question? Can I speak up?” when he was the most knowledgeable person on the call but those were just his mannerisms.

Holmes

I remember Paul in every city that there’s been a national meet. Not necessarily at the pool.  Such supportive memories as an official in every single city there’s a memory of Paul being there, explaining things 100 different ways, organizing things. He’d let you try things and he was willing to take the time to answer any question.

On his love for his family

Lachance

It was a U Sports (championships) in Toronto and his kid was swimming in the meet. He made a comment that in the morning he actually got to see his kid swim. How rare that can be for those who have spent a couple hours, days, or decades on deck. That is the epitome of what he gave to the sport.

Greig

When you talk about his daughter being there, one thing I always found amazing about Paul was how tight he was with his family (wife Lynn and his two daughters Ainsley and Reanna). Both (daughters) swam and I remember in 2018 at the Swim Ontario meeting they have in conjunction with the (Ontario Aquatic) Hall of Fame, his daughter Reanna put together photo montages of all the nominees to the Hall of Fame. Reanna did the photo work and graphics, Paul did the talking and it was an amazing production by two people who had never done it before and were working together with such great affection for each other.

Pincott

At the 2017 worlds in Budapest, we talked about the experience at worlds as officials, and his greatest experience was being turn judge, looking up in the stands and seeing his daughter. The officiating was great, but that his daughter was there was fabulous.

Cowan

He was so proud of his daughters. He could talk about his family, just glowing with pride. I can picture him smiling as he drove looking out the windshield.

On his love for the sport

Leblanc

He passed his passion on to so many officials. He loved to officiate. He loved to be on deck. Just (a month before Trials) he said, “I’m sorry I won’t be at the Trials,” because he couldn’t fly. I said, “You have nothing to be sorry about.” He just loved it so much.

Holmes

The last thing he said to me was, “I’ll see you on the deck.”