The Prince George Aquatic Centre is back to normal operations as the BCSSA Provincial Championships wrapped up Sunday with the final bout of speed racing competitions.
Competitors from across the province have now headed home, but some swimmers from across the north are bringing back new hardware to showcase.
Below are the medal results from northern clubs that participated.
One of the standouts from the North is Prince George’s Pisces Swim Club, which has seen success since the club was revamped in 2016.
Prince George Pisces Swim Club (1,277.50 points)
● Hudson Marjoribanks
○ Bronze — Regional Relay
● Austin Curran
○ Bronze — Regional Relay
● Emma Watson
○ Bronze — 200 IM
● Justine Guillet
○ Silver — 50 free
○ Bronze — 100 free
● Jocelyn Murguly
○ Gold — 100 breast
● Christian Hickey
○ Silver — 100 back
● Ian Williams
○ Bronze — 100 breast
● Summer Maritsas, Jocelyn Murguly, Emma Watson, and Justine Guillet
○ Bronze — 200 medley relay
○ Silver — 200 freestyle relay
● Eleanor Huettmeyer
○ Silver — 100 back
● Ross Williams
○ Bronze — 50 free
○ Silver — 50 fly
● Spencer Williams
○ Silver — 50 free
○ Bronze — 50 fly
Quesnel Sealions (184 points)
● Theo Stent
○ Bronze — 200 IM
○ Bronze — 50 fly
○ Silver — 50 breast
Nechako Valley Otters (53 points)
● Kailie Kusler
○ Cariboo Region Scholarship Awardee from the BCSSA
Mackenzie Rainbows (24 points)
● Aidan Dobson
○ Bronze — Regional Relay
Dawson Creek Seals (827.50 points)
● Danielle Cobbaert
○ Bronze — 50 fly
● Ethan Gold
○ Silver — 100 IM
○ Silver — 50 fly
○ Gold — 50 back
○ Gold — 50 breast
● Leightyn Green
○ Gold — 100 free
● Madden Green
○ Silver — 100 breast
● Xavier Neufeld
○ Silver — 50 breast
○ Bronze — Regional Relay
● Ashley Shipton
○ Bronze — 100 breast
Full results can be found on the Meet Mobile app.
Pisces Swim Club coach Ian Williams — who also earned bronze in the 100-metre breaststroke — said he was proud of his hard-working and talented Prince George swimmers.
“They did extremely well,” said Williams. “We had a ton of swimmers make the finals, we had several medals, we had 32 club records broken as well — those are statistically insane numbers for us … so definitely statistically the best we've ever done by far, by a large amount. I think all of us coaches put a lot of work into it and the swimmers obviously do much more work. So we are really, really proud of them.”
Despite his pride, Williams said he was not surprised by the results, given the athletes’ commitment.
“I'm not surprised at all because the whole year has been setting up for this point,” said Williams. “There are so many fast times being swum and club records being broken all season — it was fully expected. Obviously, expectations are higher going into it as well. I think some swimmers, who are podium threats, didn’t get on the podium in every race they wanted to and they are really, really competitive. So mixed emotions in some races, but overall, they did amazing.”
Beyond faster swim times and podium appearances, Williams said he’s happy to see the club grow and improve since he joined as coach.
“It feels great — the culture has changed,” said Williams. “We're just a bigger club now, a more competitive club. Seeing that shift and just taking a step back and looking at where we've come from and how well we're doing now … it means so much, given the time we coaches have put into it. It's just a great feeling seeing these kids get the results.”
Williams was also recently promoted to a provincial coach rep, meaning he will now represent swim coaches and swimmers across the province.
He told The Citizen that, in his new role, he hopes to advocate more for swimmers rather than board members and fellow coaches — something he plans to achieve by implementing small but consistent changes to swimmer-focused policy.
In addition to winning medals and breaking club records, the Pisces Swim Club also received new equipment from the competition — which they hope to put to good use over the next year.
“We've got possession of some of the BCSSA's water polo equipment,” said Bob Lees, team manager for the Pisces Swim Club. “We've got two sets of nets and balls. They're still owned by the BCSSA and we're obligated to take them to future provincials for use, but we're caretaking them. Starting right off the bat, we're going to start our water polo club, which we've been hoping to start for quite a while. That's been our goal for about five years now, to move to have a water polo club.”
Lees also noted feedback from coaches and officials about the Aquatic Centre itself, and said many were eager to return.
“It was just nice to see the BCSSA coming up to Prince George,” said Lees. “We heard comments that there is no nicer pool in the province for racing in — that everybody would love to come back. But I mean, there are also 60 clubs in the BCSSA and a lot of them want to host it. I don't know when they would ever come back here, but there was every indication that people would love to come back and race in this pool again.”
The Pisces Swim Club is now heading into a much-deserved two-week break, before returning for a winter-maintenance training program designed to keep them competitive until May.
Afterwards, they will resume regular training sessions to prepare for the next Provincial Championship, reportedly set to take place in Kelowna.
