In the 1920s and 30's, the Crystal Garden was the place to be seen if you were a recreational swimmer in Victoria. But the Victoria YMCA enjoyed its own distinction, by producing numerous high-level competitive swimmers, most of them under the tutelage of the legendary Archie McKinnon. One of those young athletes was Denny Walker, a talented soccer player from the Cloverdale area, who was encouraged to put his powerfully-built body to work in the YMCA pool. Before long, Walker was dominating local swim meets and also quickly made a name for himself on both the provincial and national stages. Swimming the 400-metre backstroke, he qualified for the Canadian team going to the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In doing so, Denny Walker became the first Victoria swimmer to compete at an Olympic Games. Although he was eliminated in the heats, he wasn't done with swimming. Walker won the 1933 "Through Victoria" race, a three-mile endurance swim down the Gorge Waterway from the Tillicum Bridge to the Inner Harbour lower causeway. After joining the Navy and competing for them, he later helped out by coaching members of YMCA swim teams.

Judging by how well his high school athletic career went, it would've been a solid bet that Bob Hutchison would go on to bigger and better things in sport. A prominent rugby, soccer, and track athlete at Oak Bay High, Hutchison proved virtually unbeatable at school track meets in both sprint events and the broad jump. A sign of things ahead came when he narrowly missed going to the 1948 Olympic trials, despite having won the provincial 100-yard title and, also being part of the "Flying Y" team that won the 4x110 relay. Hutchison continued to perform well when he became part of the University of Washington team, setting the B.C. 220-yard record, and running the 100 in 9.7 seconds at the 1952 Summer Olympics trials. That earned an invite to the nationals in Hamilton. With a slim chance to land the one remaining spot on the Olympic team, he made the most of his opportunity. Hutch placed second in the 100, and third in a 200 photo-finish, to earn a trip to Helsinki. He advanced to the 2nd round in each event and competed in the 4x100 relay, leaving Finland with no medals but with plenty of high-level experience. The future judge later passed on his expertise while coaching numerous young "Flying Y" athletes.