National Volunteer Week 2025

As part of National Volunteers Month and National Volunteers Week April 27-May 3, Swim Ontario would like to thank our hard working volunteers who give their time and commitment to help our sport and community on a daily basis. We will be highlighting many of our wonderful volunteers over the next few weeks.

Will Li is a third-year student at the University of Toronto, focussed on a personal mandate to study molecular genetics, microbiology and learn about the effects of pathogens, bacteria, organisms and viruses.

Yes, a special kind of person. Extremely bright and astute, he’s pursuing a future in the world of laboratory research.

His determination to examine such a critical area that relates to humanity is, to say the least, quite impressive. Longer and healthier lives are always a priority - and miracles can develop. So, too, can cures to many diseases.

There are no timelines, so we won’t rush this topic. Li is just 20 years old and soon to be the owner of an Honours Bachelor of Sciences (HBSc) degree.

As a youngster, he was always fascinated with research and liked to spend time in a lab. He’s also one who thrives on learning. Studying life sciences has always been his ambition – even as early as grade school. He graduated with academic honors from St. George’s School – a prestigious university-preparatory school in Vancouver, B.C.

So, what does all of this have to do with volunteer work, officiating and swimming?

“I used to swim competitively, did some coaching, but found volunteering quite enjoyable,” said Li who, at the age of three, immigrated from Beijing to Canada with his family in 2007. “I got into volunteering for several reasons. I absolutely enjoyed coaching kids and be able to apply what I learned as an athlete.”

Li was a teenager when he started to officiate and coach. He’s also one who likes to learn from others and recounts many occasions when he’d capture moments and adjust them to his modus operandi. In other words, his own way of doing things effectively.

While he was still an athlete, at 15 years of age, every week a group of his peers would stay at the pool and join him finishing their training session to coach the younger groups, who would swim after them.

“I enjoyed spending time on the pool deck and handling various aspects of officiating,” he added. “I had been with a (swim) club that had a robust athlete/coach culture and officiating interested me when I was required to get volunteer hours at high school and help out at clinics.”

Li said that he volunteers to improve at what he does.

“We’re (officials) the most invisible people on the pool deck when we do things right,” he said. “That’s because, as people responsible for different aspects of conducting a swim meet, we have a responsibility to make things happen using experience and fairness for everyone competing.”

Li recalls taking community swim lessons when he was at the elementary school age. That progressed to standard life saving and first aid courses. In grade 7, he joined the Richmond Rapids Swim Club in his hometown of Richmond, B.C. A few years went by, and Li was in the spotlight as a provincial finalist in the freestyle and individual medley events.

Li made a tough decision to end his competitive swim years when he graduated from high school. He said it was because of health issues and couldn’t train as hard as he had liked to. Li turned to do some seasonal coaching with 9. 10- and 11-year-olds.

When he decided to attend university in Toronto, it was not feasible to coach at his old club on the country’s west coast. So that’s when he put more time into officiating and volunteer work.

“I wanted to stay close to swimming and knowing I would be going to U of T, I turned to contacts for opportunities and the first one happened at the Pan Am Pool in Markham. shadowing a referee,” he said. “I had learned a great deal.”

In his three years in Ontario, Li has worked in various capacities as a swim official – and at hundreds of sessions which include National championships and Olympic Trials.

Li may not be a headliner in officiating – nor does he want to be. He’s passionate about what he does and enjoys. For him, it’s all about getting opportunities and then doing them in a clear, calm and coherent manner.

“I have my Level 4 officiating and hope to get Level 5 before I graduate (from U of T),” added Li. “As for my future as a swim official, I never want to pack it in. It’s fulfilling, I enjoy it and it’s my way of giving back and sharing experiences with the next group of officials.

“Every session at the pool for me is a learning experience – no matter if it’s the first day or the 10th year. Swimming is run by volunteers and without them, you can’t have a swim meet. For (volunteers), it’s a desire to contribute and help keep amateur swimming functioning and alive.”

Li is not one to priorize swim meets. To him, they are all exciting. Yet, there are some he refers to as” real eye-openers”.

“Volunteering at the Canadian Masters championships in Windsor was very special and so are the meets where he constantly sees smiles on the faces of youngsters.

“You see them having fun, doing their best and you realize, you understand, why you’re there as an official, a volunteer and contributing to make the event happen,” said Li.

In his spare time, and he does have some, Li operates and maintains the world-class Electronic Timekeeping System at the University of Toronto Athletic Centre, as well as at many other major pools in the Greater Toronto Area.

He’s also a freelance photographer. Probing his internet file, it describes him as “an eager learner, enjoying anything from drugs and, microbes, to coffee and tea culture, to literature and critical theory, to classical music”.

Quite the guy.

April is a month dedicated to recognizing the major impact of volunteers. It’s National Volunteer Month - a time to celebrate and highlight the contributions of millions of people in Canada

who have made a major impact on the lives of others by volunteering their time to improve life in communities across the country.

In Canada, National Volunteer Week is from April 27 to May 3 and the theme is “Volunteers Make Waves” – highlighting the power and impact of volunteer efforts.

David Grossman is a veteran multi award-winning Journalist and Broadcaster with some of Canada’s major media, including the Toronto Star and SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN, and a Public Relations professional for 50+ years in Canadian sports and Government relations.