Swimming Canada Announces 12 Events in Full 2023-24 Schedule
Swimming Canada on Wednesday announced a slate of 12 elite competitions to fill the calendar for the 2023-24 seasons, all in the lead up to the Paris Olympics.
The calendar is built around the 2023 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials in Toronto, followed by Olympic and Paralympic Trials in Montreal in 2024. That meet was severely limited in 2021 due to COVID-19 requirements.
The Canadian calendar has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Canadians being one of the last swimming nations to return to normal before the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021. With the upheaval of Worlds scheduling in 2022, the schedule release on Wednesday offers a chance at normalcy for the bulk of the next Olympic cycle.
“Providing appropriate competition is an important part of us achieving our high performance and sport development goals,” Wayne Lomas, Swimming Canada’s Association High Performance Director, said in a press release. “We are fortunate that, from east to west, there are so many high quality community facilities, and willing partners who want to support our swimmers and our sport. We are particularly excited to be heading to Montreal for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Trials, presented by Bell on the road to the Paris 2024 Games. With our High Performance Centre – Quebec program based there, in a city and pool with such a proud legacy, we know what an amazing event it will be.”
In addition to Speedo Junior and Senior Championships in Edmonton both years, the organization added a Canadian Open event in April 2024 at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. There are also plans to partner again with the Cayman Islands to host a Canadian Open Water Trials in April 2023 with a possible second event for Paris qualification in 2024.
Trials for Worlds in 2023 will be held in Toronto. Trials for Worlds in 2022 are set to start next week in Victoria. That meet also serves as a selection for the Commonwealth Games.
“Swimming Canada is appreciative of the significant contribution that volunteers, cities and our provincial partners have made in bringing our key events to so many communities across the country,” Swimming Canada CEO Ahmed El-Awadi said. “We also thank the Government of Canada for its support through Sport Canada and Own the Podium. After a difficult couple of years full of cancellations, postponements and disappointments, we are thrilled to be able to relaunch a full slate of national events for the next two years. Our athletes have shown so much resilience and we can’t wait to cheer them on in the pool – and in open water – as they continue to pursue their goals.”
2023
- Speedo Eastern Canadian Championships – March 16-19, Windsor International Aquatic & Training Centre
- Speedo Western Canadian Championships – March 16-19, Calgary Repsol Sport Centre
- Bell Canadian Swimming Trials – March 28-April 2, Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre
- Canadian Open Water Swimming Trials – April 15-16, Cayman Islands
- Speedo Canadian Masters Swimming Championships – May 26-28, Calgary Repsol Sport Centre
- Speedo Canadian Junior and Senior Championships – July 31-Aug. 7, Edmonton Kinsmen Sports Centre
2024
- Speedo Eastern Canadian Championships – March 21-24, Quebec City Laval University PEPS
- Speedo Western Canadian Championships – March 21-24, Winnipeg Pan Am Pool
- Canadian Swimming Open – April 10-13, Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre
- Olympic and Paralympic Swimming Trials, presented by Bell – May 14-19, Montreal Olympic Park
- Canadian Open Water Swimming Trials – April 20-21, Cayman Islands (to be confirmed)
- Speedo Canadian Masters Swimming Championships – May 24-26, Windsor International Aquatic & Training Centre
- Speedo Canadian Junior and Senior Championships – Aug. 8-15, Edmonton Kinsmen Sports Centre