The Prince George Pisces summer swim club wants people to know club activities are not limited to the warm-weather months only.
While the Pisces' summer competitive season runs from May to August, the club's lesser-known fall and winter programs keep swimmers active from October to April.
Saturday, April 26, is the last day of the club's winter session. To mark the occasion, Pisces swimmers from the winter and summer programs will dive into the Prince George Aquatic Centre pool together to race each other and the clock in fun time trial.
The event will give the new group of summer swimmers a chance to meet the winter swimmers and register for the upcoming season. While the more intense summer training schedule offers as many as seven sessions per week to prepare for five club meets, the Pisces fall (October to December) and winter (January to April) are limited to two sessions per week, providing more of a maintenance program for swimmers.
The Pisces host the season-opening meet May 24-25, the first of two meets at the Aquatic Centre this season. They also will have home-pool advantage for the regional meet, Aug. 2-3, the final tune-up before the provincial championships in Kamloops, Aug. 14-17.
Pisces promotions and communications director Emily Yao anticipates a larger turnout than usual for the regional meet just because the provincial championships in Kamloops are in relatively close proximity to Prince George. To qualify for provincials, swimmers must compete in the regional meet.
While the Pisces is a competitive club, Yao said it caters to swimmers of all abilities, as long as they have basic swimming skills, and the entry-level development program is geared toward kids who have never before raced. The Pisces club is not as intensive as winter clubs, most of which keep swimmers involved in busy training schedules for seven or eight months of the year.
The slower winter season appeals to Pisces members who have more organized activities going on in the cold-weather months. The summer swim season ends in early August, which Yao says allows families time for vacations.
The Pisces head coach this year is Jessica Ballantyne, a former member of the Prince George Barracudas.
The April 26 time trial is set to begin at 3 p.m. Meets are planned for Dawson Creek, May 31 to June, June 14-15 in Quesnel, June 28-29 in Fort St. John and July 19-20 in Mackenzie.
For more information go to pgpisces.org.
