Peter Heatly, the son of 2016 ISHOF Honor Contributor by the same name, has joined the One in a Thousand campaign, designed to help the Hall of Fame prosper during the financial difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My dad used to go over to the Hall of Fame regularly and officiate diving events and had a great relationship with the people there,” Peter Heatly said. “I never went with him but I had always been interested in sport. Two months after he passed away in 2015, we got the letter that he was going to get into the Hall of Fame. Ironically, that year it would be in Santa Clara. It wasn’t where the Hall of Fame was but it was still great to be there.
Peter Heatly next to his father’s honoree panel. Photo Courtesy: Peter Heatly
“In 2018, Becky Adlington got into the Hall of Fame and said to my wife, Sue, ‘why don’t we go over to Fort Lauderdale? Becky Adlington is getting into the Hall of Fame and I know quite a lot of people there and it would be nice to see where dad used to go to. It was a great weekend but the Hall of Fame pool was coming to the end of its lifespan. It was rundown then but you could see how glorious it was, and it’s great to see it being refurbished at the moment.
“I’m a bit of a fanatic of sport and I have a lot of my dad’s records so I am very enthusiastic and I enjoyed it over there. We decided we would come back to see the new pool when it was finished. We wanted to keep my dad’s legacy alive but also my family and I just enjoyed the place and love what they’re doing with the sport.”
Heatly would make frequent visits to the Hall of Fame pool to referee diving events at the facility and had developed a friendship with then ISHOF CEO Buck Dawson, and had even been on the Hall of Fame selection committee. In 2016, Heatly had been invited to attend the Hall of Fame induction on behalf of his late father in Santa Clara, but had booked his plane ticket before the event had been postponed from June to October.
Instead of cancelling, he took the trip with his son Gary and brother Robert to meet with then CEO Bruce Wigo and attended the Santa Clara International Swim Meet and two soccer matches, and again made the trip for the induction in October, with his three siblings, his son, and three nephews.
“It was our second home at this point,” Heatly joked about Santa Clara, where he was able to make good relationships with the Hall of Fame staff during his visits, but hadn’t been to the legendary Fort Lauderdale facility. So when Adlington had been selected two years after, Heatly made the trip over to Florida with his wife Sue to meet with the staff again and see the museum and pool that his father spent so much time at.
“We didn’t actually know Becky Adlington that well, but we wanted to take the opportunity to go over.
“I had the pleasure of looking after my dad’s affairs in the later years of his life and I had been asked by Bruce to make a speech in 2016. At the end of my speech I said we had been to a lot of events that we have organized ourselves for dad’s legacy but this was one we didn’t organize, we were invited to come to. It was the best one of all.”
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Sir Peter Heatly – 2016 Honor Contributor
As a swimmer, he was the Scottish freestyle champion and record holder over several distances between 1942 and 1947 before deciding to concentrate on diving. Self-taught and self-coached, he won gold medals at the 1950, 1954 and 1958 Commonwealth Games on the 10-meter platform and represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games in 1948 in London and in 1952 in Helsinki.
Sir Peter Heatly (left) with ISHOF’s Buck Dawson. Photo Courtesy: ISHOF Archives
After Peter Heatly’s career as an athlete ended, he decided to give back to the sports he so loved. He would serve the aquatic sports in some capacity for over seventy years at the local, national and international levels as either a manager, official or administrator.
Peter joined the FINA and LEN technical diving committees in 1966, serving as Honorary Secretary of the FINA Committee from 1972 to 1984 and Chairman from 1984 to 1988. He was selected Chairman of the Great Britain Swimming Federation in 1981 and again in 1992. He served as chairman of the National Scottish Learn to Swim Campaign from 1964 to 1974 and went on to become Chairman of the Scottish Sports Council from 1975 to 1987.
Heatly was involved in 17 consecutive Commonwealth Games from 1950 to 2014, becoming Vice -Chairman of the Organizing Committee, when the Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1970, and Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation from 1982 to 1990 after the first ever balloted election.
As a Chartered Civil Engineer, he produced and delivered papers on the design of swimming pools to professional bodies both in Great Britain and Europe. He also received Honorary Doctorates from three universities for his contributions to the sport.
Peter Heatly was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1971 and in 1990 was installed as a Knight of the Realm by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. He was inducted into the Scottish Hall of Fame in 2002 and into the Scottish Swimming Hall of Fame in 2010.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame wants to know if you are one in a thousand? We think you are! Show how special you are and become a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s “One In A Thousand” Club. Help keep the International Swimming Hall of Fame moving forward toward a new vision and museum by joining now!
During these unprecedented times, the ISHOF Board is calling on every member in the aquatic community to make a small monthly commitment of support to show how special you are and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.
“Our goal is simple. If we get 1,000 people to simply commit $10, $25 or $50 per month, we will generate enough revenue to go beyond this Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis.” – Bill Kent – Chairman of the ISHOF Board
“Those that believe in our vision, mission, and goals can join us in taking ISHOF into the future and be a part of aquatic history.” – Brent Rutemiller – CEO and President of ISHOF
Since 1965, ISHOF has been the global focal point for recording and sharing the history of aquatics, promoting swimming as an essential life-skill, and developing educational programs and events related to water sports. ISHOF’s vision for the future is to build a new museum and expand its reach by offering its museum artifacts digitally through a redesigned website.
The ISHOF Board of Directors is calling on all members of the aquatics community to make a small monthly commitment to show their dedication to aquatics and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.
