Swimming Canada has moved 2024 Canadian Trials from Montreal to Toronto due to an extended closure of Montreal’s Olympic Park after a fire occurred in the Montreal Olympic Tower at the end of March.
Last week, Swimming Canada announced that they would be searching for a new location for the meet with hopes of keeping it in the Montreal area with the originally planned dates of May 13-19.
The meet will now be held at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Center with the originally planned dates of May 13-19. Toronto is about a six-hour drive west of Montreal. The pool was been home to the 2015 Pan Am Games as well as the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Trials. Canada’s 2023 World Championship Trials were also held at the pool in Toronto.
“It wasn’t an easy decision and it won’t be perfect but we believe, taking all into consideration, it is the best decision with only five weeks to go before the meet,” said Swimming Canada Acting CEO Suzanne Paulins.
“Although we are disappointed that the Trials will not be held in Montreal or Quebec, we understand the need for an environment that promotes athlete preparation and performance. We support Swimming Canada in this choice. At the same time, this situation highlights the vulnerability of our sport for holding a world-class event in Quebec,” said the Federdation de natation du Quebec (FNQ) Executive Director Francis Ménard. “We are counting on our partners to find a solution to promote the development of swimming.”
Swimming Canada searched for locations in Montreal and originally looked at Pavillon de l’éducation physique et des sports de l’Université Laval (PEPS) roughly 250 km away (a three hour drive) from the Montreal Olympic Park.
The organization reports that athlete input advocated for the meet to be moved to Toronto as the Pan Am Sports Centre is also home to a separate 50 meter warm up/warm down pool. In addition, athletes also cited the pool’s history including swims such as Summer McIntosh‘s World Records from last year’s Trials.
The Toronto location is one of three High-Performance Centers for Swimming Canada. The other two are located in Vancouver and the originally planned Montreal Olympic Park.
See the full Swimming Canada announcement here. Air Canada, a sponsor of the meet, has offered to waive fee changes for those who already had flights booked to Montreal. Swimming Canada has also set up an assistance program for those who need help with the relocation costs.
Swimming Canada will return to Montreal in a few years as 2026 Trials are scheduled in Montreal.
McIntosh WR demolition derby incoming
Great decision SC. I was looking forward to Montreal’s delicious food and wonderful culture but TPASC is best for the swimmers. I am so happy that SC listen to the Athlete Council and bravo to the swimmers for making their voices heard.
What is happening with the tickets we purchased for trials in Montreal?
Does anyone know how they’re going to handle tickets now that the venue has changed? Im now local to the Toronto pool and would love to go.
The CBC article also said that one of the goals was to expose a different audience to Canada’s swimming talent. Although the decision makes sense and the fans’ opinion is not that important, i’m sad i won’t get to see this live!
I can’t help but wonder what they would have done had trials been at the beginning of April like they had been in the past.
Well we had 45ish kids that were booked for the Neptune meet at the same pool, meet cancelled and kids lost their end of cyle taper meet.
Yeah that’s a noble goal that I appreciate, but sometimes force majeurs happen and you have to cede some goals for the sake of more primary goals.
“The pool was been home to the 2015 Pan Am Games as well as the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Trials.”
Let’s take the “been” part out of the article.
There was no perfect solution.This is the best decision.It maximizes the chances of serious competitors to qualify.It will cost some swimmers,spectators more money but its the best way out of a bad situation.
Just like what everyone have been suggesting.
Bravo to Swimming Canada for taking the pragmatic approach.