Judy Garay

Judy Garay was born to compete. Her mother, a 1952 Hungarian Olympic gold medalist in freestyle swimming, and her father, a champion Hungarian water polo player, decided before she was born that she would be a swimmer. She was even featured in the newspaper at one day old and given the title of “World’s Youngest Olympic Hopeful.” With such a bright start, who better to lead the charge as the BSS Junior School Athletic Director and High Performance Athlete Program Coordinator than Judy? Recently, we spoke with this accomplished athlete, educator and coach about her passion for encouraging all students to try athletics at a young age, the power of sport in developing girls into leaders, and her dedication to helping elite athletes balance the rigours of academics and athletics.

 

Judy comes by her love of athletics honestly. The daughter of Valéria and János Garay, acclaimed Hungarian athletes and refugees who moved to Canada following World War II, she was put into swimming at a young age. “Growing up, I did as many sports as possible,” Judy recalls. “Downhill skiing, tennis, softball and volleyball, but my focus was always on swimming.” At age six, she started training with a swim club and at just 14, she made the Canadian National Team, garnering two bronze medals at nationals.

After graduating from high school, Judy was recruited by the University of Toronto swim team. Majoring in commerce, and urban and economic geography, she balanced her studies with a demanding swim schedule. As a member of the Varsity Blues, Judy won every breaststroke competition in provincial and national intercollegiate championship events from 1979 to 1983. She also represented Canada at the 1978 Commonwealth Games. Years later, when Judy went back to U of T to complete her Bachelor of Education at the age of 40, her drive to compete had not diminished, so she joined the university swim team again and made it to nationals.

Her teaching career began in the Phys. Ed. Department at Upper Canada College where she also coached a variety of sports. Then in 2003, she moved to BSS as a Junior School teacher. A few years ago, Judy was ready for a change. More importantly, she was ready for a challenge, so took on the role of BSS Junior School Athletic Director. “What really drove me to this role is that I know the importance of sport,” she says. “I know what you can gain from it and what kinds of things you learn. As opposed to teaching about leadership or teaching about resilience, athletics is where we have to practise those skills.”

As Athletic Director, Judy is focused on helping all Junior School students become involved with sports at a young age in an encouraging environment. “We try to make sure students find joy in being with a group of their friends and doing something active,” she states. “My focus is on long-term athlete development, so we want students trying as many different sports as possible and becoming multisport athletes in order to stay active and continue playing sports outside of Phys. Ed.”

To accomplish this, students in Grades 1 to 3 take part in an athletics period once a week. Experts come to the school and introduce students to everything from skill-building games to lacrosse, dance and taekwondo. The breadth of activities and the physical literacy skills students acquire set them up for success when they begin to join teams in Grade 4. And what if some don’t take to sport the way others do? “Teachers and coaches work with those kids to help them make an attitude change,” she responds. “If that fails, I take it upon myself to find out how to get those students to feel comfortable participating.” Judy is also passionate about the no-cut policy as a way to build students’ self-esteem. “Anyone who wants to try an after-school sport up until Grade 6 makes the team,” she explains.

Making sports inclusive and fun doesn’t just have physical benefits for students. “By participating in athletics,” Judy believes, “you’re not just practising your sport, you’re practising leadership.” For her, the skills involved are many. Resilience — the drive to keep trying, pushing forward and believing in yourself — is key. Learning to work together as a team is also crucial. “To be a leader, you have to be a role model, you have to have empathy and understanding, you have to be able to listen,” she says. “Sport embodies all of that.” Setting goals, having grit, staying committed, seeing the positive in any situation and pumping up teammates are all traits that Judy feels can be developed through sport. “A lot of sport and leadership is looking at how you can empower others to be the best they can be,” she explains.

As well as taking on the Junior School Athletic Director responsibilities, Judy is also the High Performance Athlete Program (HPAP) Coordinator. Now in its second year, this donor-funded program helps Grade 9 to 12 students move forward with their athletic goals (like making it into an NCAA Division 1 university or onto a national team) while managing the rigours of BSS academics. “Our elite athletes tend to have a high performance mindset,” explains Judy. “They want to do it all and do it well, which is difficult. So we work with them to set realistic goals. Once they do that, they’re pretty much unstoppable.”

How else do they become unstoppable? Preparation and time management. When you consider that these athletes spend up to 40 hours a week training outside school, and are often away at competitions, planning ahead is critical. “The philosophy behind the program is ‘You don’t win by chance, you win by preparation’,” explains Judy. “You can’t just wing it.” Those who need help balancing their schoolwork with their athletic schedule come to Judy. She works with the students and their teachers to come up with a game plan for the month ahead to get it all done. With the support of their teachers, elite BSS athletes are able to succeed in their sport and in the classroom, which benefits them as leaders in the long run. “Their academics shouldn’t suffer when they are building all those leadership skills through their athletic pursuits,” believes Judy.

The program also brings specialists into the school (such as sleep experts and nutritionists focused on female physiology) to help the athletes learn how they can perform at their best. Offering physiotherapy sessions and a state-of-the-art gym on campus helps athletes manage their time efficiently.. “I can’t put more hours in the day, but I can try to help them find hours within their day,” says Judy. “Less time spent in a car traveling means more time to actually relax, reduce stress, look after their well-being and complete their schoolwork.” 

In her spare time - and it’s hard to imagine she has any - Judy is still competing at the international level as a breaststroke and freestyle swimmer. In the summer of 2025, she participated in the World Aquatics Masters Championships in Singapore where she won an impressive five golds and two silvers, and set a Canadian record and a world record in her age group. Fortunately for BSS, Judy’s drive to compete is matched only by her dedication to see her students succeed.