Each year a number of green jackets with the Australian coat of arms sewn on the breast pocket are brought out of the cupboard and hung outside to air.

Trying them on the owners realise the jacket is slightly tighter than last year and it is that little bit harder to complete the girth button. The jackets are pressed and trousers are prepared to match.

The owners of these jackets, Australian Olympians from the 1952 Olympic Games, gathered for the 54th time at the annual Kapyla Club reunion, held on Friday 21 July 2006 at the Sydney Rowing Club.

They are a group of men and women who epitomise the great Australian spirit, demonstrating friendship and camaraderie, which developed at the 1952 Games and continues to exist today.

Guests are also welcome in the Kapyla Club as the original members realise that they won’t be around forever. During the course of the reunion there were many jokes about hearing loss, knee replacements and one of them remarked, “there were now two more carcasses among us”.

Sporting legends sat at the tables, among them Forbes Carlile, Lionel Cox and Mervyn Finlay, surrounded by black and white images of Olympic champions and a very old Olympic Flag. How the flag came to be in the possession of the Kapyla Club is an unknown tale, but surely one of good spirit and larrikinism.

Ray Smee OAM, water polo, welcomed the guests to the luncheon and made special mention of one in attendance, Eileen Wearne, an athlete from the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles and Australia’s oldest living Olympian. Frail but not weak, she sat opposite Marlene Mathews, an exceptional runner who won two bronze medals at the 1956 Olympics and also represented Australia at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

Ernest Chapman OAM, rowing, offered a toast to the Queen and the people of Australia and so the luncheon began.

Recalling the freezing water temperatures at the 1948 Olympics, Forbes Carlile relayed a memory about the synchronised swimmers. Standing orderly by the edge of the pool, the women peeled in one at a time, only to emerge from the waters, in complete disarray, squealing from the cold.

Doug Laing (water polo) rose from his chair and in deep mellow tones, jubilantly sang the well-known Sonny Boy by Al Johnson. His fellow Olympians and only those guests old enough to know the words joined him.

As the afternoon wore on, the weathered cheeks of these old legends slowly turned a merlot red. Or perhaps it was the aquavit and sardines that guests were obliged to consume at the beginning of the luncheon. Whatever it was, there was much good humour in the room.

Victoria Roberts, Australian Olympian 2000 – 2004 was warmly introduced by Nim Greenwood, rowing. He sang her accolades and marvelled at the achievements of this extraordinary woman.

She highlighted what an amazing opportunity it was for her to experience a Kapyla Club reunion and looked forward to one day sharing a similar luncheon with Australian Olympians from her era.

Recalling her Olympic experiences she highlighted standing in the Olympic Stadium among 10,600 athletes acknowledging feelings of awe and inspiration. She didn’t realise that she also evoked emotions in fellow senior Olympians that day, as they listened to her tales and remembered their own Olympic experiences.

Roberts spoke about the evolution of the Olympic Games and the contrast between the Games of 1896, 1952 and those of today.

She highlighted that one constant; one unspoken connection of the Olympics was the spirit of Olympism.

It is the pursuit of excellence, the determination to overcome self-doubts and the values of solidarity and fair play, which continue to give the Olympics the substance which differentiates it from other international sporting events.

Smee reinforced her message, identifying the falling of the Berlin Wall, one team for North and South Korea and the establishment of gender equity all as highlights of the Olympic Games.

As the afternoon sun faded and the luncheon reached conclusion, the Olympians and guests all stood and sang Some Enchanted Evening in soft husky tones.

The song takes them back to 1952 and was in special honour of their dear friend and champion rower Mervyn Wood who was unable to attend due to poor health.

Some enchanted evening you may see a stranger,
You may see a stranger across a crowded room.
And somehow you know – you know even then
That somewhere you will see her again and again!

Some enchanted evening, when you find your true love,
When you feel her call you across a crowded floor,
The fly to her side and make her your own
Or all through your life you may dream all alone.
Once you have found her never let her go!!
Once you have found her, never let her go!!

To find out more about the Kapyla Club click here. 

Frances Malone
AOC