Remembering a Trailblazer: Kay Easun

By Arlo Burness

The Western Mustang community felt the weight of the loss of the history-making athlete, Kay Easun (Miles), in February of this year. Kay was an outstanding Western athlete, competing in swimming and volleyball for four years and basketball for another two.

Before attending Western, Kay was recruited as a member of the Canadian National Swim Team and competed in the British Empire Games in 1950 in Auckland, New Zealand. In 1950, Kay continued her athletic journey at Western, where she majored in physical education and dominated as a Mustangs athlete. Kay saw the women’s volleyball team to two back-to-back championship wins and was a six-time Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association champion.

Kay’s athletic excellence paved the way for women’s athletic recognition at Western. When she graduated in 1954, Kay was Western’s first ever White Blanket recipient – an award introduced as the equivalent to the Men’s Purple Blanket Award, which recognized outstanding multi-sport athletes at Western. Kay was also the first and only woman ever to be awarded the Claude Brown Memorial Trophy, which continues to be awarded to the male student athlete who made the greatest contribution to Western athletics. Three years later, Western introduced the F. W. P. Jones Award, created to annually celebrate the incredible achievements of women’s sports.

Post-graduation, Kay returned to coach the Women’s Swimming Team, leading them to two championship wins over her three coaching years. While coaching marked the end of her direct involvement with Western, Kay could never hang up her suit. In 1977, Kay returned to the pool and became a provincial and national champion and recordholder, while also returning to coach the North York Masters.

Kay was involved in the Ontario Masters Committee of CASA, being appointed Chairperson in 1982 of the Ontario section. Five years later, Kay took on the role of Meet Director for the Canadian Masters Swimming Championship. That year, the meet was the largest that had been held in the country, with over 1200 swimmers. Kay expanded her reach within her role as Meet Director, creating the Swim the Ontario Waterways (STOW) program, which provided swimmers an opportunity to be involved and track each other’s progress without the competitive aspect. She also created Heart Fitness Swim, a swim meet to benefit the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Kay’s dedication and leadership established the foundation of recognition for women’s sports at Western, and her legacy still makes a mark on Western swimming today.