The place dubbed the fastest pool in Canada because of the number of records broken in it will now play host to the 2024 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic swimming trials.
Swimming Canada has just announced the trials, set to begin in five weeks, are moving to the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC).
This substantial move comes in the wake of Swimming Canada being forced to move from Montreal’s Olympic Park after a fire there last month forced the closure of the facility.
Since then, Swimming Canada has scrambled to find a new location. Hundreds of flights and accommodations for swimmers, coaches and officials are now having to be rebooked. The event runs May 13-20.
Swimming Canada says it’s setting up an assistance program for those seeking accommodations in the Toronto area and facing additional costs due to travel changes.
Air Canada, a sponsor of the event, has offered to waive any change fees and fare differences incurred by those with flights already booked to Montreal.
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The country’s top synchronized swimmers usually practised at the Olympic Stadium three times a week, but damage from a fire last month forced the stadium’s pool to close. The team is now using the facilities at Cégep du Vieux Montréal.
At this point there are no details about the total cost to move the event, but a long list of key stakeholders and partners of swimming Canada were consulted before confirming the venue change.
These Olympic and Paralympic trials originally planned for Montreal ahead of the Paris Games were supposed to expose a different audience to Canada’s swimming talent.
Swimming Canada officials say they exhausted every avenue trying to find another location in the Montreal area, looking to be fiscally responsible while also honouring what would be best for athletes.
In the end it was the athlete voice that led to making the decision to move the trials to Toronto.
“There have been multiple issues to consider in making this decision, and everything has been very carefully considered. Representing Team Canada at the Olympics and Paralympics is the pinnacle of our sport. We had to minimize compromise for our athletes in order for them, along with their coaches, to maximize their performance,” said high performance director and national coach John Atkinson.
“This was very critical in getting to this decision. When considering a hundredth of a second is all important in our sport when striving to make standards, this will be the right decision to safeguard performances.”
This has been called the golden generation for Canadian swimming with unparalleled depth and talent. Canada has won six medals in the pool at the Olympics the previous two Games and expectations are high for Paris.
Summer McIntosh, Maggie Mac Neil, Penny Oleksiak, NCAA champions Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun as well as many other will be looking to lock up Olympic spots.
This marks the third consecutive time the Olympic and Paralympic trials are going to be held at TPASC – the first came in 2016, then a delayed trials for the Tokyo Olympics took place in 2021.
The 2028 Olympic and Paralympic trials are also going to take place at TPASC.
“In a relatively short period of time TPASC has already hosted many fantastic swimming moments and been a part of history. It is a fantastic legacy of the 2015 Pan Am Games, and we are thrilled to be back there on our road to LA for our 2028 Olympic and Paralympic team trials,” Atkinson said.
The Paris Olympics run from July 26 to Aug. 11. The Paralympics follow from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.
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