TORONTO – Swimming Canada’s flagship event will welcome spectators back to the stands for the first time in four years as the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials get underway Tuesday.

The six-day Trials run through Sunday at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. A total of 623 athletes from 148 clubs across the country will be in action competing for spots on this summer’s national teams. Teams will be selected for:

• World Aquatics Championships July 14-30 in Fukuoka, Japan
• World Para Swimming Championships July 31-Aug. 6 in Manchester, England
• World Junior Swimming Championships Sept. 4-9 in Netanya, Israel
• Pan American Games Oct. 23-Nov. 5 in Santiago, Chile

“This is the biggest meet before our international competitions and it’s a wonderful opportunity to be back in Toronto to race,” said two-time Paralympian Abi Tripp. “People should look forward to some fast swimming. This is a time for everybody, myself included, to put down some good performances.”

Preliminary heats are at 9:30 a.m. each day, with finals sessions set for 6 p.m. All sessions are being streamed live on CBC Sports digital platforms. Live streams can be watched via the free CBC Gem streaming service, at cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices. Former national team members Jasen Pratt and Brittany MacLean will return to provide commentary for all finals sessions.

More than 2,000 tickets have been sold, but plenty are still available as both general admission and reserved seats at: https://www.ticketmaster.ca/swimming-canada-natation-canada-tickets/artist/2708444

Tripp said she’s looking forward to fans being back in the stands after three years of COVID cancellations, postponements and modifications.

“I’m just happy to be here and it’s always good to race, and my parents are able to come this year,” said the 22-year-old from Kingston, Ont., who trains at Club de natation région de Québec. “They’re really excited and it’s so wonderful to share that with them.”

On the Olympic Program side, Finlay Knox is among the swimmers looking forward to Trials. The Okotoks, Alta., product, who trains at the High Performance Centre – Ontario, is fresh off his first major individual medals at the World Swimming Championships (25m) in Melbourne, Australia, in December.

“Each year trials is the biggest swim meet in Canada. It’s always fun being able to step up and race in Canada,” said the 22-year-old Olympian. “Having the home crowd and racing in front of the rest of Canada is always special. The energy is always great coming into trials and I’m just excited to get off the blocks.”

For full meet information visit: https://www.swimming.ca/en/events-results/events/2023-bell-canadian-swimming-trials/

Nathan White
Senior manager, Communications, Swimming Canada
Gestionnaire supérieur des communications, Natation Canada
t. +1 613-260-1348 x2002 | m. +1 613-866-7946 | nwhite@swimming.ca