Rosie Vijil, 70, was born in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. In her youth, she stayed with relatives in El Paso, TX, as she wanted to prepare for the future with a better education.
Her most gratifying experience was her marriage to a sailor. They met in El Paso when he was on leave, before he was assigned to the Philippines.
During their courtship, he asked, "Do you want to go along for the ride?" She did. Their family includes a son and two daughters.
In 1972, she formed a Masters Club in Huntsville, Alabama. Her most memorable experience occurred that same year when she competed in her first Masters meet, in Oakridge, Tenn.
³We stayed in homes of swimmers and they were most hospitable. The whole surroundings in Tennessee were breathtaking.
Vijil lived in Huntsville for 17 years. While there, she taught aquatics at the University of Huntsville, and coached youth groups and high school for the city Dept. of Recreation.
In 1974, she swam in two of the early Nationals; SCY in Ft Lauderdale, FL and LCM in Mission Viejo, CA. In both meets, she placed in the top ten in the 200 breast, one of her favorite events.
Vijil has been a Maverick since 1997, one of its first members. She competes mostly in local meets and often achieves USMS Top Ten status. In 2000, she was part of the Maverick contingency who competed at the Worlds in Munich, Germany. After the meet, she traveled to Spain, and enjoyed her visit with family and friends. One of her upcoming goals is to increase her training so she will be ready for the Worlds, in 2006 at Stanford University, CA.
Presently, she works as an Independent Medicaid provider. She provides
private duty care to persons with disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, etc.
She works out at the Gills Family YMCA three times a week. Vijil lives in Holiday and is a full time mother to her almost eight year old granddaughter, Courtney.

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