VICTORIA – The University of Victoria is hosting the 2023 U SPORTS Swimming Championships from February 23-25 at Commonwealth Pool, but to kick things off, Vikes swimmers will hit the deck at the Nanaimo Invitational from Oct. 29-30.
This season, the team will look to newer faces like 2021-22 UVic rookie of the year
Sophie Tarrant, second-year athlete
William Risk, and Vikes newcomer
Yasmin Perry from Scotland to make a splash, but it's a familiar face poolside leading the charge.
Stepping into his 40th season as head coach of the Vikes swimming program,
Peter Vizsolyi is one of the longest-tenured coaches in U SPORTS and UVic history.
While leading a varsity program for 40 years is an accomplishment very few can claim, Vizsolyi has somehow balanced working as a physician with his own medical practice and acting as the technical director for the Pacific Coast Swimming Association, among sitting on various other governing bodies and committees over the years.
"Peter has always been both a doctor and a coach and has poured his life into those pursuits. It's a great story of determination and dedication that he stuck to for so long with much success," said
Ryan Clouston, UVic swimming assistant coach.
"His influence over the years has had massive impacts in Victoria and throughout the country."
Born in Budapest, Hungary, Vizsolyi and his family immigrated to Vancouver, where he began his swimming career. There, he gained the opportunity to swim under several of Canada's greatest coaches, such as Hall-of-Famers Helen Hunt, Dr. Jenő Tihany, Howard Firby and Ted Simpson, building relationships that not only contributed to his coaching career, but influenced his approach to coaching.
Starting at UVic as a volunteer head coach in 1983 alongside his day job as a physician, Vizsolyi says that while he enjoyed medicine, he always felt like it was something he did to support his hobby as a swim coach.
Woven into the fabric of the Vancouver Island swimming community, Vizsolyi helped develop Island Swimming in 1988 and was Technical Director for both Island Swimming and the Island National Swim Center until 2002.
As the swimming chair for the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games Society, he played an integral role in establishing Saanich Commonwealth Place as a high-performance centre.
Under Vizsolyi's tutelage, Vikes swimmers have won 229 medals (75 gold, 81 silver and 78 bronze) at the U SPORTS Championships, while 13 Vikes have competed at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. UVic student-athletes have won over 200 national and international medals at Canadian National, Commonwealth, Pan-Am, Pan-Pac, FISU and Olympic competitions during this time.
Vizsolyi was named U SPORTS Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1998.
When asked about what has changed in 40 years, he said, "not as much as people would think."
"Swimming is physics, and that doesn't change. What was a trend at some point comes back around, so it's important to stay grounded as you work through the newest thing and pick one or two things to concentrate on," continued Vizsolyi.
"The great coaches focus on incremental change and don't get too caught up in what's new and exciting."
What definitely hasn't changed is Vizsolyi's passion for the sport and his athletes.
"He expects a lot from the athletes and the people he works with, as well as himself, and doesn't like to compromise when he knows excellence is possible. He loves the sport of swimming, cares for his swimmers' past, present and future, and takes pride in the successes of his athletes both on and off the deck," said Clouston.
Retiring from medicine this fall, Vizsolyi has no plans on fully retiring from his role with the Vikes and intends to continue following his passion for coaching swimming.
Over the last year, the Vikes swimming program has evolved into a job-sharing situation between Vizsolyi and Clouston. In doing so, the coaches have realigned their roles to better distribute the workload and implement new initiatives they haven't had the capacity to execute in previous years.
While Vizsolyi oversees the program's direction and all technical aspects, Clouston, who has been assistant coaching with the program for 13 years, takes the lead on much of the day-to-day programming.
The Vikes begin their season in Nanaimo this weekend as they prepare for the Canada West Championships in Lethbridge, AB, from November 25-27.
Vikes swimmers will look to improve on some impressive individual performances last season.
At the Canada West Championships in 2021,
Sophie Tarrant rewrote the record books finding the podium in every breaststroke event and breaking the longest-standing Vikes record in existence, the 100 breaststroke set in 1998 by two-time Olympian Christin Petelski. At the U SPORTS Championships, Tarrant led the Vikes with A-Final appearances in the 50, 100, and 200 breast, as well as the 200 IM, winning the national bronze in the 200 breaststroke.
Other athletes to watch on the women's side include third-year
Lauren Crisp, and international exchange student
Yasmin Perry from Scotland. On the men's side, second-year
William Risk has made significant improvements over the summer, while Padric McKervill and
Jacob Rambo look to build on some personal bests from 2021-22.
MEET INFORMATION
Event: NRST Fall Invitational (short course meet)
Dates: Saturday, Oct. 29-Sunday, Oct. 30
Location: Nanaimo Aquatic Centre
Live Results: MeetMobile
