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Winnipeg Free Press
23 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
As Summer McIntosh shines, Canada's aging public pools face a wave of closures
Suggest: Finding the next Summer McIntosh and keeping Canadians safe in the water is getting harder as pool closures spread across the country. Municipalities and universities strapped for cash, and neglecting upkeep on aging pools, now face hefty renovation or rebuild costs — or closure. More than half of Canada's publicly owned indoor pools are at least 25 years old, and less than half of the country's 25-metre pools are rated in good physical condition, according to a Swimming Canada report released this year. 'The reason why these pools are closing; they're not serviced. They are not serviced until they break,' said Swim BC president Jeannie Lo. Outdoor pools take pressure off their indoor counterparts in summer, but space in the water is about to get tight in some parts of the country. If McIntosh, a recent winner of four world championship gold medals at age 18, inspired youngsters to try competitive swimming, St. James Seals head coach Josh Koldon is worried he won't be able to accommodate them. With the Winnipeg club's St. James Civic Centre pool closed until next year for repairs, and the University of Manitoba's pool out of commission indefinitely, Koldon's 85 swimmers will be searching for lanes this winter. 'It's a big challenge. It definitely puts a hard cap on our numbers because we don't want to cram everybody in like sardines,' Koldon said. 'We still want to offer a high level of instruction and opportunity for kids.' The Seals shared their pool with Manitoba Bisons junior swimmers after the university's 60-year-old Joyce Fromson Pool sprang a leak in April. But the civic centre's pool closed in June for repairs. The university has just begun exploring options for replacing a pool where Olympians Kelsey Wog and Chantal Van Landeghem once trained. St. James Civic Centre is one of four city-run indoor pools in Winnipeg currently closed for renovations or repairs, although three are scheduled to reopen this year. Mary-Sophie Harvey, who took world championship bronze in the 400-metre freestyle behind winner McIntosh, spoke of driving to four different pools in Montreal to train because Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard closed for renovations last year and won't open again until 2026. Among other pool reductions in Canada: • The University of Victoria shuttered its 50-metre McKinnon Pool last year. The 50-year-old facility requires more than $1.5 million in upgrades, according to the university. • Laurentian University's pool in Sudbury, Ont. — the only 50-metre pool in the region — has been out of commission since 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the university's 2021 insolvency, from which it is still recovering. • The Vancouver Aquatic Centre's 50-metre pool will be reduced to 25 metres in an upcoming renovation to the half-century old facility. Vancouver's Park Board won't rebuild an Olympic-sized pool at VAC, although the board has committed to constructing a new 50-metre pool elsewhere 'in the next ten years.' The Canadian Dolphin Swim Club, with 350 swimmers, will shift during VAC's three-year renovation to the Hillcrest Aquatic Centre, which Lo says is already over capacity. 'The math doesn't make sense to me,' said Lo, who is also the swim club's president. 'The impact to our club is that we potentially have to shrink our program in order to deal with the limited space.' Vancouver's park board said in a March report that 8,000 people were on a wait list for fall swim lessons, and that Hillcrest operates at 113 per cent capacity. 'The overarching challenge for swimming across Canada is, how do we identify the next Summer Macintosh when we don't even have pool space to teach people how to swim, let alone train?' asked Lo. She says the federal government needs to take the lead on pool investment to bring other levels of government on board. 'I believe this is an issue that needs to be escalated to the federal level in order to prioritize pools and prioritize aquatic sport,' Lo said. A 50-metre pool is the standard for Olympic, Paralympic and world championship competition. Fewer than 70 publicly owned ones remain in Canada, and 25-metre pools are also in decline, Swimming Canada's report says. Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., shuttered its 58-year-old pool permanently in June. The indoor pool in Weyburn, Sask., closed last year when structural failures in the basin were discovered in the 35-year-old tank. There is one adjacent outdoor pool for the city of 11,000. The mayor has said the indoor pool is unlikely to open this year. 'Every province is dealing with this on different levels,' said Swimming Canada's associate director of sport development Jocelyn Jay. 'Saskatchewan's dealing with small communities that are losing pools. Acadia University in Nova Scotia … it serviced a university and a club team, but it also serviced four local communities.' Wednesdays What's next in arts, life and pop culture. There are cities and towns committed to renewing or replacing their aging pools, but large renovations and new construction cause shutdowns that are months and years long because of feasibility studies and bureaucratic hoops that precede the actual work. Not only are recreational and competitive swimming, diving, water polo and artistic swimming interrupted, but so are swimming lessons and lifeguard training, Jay points out 'What we need to keep in mind is drowning is the second-leading cause of accidental death for children in Canada,' she stated. 'If we're not paying attention to our facilities and just what's going on with this facility crisis, it's a scary thought to see what the long-term implications are there.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2024.
Cision Canada
8 hours ago
- Cision Canada
Team Ontario Sweeps Men's & Women's Titles at Sun Life Canada Hoops
U23 3x3 National Championships showcased talent and Canadian pride at The Bentway TORONTO, Aug. 12, 2025 /CNW/ - Canada Basketball, in partnership with Sun Life, is proud to announce that Team Ontario has claimed top men's and women's spots at the Sun Life Canada Hoops, Canada's premier U23 National 3x3 Championship. The tournament took place August 9 and 10 at The Bentway in downtown Toronto, transforming the urban space under the Gardiner Expressway into a showcase of Canada's top young 3x3 talent. The winning women's team will represent Canada at the Pilipinas United 3x3 Tournament in Manila, Philippines on August 23 and 24 and the men's winning team will represent Canada at the Brasilia Challenger in Brasilia, Brazil on September 13 and 14. Over two days of intense competition, elite men's and women's U23 teams from across the country battled for national supremacy in the fast-growing 3x3 format. In the end, in both the women's and men's brackets, Team Ontario battled Team Quebec and came out as winners. "It's incredible to see the level of talent in our U23 athletes and how much the 3x3 game continues to grow across Canada," said Michael Bartlett, President and CEO of Canada Basketball. "Events like Sun Life Canada Hoops not only showcase future stars but also help inspire more young Canadians to pick up a basketball and stay active." The event was part of Canada Basketball's broader "Summer of Basketball", a series of marquee events celebrating the sport from grassroots to high performance. As presenting partner, Sun Life continues to champion initiatives that promote active, healthy lifestyles for Canadians of all ages. "This summer has been an incredible celebration of energy, teamwork, and the transformative power of sport," said Dawn Bednarski, Vice-President & Canada Chief Marketing Officer, Sun Life. "At Sun Life, we're proud to partner with Canada Basketball to support healthy living and community connection through programs like this one. Congratulations to all the teams who brought their passion to the court – and a special shoutout to the tournament champions!"
Vancouver Sun
a day ago
- Vancouver Sun
Vancouver's Radley Da Silva looks to impress UFC boss in Vegas showcase
When Battlefield Fight League (BFL) featherweight champion Radley (Snake Eyes) Da Silva knocked American Drake Randall out cold with a spectacular spinning heel kick last September, the crowd at the Vancouver Convention Centre chanted 'UFC, UFC.' On Tuesday, the 30-year-old from Vancouver goes after a UFC contract when he faces unbeaten Australian George Mangos in Las Vegas in the opening episode of Season 9 of Dana White's Contender Series. The show gives up-and-coming fighters a chance to win their way into the UFC if they can impress the UFC president. Americans Jamahal (Sweet Dreams) Hill and (Suga) Sean O'Malley won UFC titles after earning their contract via the show. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Canadians (Proper) Mike Malott, Jasmine Jasudavicius, Chad (The Monster) Anheliger, Yohan (White Lion) Lainesse and T.J. (The Truth) Laramie all won UFC contracts on the show. So did Serhiy Sidey, who was born in Ukraine but came to Canada when he was six. Da Silva (7-1-0) looks to join them — and, in a perfect world, make his promotional debut on the UFC card in Vancouver in October. Mangos stands in his way. The 21-year-old HEX Series featherweight titleholder has won all seven of his pro fights. Former UFC middleweight champion Israel (The Last Stylebender) Adesanya and UFC light-heavyweight Jimmy (The Brute) Crute both won titles in the same Australian promotion earlier in their career. Da Silva (7-1-0) has won titles in both the Rise Fighting Championship and BFL promotions. Tuesday's UFC audition doesn't faze him. 'To me it's just like as if you went to school for something, for like 25 years … It's stuff I've been doing since I was very young,' said Da Silva, whose coaches at Pinnacle Combat Martial Arts Academy include former UFC and Pride veteran Denis Kang. 'So to me, it's just another day.' Da Silva, who was born in Brazil but moved to Canada when he was five, comes from a fighting family. He and his father Andre both fought on the BFL 25 card in September 2013 in Richmond, each winning by decision. Andre and other members of the Da Silva family are expert teachers in and practitioners of capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music. Godparents in Canada ran Axe Capoeira, an international chain of capoeira schools headquartered in Vancouver. Capoeira originally was created by African slaves in Brazil, who developed it as a martial art that could look like a dance so as not to catch the eye of their slave masters, Da Silva explains. 'So it didn't look like they were practising any deadly arts. And then they could use it later on to help themselves fight (their way) out of slavery,' he added. 'With that, it comes with a lot of movement and unorthodox moves. You get from it a lot of co-ordination, a lot of balance, flexibility and athleticism. That's the kind of stuff that can translate into any sport.' Da Silva started capoeira at five years old, jiu-jitsu at nine, wrestling at 14, and had his first amateur MMA fight at 16. His resume includes a capoeira world championship. The capoeira roots are easy to see in the cage, with plenty of spinning strikes like the one that felled Randall. Da Silva has defended his BFL title since then, submitting American Drew (The Eternal Flame) Brokenshire in January in Vancouver. His fighting career has come in stops and starts. Da Silva has won seven straight since losing his pro debut to Ben Jansen in July 2013. After evening his record at 1-1-0 in September that year, he only fought once — in November 2019, when he defeated John Nguyen to win the Rise FC title.— before returning to regular action in October 2023 in the BFL promotion. Da Salva explains the gaps in his fighting resume by saying there were times when bouts were hard to come by, 'no matter how much I tried.' 'It kind of just allowed me to develop as a human in other aspects of life.' Married with a daughter who turns two three days after his Contender Series fight, Da Silva also works in the film industry as a stuntman. He was working a nine-to-five job when his cousin, who was a stuntman, convinced him to make the move to film. His credits include the movies V For Vengeance and Confidential Informant, as well as TV's Resident Alien and Nancy Drew, and the miniseries Midnight Mass. He has also worked in video games, including the UFC title. Create a fighter in career mode In the UFC 5 game and your character is based on his movements. Da Silva also provides Voice No. 1 in the game. The video game's career mode allows you to fight your way up from regional promotions to the Contender Series to the UFC, a journey Da Silva is now well on his way to matching in real life.
