This has been a sad, sad week for swimming. We lost Ron “Stix” Ballatore, who coached a National Championship team at UCLA; we lost defending World Champions Alexander Dale Oen, and we lost Hungary’s Ervin Zador, one of the faces of the Hungarian Revolution of the 50’s for his role in the infamous “blood in the water” game (and later a swim coach who worked with many greats in the US, including Cal’s Melanie Klaren and even the legendary Mark Spitz).
There will be time for mourning; the public memorial services were announced for Ballatore on Octboer 13th of this year, at UCLA’s Hall of Fame Weekend. Just after sunset, on the beach, friends, family, admirers, and fans will gather on the beach in Los Angeles to remember the man who was UCLA swimming until the very end of that program, and really had a huge impact on the university as a whole.
In lieu of flowers, a Memorial Fund has been set up to receive donations. A donation can be made at any SunTrust bank, or mailed to the following address:
Attention: Madeleine Mills, Branch Manager