In one way or another, Al Waites spent a lot of time at swimming pools during his 53-year lifetime and has earned recognition as a competitor, coach and administrator.

    

     However, his most outstanding swimming achievement, the one that earned him fame, happened not at a pool, but while sitting in a boat. Waites was the mastermind behind a historic marathon swim, coaching Cindy Nicholas on her swim across Lake Ontario on August 17, 1974. Nicholas, then 16 and little known in swimming circles, completed the 32 mile marathon from Youngstown, New York, to a tumultuous welcome at the Canadian National Exhibition ground in 15 hours and 18 minutes, eclipsing more than three hours from the mark set 18 years previous by the only other swimmer to complete the lake crossing to that time, Marilyn Bell.

    

     Not even coach Waites suspected that Nicholas would go on to achieve several other marathon aquatic feats world-wide.

    

     For his lifetime dedication and contribution to swimming, Waites was inducted into the Mississauga Sports Hall of Fame for 1975, a few weeks after his death at the age of 53 at Queensway General Hospital.

     Waites was former sports editor of The Mississauga News.

    

     His competitive swimming career left a mark on both the Canadian and British scenes. He was the 1939 Canadian sprint champion, but did equally well in long distance races. He won the Hamilton Bay swim and twice finished well up in the Canadian National Exhibition 15-mile marathon race. He would have represented Canada in the Olympics, had it not been for the Second World War cancelling the 1940 and 1944 Games.  While serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force in Britain, Waites set a British 100-yard freestyle open record.

    

     Waites initiated the Masters Swim Program in Canada and often competed in meets. “He was the one who pushed the Masters Program,” said Tony Jarvis, former captain of the British Olympic swim team and a coach with the Mississauga Aquatic Club (TOMAC) at the time of Waites' death.

    

     Cindy Nicholas also tossed bouquets of recognition and praise at Waites’ feet. “He helped a lot of kids in swimming and was always willing to volunteer his time to lots of people.”