Bronson Rafuse
Starting at age 16 as an Assistant Coach of the Bridgetown Swim Team, Bronson Rafuse has spent the past 43 years as a volunteer in many roles.
After graduating from BRHS he spent six years in Fort MacMurray, earning a Pool Directors certification from the University of Alberta and the Distinction Award, the second highest level of certification you can achieve in Canadian aquatics. While in Fort Mac he was head coach of a Special Olympics Swim Team for three years and organized a major fundraiser for a young girl needing multiple surgeries at the Mayo Clinic.
Returning home to Nova Scotia in 1980, Bronson began an eight year stint as the director of the Bridgetown Pool and as coach of the Bridgetown Swim Team, as it was then known.
Bronson was a strict disciplinarian but also knew how to let his staff and swimmers have fun. By 1983, Bridgetown had the most highly qualified summer pool staff in Nova Scotia. From a low of 15 swimmers in 1980 he transformed the Swim Team into the Bridgetown Sea Kings and had 65 swimmers registered in 1987, his last year of coaching. In 1984 the Sea Kings won the Nova Scotia Summer Swimming Championships, defeating their arch rivals, the Bridgewater Barracudas. To mould a championship swim team, many factors come into play. A coach has to deal with the personalities and different training needs of five age groups (ages 6 to 17) and has to create a proper balance of abilities so that everyone is able to compete and feel a part of the team. Bronson was a master at getting the very best out of each athlete and having them contribute to the overall success. Bridgetown was one of the very few “large” teams that had all registered swimmers compete at Provincials. With the help of other pool staff and a dedicated Parents organization the Sea Kings established many standards for behavior, record keeping, and officiating that are still utilized to this day. To end each season, the team was rewarded with a four day campout at Keji. Ask any Sea King what Slap Foot Trail is and you will elicit a host of childhood memories. During these years Bronson also started a Learn to Swim program for residents of the ARC, initiated and ran two Annapolis Valley Lifeguard Championships, was a Board Member of The N.S. Red Cross Water Safety Committee, a volunteer Field Trainer for the Royal Life Saving Society and was often called to Lawrencetown and Middleton to help those pools with their filtration and chemical systems.
In the community at large, Bronson started and ran a Bridgetown Men’s Soccer League. He co-founded and was the first President of the Valley Men’s Master’s Soccer League, still going strong today. He coached boys and girls and women’s soccer at both the High School and Community Levels. In 2005 he initiated and was project co-ordinator of the rebuilding and expansion of the second soccer field at BRHS. He organized the transition for the care and maintenance of the soccer fields from Public Works to the Men’s Master’s Team.
In 2003 – 2004 Bronson chaired the “Save the Rink” Committee and the “Arena Gala Committee” when it reopened. From 2002 until 2010, Bronson was well known for his leadership in Ciderfest, introducing many sport related events such as the Cardboard Boat Race, Soccer tournaments, Fitness challenges and the King of The Mountain Road race. For 15 years Bronson ran the 200 Club Lottery which donated over $117,000 in profits to various community groups and sports teams. That fundraiser is still active. He also started and ran Bridgetown’s Holiday Draw, contributing another source of funds to community groups. He was an initial board member of the Bridgetown Area Sports Hall of Fame and its first President.
For many years now, Bronson Rafuse has proven to be a very valuable supporter of many sporting activities in the Bridgetown area. The residents of this community are truly grateful for all that Bronson has done and will undoubtedly continue to do in the future.