(above, l-r) Rotary Club President Clark Lagemann, Tiny Randazzo, and Program Chair Tony LaPorta.
Hall of Fame Swimmer Speaks to Rotary Club of Westfield about breaking barriers
On Tuesday, April 9, 2019, “Tiny” Condrillo Randazzo spoke to the Rotary Club of Westfield about her experiences swimming and growing up in Westfield. She has been inducted into both the Rutgers University Athletic Hall of Fame and the Westfield Athletic Hall of Fame for Swimming. She is currently the assistant swim Coach at Princeton University.
Tiny was one of the first two women to swim with the Westfield High School powerhouse male team in 1973. She swam in every meet, set records, and completed the season, but in a twist of fate, she was disqualified because she had swam in a scrimmage for another team, which was not allowed at that time. Therefore, she was not awarded her Varsity Letter. However, 33 years later, it was finally awarded. Next she went to Rutgers and swam on the men’s team in 1973-74. The school did not have a women’s team up to then. The next year, Rutgers started a women’s team in her sophomore year. They went undefeated for three years in a row, winning 28 straight meets, were Eastern Champs, and went to Nationals. Tiny set 5 school records, was an All American Swimmer, and was Eastern Champion in 4 events. In the summers she coached at Nomahegan Swim Club. After college, she was the full-time coach at Fanwood- Scotch Plains YMCA and the FSP High School. Through her career she trained with many swimming luminaries from Westfield including Robert Clotworthy, Ginny Dunn and Sue Pitt, all of whom won Gold Medals at the Olympics. Tiny is her nickname because she was a small baby and had the same name as her mother. She has been married for 35 years, and has two sons: one is a teacher, the other is a swim coach.
The Rotary Club of Westfield meets the first three Tuesdays of the month for lunch at 12:15 p.m. at the Westfield Y. Guests are always welcome.
Submitted by Dr. D. Michael Hart
