Pisces swimmers heading for provincial stream
In his third season racing with the Prince George Pisces Swim Club Finn Boyle has been shredding his own personal best times and kept that trend intact Saturday in the first day of the Pisces Invitational meet.
The nine-year-old already had three PBs on the board before he dove into the water at the Aquatic Centre to swim the Division 2 boys 100m individual medley. Just like he’s done many times this year, Boyle won that race easily, stopping the clock in 1:39.82, 11 seconds ahead of Gavin Pohl, his friend from Dawson Creek.
Times, rather than podium appearances, are the real measuring stick of progress for swimmers and Boyle just has to look back on his swim times from three years ago, when he joined the club, for proof of how much he’s developed. No matter where he ends up in the finish order, he loves the thrill of a race.
“Even if I’m not winning it’s always a win because I get to see my friends and race with them,” he said. “I like racing friends I already know. The fun part is when I go to provincials I always get to meet new people.”
Boyle’s father Rory is in his second season as Pisces club president and was called into action on the weekend to swim his first meet for the club in the adult Division 8 category. Finn, who turns 10 on Aug. 1, says he’s not fast enough to beat his dad in a race just yet, but give him time.
“He’s a good swimmer, he just got a (32-second time) in his 50 free,” said Finn.
“In my first year my 50m time was a minute and now it’s 38 seconds, so I’ve dropped a lot. Earlier this morning I got a 38:57 (best time). I don’t know how long it will take before I can beat him but if we keep our coach (Ian Williams) it won’t be long.”
Finn says Williams makes prac- tices fun but knows when to crack the whip and make them work.
“Sometimes he likes to slack off and I always like slacking off, that’s fun,” said Finn.
“The practices are challenging so I can get used to racing full-out when I’m tired. I’m going to keep doing this as long as it’s fun.”
Finn also set PBs in the 100m IM (1:37.40) and 50m backstroke (46.06). He considers the butterfly stroke his favourite and established a club record in the 50 fly last year at the provincial championships in Kamloops.
Within the north central region he’s shot to the head of the class in his division and is a virtual shoo-in to make it through the regional qualifier in Dawson Creek, Aug. 4-5, to qualify for the B.C. Summer Swim Association provincial championships in Surrey, Aug. 8-19. The top three regional swimmers in each division and those who meet provincial qualifying times will advance to the Surrey meet.
“He’s pretty new and even just before the blocks he has fun, dancing a little bit, and then he’s just pure focus,” said Williams.
“He loves to race. As soon as you put someone beside him who’s as fast or faster than him he’ll just compete and tries to keep up the whole time.”
Twelve-year-old Pisces swimmer Abby Spencer has had a breakout season working with Williams and is swimming times that would have placed her in A- and B-finals at last year’s provincial championship.
I’m going to keep doing this as long as it’s fun.
— Finn Boyle
Spencer, who competes in Division 3, took advantage of familiar surroundings at the Aquatic Centre Saturday. Heading into the Pisces meet she had won all her heats and all her finals in the three previous meets.
She set a PB in the 50m breaststroke (41.75) and also got a best time in her favourite event, the 50m free (33.76).
“I started (this year) at 37, so took off about four seconds,” she said. “Ian is a great coach and he taught me a few things I probably wouldn’t have gotten without him. I was pretty fast last year but definitely not as fast as I am this year. I think I’m working harder, and it’s the coaching.”
Spencer began racing with the Pisces last year but she was a water baby who started taking her first strokes in the pool when she was nine months old. As she heads into Grade 7 studies at Malaspina elementary school she’s setting her sights high in swimming. Encouraged by a growth spurt that’s helping her stop the clock quicker in her races, Spencer is a good student and knows there are scholarship opportunities if she continues to progress in her sport through her teen years.
“I want to be a national Olympic swimmer,” she said. “Ever since I was a little kid I’ve loved swimming. I’ve never had a fear of the water.”
Two weeks ago at the Fort St. John invitational meet, Spencer teamed up with older swimmers Emma Watson, Sara Gaal and Brooklyn Fochler to set new meet and Pisces club records (2:26) in the Division 4 girls freestyle relay event.
“This is only her second year competing but she’s very strong and very dedicated and has pretty high goals for herself, even though she’s pretty new to the club,” said Williams. “She has her eye on making a final in provincials and she’s definitely on the way to that.
“We have five or six girls in the same age group in Division 4 and six girls in Division 3, so we’re definitely heavy in the 10-,11-, 12-year-old girls in the club. There’s a lot of competition in practice but they’re all friends and that definitely that helps them push each other and get faster times.”
As a summer swim club the Pisces swimmers follow a schedule of five or six daily training sessions per week in a season that runs from May to late August.
In the off-season they are limited to no more than two hours per week training with a coach.
Williams, 25, a longtime Pisces swimmer who went in to compete at the University of Victoria, joined the Pisces as head coach this year after four years as a swimmer/coach at Pacific Coast Swimming in Victoria. Considering the Pisces have gone through seven head coaches in the past three years, finding a way to keep Williams employed full-time through the winter to retain continuity is one of the club’s highest priorities, said Pisces vice-president Bob Lees.
“Everybody is setting PBs here with Ian as the coach,” said Lees.
Williams has indicated he’s willing to remain with the club and is working on a proposal to create a competitive high school program based at the Aquatic Centre which would give him more coaching hours and create competitive opportunities for local swimmers in B.C. Secondary School Sports events.