Work of 2018-19 season paying off for Ontario Swim Academy athletes

TORONTO – The hard work of the 2018-2019 season has been paying dividends for the swimmers at the Ontario Swim Academy.

After swimming to bronze in the 200-m backstroke and fifth in the 100 at the Canadian Swimming Trials in April, Chatham’s Madison Broad became the first full-time OSA to make a senior national team. Broad will represent Canada at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru, this August. Shortly after, fellow Chatham native Genevieve Sasseville added her name to the FINA World Junior Championships team and then Markham’s Alexander Axon and Newfoundland's Kate Sullivan to the UANA Junior Open Water Championships team.

The OSA is a group of youth athletes that train out of the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre under head coach Don Burton and lead biomechanist Amber Hutchinson. There are 12 permanent full-time athletes in the group at the Academy, including Broad, Sasseville and Axon, who represent their home clubs but swim with Burton on a daily basis. Burton was also named as a coach for the Pan Am Games Team.

“The Ontario Swimming Academy NextGen program is an important program in the pathway offered to swimmers to enhance their development. The investment from partners such as Own The Podium with NextGen funding is critical and we are grateful for their ongoing support as the performance of the athletes continues to improve,” said Swimming Canada High Performance Director John Atkinson.

The OSA also works regularly with athletes on a part-time basis in collaboration with their home club programs and coaches, both from within Ontario and out of province. Kenora’s Gabe Mastromatteo has been doing visitations with the OSA for the past three years and was named to both the World Championships and junior worlds teams this summer. Swimmers from the east coast who have been doing regular visits to the OSA this season were also named to teams following Trials: Brooklyn Douthwright (Moncton, N.B.) and Jacob Gallant (Fredericton) to the Junior Worlds team and Sullivan made the move from part-time to full-time in January. Additionally, six Para-swimmers who have worked at the OSA were named to the World Para Championships and Para Pan Am Teams: Aly Van Wyck Smart, Matthew Cabraja and Abi Tripp to the World Para Swimming Championships team; Angela Marina, Emma Grace Van Dyk and Michelle Tovizi to the Parapan Am Games Team

“The 2019 Canadian Trials, Eastern Canadian Championships and the Canadian Open Water Trials proved to be a very good breakthrough period for the Ontario Swim Academy with a solid showing of performances,” said Dean Boles, CEO and chief technical officer of Swim Ontario.

“The daily training group has grown in numbers to twelve, along with the rise of the performances, with confirmation with the results this spring. The visiting swimmers to the OSA performed well reaching new levels and representing Canada this summer, a true testament to the collaborative manner both the OSA and clubs are exhibiting moving their performances forward.

“The OSA camp deliveries throughout the season have been a positive impact on another layer of swimming performance including the distinguished level of achievement of the Para-swimming program. I would like to commend each swimmer, home program, coach Don Burton and lead IST Amber Hutchinson and their support team on their amazing performances.”

For more information on the Ontario Swim Academy, please click HERE or contact Karen Wilson.