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A Coach and a Name
Our first logo and a rudimentary website were developed and launched, which helped to attract more players to the team. This vintage triggerfish graphic was actually printed on our very first swimsuits, and so lives happily in the drawers of some of our first players. It stayed in commission until early 2002, when it was replaced by our current logo and a second version of the website.
One of the players attracted to the Trigs was Rob Chiasson, a veteran of the swim team who had played water polo in school. So, Rob offered to coach the Trigs on a volunteer basis. (Rob later ended up playing on the team until his shoulder gave way - and was the supplier of those funky blue mouth guards many of the Triggerfish wear in the pool.) Rob was kind enough to volunteer as coach from early 2001 until we took a break for the summer. | |
By February of 2001, the group was gelling enough players on a regular basis to warrant an identity. A naming contest was initiated, and the submissions "Toronto Tigersharks" and "Toronto Triggerfish" were the finalists. In a nailbiting vote, the name Toronto Triggerfish was selected - and the affectionate short form "Trigs" was born!
Lisa LOVED the name, and quickly adapted it into her regular communications to team members, coming up with the shortform "Trigs", refering to us as "fishies", and, tongue planted firmly in cheek, refering to herself as Tuna Commander. The first Triggerfish nickname was born! (See the Fun Stuff page for more about the history of Triggerfish player nicknames.) |
IGLA 2001
As much as Lisa wanted Toronto to field a team, we just didn't have the numbers or the experience to do so. Lisa jumped in the pool with one of the visiting teams, and had a blast, coming back even more energized about the game than before.
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In July of 2001, Toronto played host to IGLA, the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics annual meet. Held every year except for the year of the Gay Games, the Toronto meet was the largest to date - and since! Over 1200 athletes converged on the city for swimming, water polo, diving, and the famous Pink Flamingo, a campy deck/poolside competition and show.
IGLA also required a host of volunteers. This attracted many people to the sport and to our fledgling club - including Jim Friehofer. Jim ended up joining ranks with Lisa as co-chair of the Triggerfish, and as many people know, was a major sparkplug for the growth of the club in the fall of 2001 and beyond, serving as co-chair twice for two year terms: 2001-2003, and after a year off, again from 2004-2006. |
A Big Boost From DSC
At the Downtown Swim Club's 15th Anniversary gala, out gay Toronto city councillor Kyle Rae did the honours of presenting Lisa and Jim with the cheque that got things rolling in a big way! The picture shown here is from the gala and ceremony. | |
IGLA 2001 ended up being a huge money maker for the Downtown Swim Club. The club had decided in advance that any profit would be distributed to a combination of charity (the Lesbian and Gay Youth Helpline) and sport organizations. A large chunk of money therefore was earmarked for the Triggerfish, to help take the team to the next level. All of a sudden, we had money for pool time at UofT twice a week - and for a paid coach! |
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