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The Daly City Dolphins began
as a summer team sponsored by the Daly City Recreation and Parks
Department in the summer of 1975 at the new Giamonna Pool at
Westmoor High School.
The following summer the group decided to petition the Amateur
Athletic Union for a charter in the Zone 1-North division of
Pacific Swimming. Carla Beedle was the first President of the
parent board of directors and Charlie Smithson was the overseer
from the Daly City Park and Rec. The Daly City Police Athletic
League donated sweat suits for the new team and Coach Lou Zitnick
began taking them to competitions.
In 1978 after a series of coaches, president Terry DeMartini hired
present Coach Fred Wales who had taken Balboa High School swimming
from the cellar to the penthouse in San Francisco’s AAA
league.The new coach took the very talented, but small group to a
higher level of competition. In 1979 they moved from last to 7th at
the Greater San Mateo County Championships. In 1980 they were 2nd
at the Indian Valley Summer Swim Classic, In 1981 they were 3rd at
the Punahou Invitational in Oahu, Hawaii.
They returned to Hawaii in 1985 and won the Kamehameha Meet with
Victor Wales, Michael Kanakis, and Anthony Garrett winning High
Point trophies and being pictured in the Honolulu Star sports
page.
By 1985 the team was regularly winning trophies from Benicia,
Vallejo, Indian Valley, Tahoe, Reno, Monterey, and Zone
1-North.
In 1987 the team won it’s division of Zone 1-North and was
awarded The Volunteer Citation from the Parks and Recreation
Northern California Division for the team’s service to the
community.
Over the years the team has gone from no swimmers at Pacific
Swimming Age Group Championships and Far Western Championships to
top10 placings in both.
The teams success continues as champions of the Monterey Labor Day
Open Invitational the last two years.
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