Sedgefield 75 Chief Coach, John Moore, thought his 80th birthday would be a quiet affair but the other members from Sedgefield 75 had other plans and decided to make this a birthday that John would remember. On Saturday 28th October, John was on poolside at Sunderland Aquatic Centre with Leah Smith, who was competing in the ASANER Age Group Championships, and when he arrived, there were balloons attached to his chair.
Later in the day he was presented with the Gray Award for his services to swimming along with gifts and cards from some of the coaches. John probably thought that was all that had been organised to celebrate his birthday, but he had another surprise on Monday 30th, when he was coaching, over 40 friends, coaches, past swimmers and parents were at the Leisure Centre to celebrate with a surprise party for him.
John was presented with a present from the club, a cake and a memory book, with messages and photos from swimmers who he has coached over the years. John was overwhelmed by the amount of people who had come to celebrate with him but it was lovely for him to be able to celebrate with his many friends and swimmers.
John arrived back from Sheffield to find that he is a finalist for the Sir Bobby Robson ‘Leading Light’ Award. The ceremony is to be held at Wynyard Hal on December 7th. John said: “I’m not sure if I can cope with any more surprises”.
