On Saturday 16 November, Noosa Masters Swimming Club members and friends will celebrate the club’s 25th anniversary at Peppers Resort.
Painstaking research into those 25 years has uncovered fascinating stories, none more so than that of Joyce Faunce. At the November celebration, her name will be foremost among those up in lights.
The story of the young Joyce (born Joyce Harrowby in 1921) reads like a ‘girls’ own adventure’. In 1939, on the eve of World War 2, Joyce was in Berlin, swimming for England in a contest against Germany. ‘We were lucky to get out of Germany’, she recalled. During the war, Joyce participated in morale-boosting exhibition swims for Allied servicemen. One such exhibition at London’s Marshall Street Baths was disrupted by a German V2 rocket exploding nearby, sparking frantic shouts of ‘hit the (pool) deck!’.
Joyce’s connection with Australia had begun in 1938 when, at 16, she swam for England at the British Empire Games in Sydney. World War 2 saw the 1940 Olympics cancelled, ending Joyce’s Olympian dreams. After the war, newly married and with children, Joyce ‘forgot all about swimming for 50 years’. But she remained in the British record books; her 100 yards freestyle record of 62.1 seconds would not be broken for 19 years!
Joyce and family migrated to Sydney in 1957, her home for 37 years until Noosa beckoned in 1994. She returned to swimming and joined Noosa Masters in its foundation year, 1999. Joyce quickly re-entered the winners’ ranks. She was named Queensland Senior Achiever of the Year in 1999, and in 2000 was a Sydney Olympics torchbearer along David Low Way.
Current Noosa Masters members have been astounded by the revelations of Joyce’s swimming achievements unearthed from the archives. Over 13 years, Joyce broke 21 state masters long course records (in a 50-metre pool) – five of them also national – and 26 state short course records (in a 25-metre pool), 18 of them also national.
Remarkably, Joyce’s records were in all four strokes as well as the individual medley, and over all distances from 25 to 1500 metres. In 2011, at age 90, Joyce swam a masters national record 25 metres freestyle in 26.75 secs! The following year, she won gold in the 50 metres freestyle at the Pan Pacific Masters Games.
Joyce passed away in 2017, but is fondly remembered as a champion competitor, an honoured life member of Noosa Masters and an inspiration to swimmers young and old.
Stories of Joyce and other past members will be recounted as the club celebrates its first 25 years.
Past members and friends of Noosa Masters are invited to the anniversary celebration at Peppers Resort on Saturday 16 November 4-6pm.
If interested, please email ian.tucker55@gmail.com
