FSJ Youth Pool Commissioner brings home 11 medals

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — One of the city’s youth pool commissioners won 11 medals at recent swimming championships. 

According to a Facebook post uploaded to the City of Fort St. John Recreation’s page on May 30th, Leonardo Rossi, one of the city’s youth pool commissioners, won 11 medals, five at the BC Divisional Championships and six at the Grande Prairie Divisional Championships. 

The youth pool commissioner serves as the voice of local youth on the North Peace Leisure Pool Commission, helping to influence decisions on pool programming, facility improvements, and youth events. 

Rossi said he was very happy and excited to have won all those medals. 

“Really, it just shows that I put in hard work throughout the season leading up to the main season, I got a lot of best times, and it just shows my hard work,” he added. 

The BC Divisional Championships and the Grande Prairie Divisional Championships, Rossi said, lead up to his upcoming competitive season. 

Rossi said his first competitive meet will be the Summer Divisional Championships, which will start on June 19th in Vernon.

“The next one is the BC Summer Games, which I got selected for, so I will be representing zone eight,” Rossi noted. 

The BC Summer Games will be held in Kelowna from July 22nd to July 26th. 

“What I’m doing right now is, as much as I’m trying to replicate it throughout competitive season,” Rossi noted. “I always like to keep the same routine throughout my whole season to ensure that I have the best competition and best results possible.” 

However, Rossi mentioned his training will become more difficult to prepare for the season. 

“I’ve improved a lot overall. It’s different. After you swim for a long time, it starts to change, and it gets harder, but it’s overall still really fun,” he noted. 

Rossi, who spends over 18 hours in the pool every week, said: “I like to get my work done as soon as I can at school…And then I can work harder in the pool, so that I don’t have to worry or stress about extra school.”