Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Pete Riddle Memorial Lane at UCSD


Pete's wife, Betsy Jordan, writes about why she donated a plaque in his honor at one of his favorite places:

Pete and I swam regularly with the UCSD Masters workout group during all the years of our marriage.  He was and is well-loved among the coaches and fellow swimmers there.  With four workouts a day Monday through Friday and also a workout on Saturday and on Sunday, many swimmers of many ability levels can participate.  

The older of the two UCSD 50 meter outdoor pools has become a place where memorial plaques can be installed honoring swimmers who are no longer with us.  These plaques, representing a donation to the university from his or her family, can be embedded in the cement pool deck as a constant reminder of their presence.  There are perhaps 18 short course lanes and about half of them are now designated as memorial lanes for a certain beloved swimmer.  The coach and the family choose where to put the plaque, usually in a lane where that swimmer actually swam.  

Pete’s is in lane 2, where the older and slower swimmers hang out.  He used to say that as he got older he might have to move to lane 1, and after that, to down in the canyon!  He also delighted in saying, in his wry self-deprecating way, that he was “a lane 2 person in swimming and in life.”  We all know that the last half of that is not true, but he liked to smile about it.  On August 1 we will have the official dedication ceremony for the Pete Riddle Memorial Lane…lane 2, of course.  Those of us who swim there regularly will always be reminded of him when we swim in “his lane.”