The Donald Summerville Yacht Race is held each year in memory of Mayor Donald 
Summerville, an east-ender who had close ties with many of the original members of 
Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club. Donald Summerville was a councillor in the east end of 
metro Toronto who became mayor in the early 1960s. He was a keen supporter of 
ABYC in those days and often came down to the club to enjoy some friendly banter 
and tell a few tall tales with his mates. 

Mayor Summerville did all the usual things mayors do such as serving on the Police 
Services Board, but he is most often remembered for the fact that he died 
prematurely in 1963 when he suffered a heart attack while playing in a charity 
hockey game in west metro. It took so long for the ambulance to come that Mayor 
Summerville died before they could reach him. His death sparked the creation of the 
Department of Emergency Services in 1967, which has subsequently led to the 911 
services that we have available today. 

The club members at ABYC lost a good friend and felt that there was no better way 
to remember Donald Summerville than to make his name a part of the sport that we 
all enjoy so much. The Donald Summerville Yacht Race is a competition, a 
challenge, a test of skill and a lot of fun, just like its namesake.