The Canadian Sport Institute Ontario announced that as of Tuesday, October 13th, they would be closing their Strength & Conditioning and Sport Lab at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC). The decision came following the introduction of stricter COVID-19 guidelines for sports facilities issued by the Ontario provincial government., specifically Ontario Regulation 572/20.
The pools at the TPASC, and others in the area, will remain open to the elite swimmers who train there, however.
Of the announcement, the CSIO explained that “these new regulations currently do not provide any exemption for high-performance sport training in the three regions that have moved to a modified Stage 2 of reopening (currently Ottawa, Peel and Toronto). We are in the process of applying for an exemption, however, until we receive approval, we must remain closed.”
The host facility of the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games is home to numerous competitive and high-performance programs and also run many recreational programs.
Among those training squads who practice at TPASC and work with the Canadian Sport Institute are the Ontario Swim Academy, Ontario Para-Swimming Academy, and Swimming Canada’s High-Performance Center Ontario. Both swim academies include a small squad of junior swimmers, the latter being one of three Swimming Canada run high-performance centers led by Ben Titley. The HPCO is comprised of a mainly sprint-focussed group of national teamers and Olympians. Swimming Canada currently lists the following athletes as members of that team;
- Elan Daley
- Jade Hannah
- Rebecca Smith
- Finlay Knox
- Summer McIntosh
- Taylor Ruck
- Penelope Oleksiak
- Kayla Sanchez
- Joshua Liendo
- Yuri Kisil
- Mack Darragh
Swimming is one of many sports with which the Canadian Sport Institute’s Strength & Conditioning and Sport Lab works. Also among those within the purview of the institute are high-performance athletes in the following sports;
- Archery
- Athletics/Para-athletics
- Basketball (W)
- Beach Volleyball
- Boxing
- Cycling/Para-cycling
- Fencing
- Figure Skating
- Para Ice Hockey
- Rhythmic Gymnastics
- Rowing
- Sailing
- Snowboard
- Soccer (W)
- Softball
- Wheelchair Basketball
- Wheelchair Rugby
- Wrestling
The TPASC swimming pool re-opened back in July at limited capacity and has since been operating under COVID-19 protocols set out by government regulations and Swimming Canada. The TPASC fitness center announced last week that following updated regulations set out by the city of Toronto and the province of Ontario, they would be freezing all fitness memberships and will be offering limited services, including lane swims, for the time being;
Services that will continue to be offered by TPASC
- Lane Swim
- Indoor Athletic Training with no gameplay
- Individual Sport Academy Training
- One on One Personal Training
- Virtual Fitness Classes
Like much of the world, Canada, including Toronto, has seen a surge in coronavirus cases in October. 7 out of the last 10 days have seen more than 2,000 daily new cases of coronavirus in Canada, which only happened once previously in the pandemic. Deaths in the country have begun to rise as well.