Although the “Eddie Sargent Memorial Across The Bay Swim” may seem to be a fairly recent annual event, the history of long distance swimming in the Owen Sound Bay goes back to the 1950’s - the heyday of long distance swimming, when marathon swimmers became media sensations.

On September 18, 1955, Eddie Sargent, Mayor of Owen Sound and publisher of the local weekly Herald newspaper, organized the first “Across The Bay Swim” from Balmy Beach to Leith - approximately 4-1/2 miles.  Eighteen swimmers participated and eleven finished the race.  Yearly swims followed until 1958.

The 1957 swim on August 3, 1957 was classified as an international event with a $10,000 prize.  The swim was an Owen Sound Centennial Event that invited international swimmers such as Cliff Lumsden, Greta Anderson, and Tommy Parks to enter.  Marilyn Bell, who, as a sixteen year old girl, was the first person to conquer Lake Ontario in 1954, started the race.  The fifteen mile course on Owen Sound Bay began and ended in the Harbour.

The present “Across The Bay Swim” was started in 1997 as a community event headlining our own stars from near and far.  Besides local entrants, swimmers have travelled from as far away as Toronto, New York, California, and Belgium.  Unlike the original swims, this is NOT a race.  The Swim is a challenge for individuals against the elements...waves, currents or water temperatures.  Swimmers, who have ranged in age from 10 to 62 years, choose a one or two mile course that is visible from both sides of the amphitheatre shores of Owen Sound Bay.  In their efforts to join the elite who have successfully completed this feat, they will push themselves to their individual goals.  None can do better!

After Eddie Sargent’s death in 1998, the Swim was officially renamed:  “Eddie Sargent Memorial Across the Bay Swim".

In 2005, we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the first "Across The Bay Swim".  Seven of the first swimmers were in attendance, and started the 2005 swim.  The 10th Annual "Memorial" swim in 2006 saw the return of eight of the original 1956 swimmers, fifty years after they first challenged the bay.  Two of the 1956 swimmers completed the one mile swim – Janice (Locking) Chamberlain and Bill Stevenson.  Other 1956 swimmers attending were Don Douglas, Bev Sprung, Wanda Lougheed, Emma Wilson, Paul Butchart, and Lee Haswell.

As part of the Owen Sound "Homecoming & 150th Birthday" celebrations in 2007, the swim saw a record number of swimmers in attendance, and also the participation of renowned long-distance swimmer Kim Lumsdon.  Her father, Cliff Lumsdon, was the winner of the 1957 International 15 Mile Race in Owen Sound.  Kim swam the 2007 Four Mile Course in Owen Sound Bay a full FIFTY YEARS later - much to the delight of the other swimmers (and everyone else on hand to watch the swim).

Eddie & Roma Sargent