By Gazette Staff
September 11th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington Aquatic Devilrays (BAD) are officially back in the water!
The Welcome Team
This week, the club hosted its annual Welcome Back Meeting at the Ron Edwards YMCA in Burlington, bringing together new and returning swimmers to launch an exciting 2025–26 swim season.
The evening featured fun, team-building activities that set the tone for the year ahead. Swimmers and families enjoyed tie-dyeing team T-shirts, creating personalized swim-bag name tags, and participating in interactive games designed to build team spirit and connection.
Adding to the excitement, senior swimmers were on hand to guide and encourage younger teammates, helping them with the activities and sharing their own experiences. Mentorship is a core value at BAD, where older athletes play an active role in inspiring and supporting the next generation of competitive swimmers.
Parents were part of the Welcome Back event
“BAD is more than a swim club—it’s a community,” said Kimberly Calderbank, Volunteer Club President. “Our senior swimmers set a powerful example, and the Welcome Back event is a perfect way to pass on that passion and leadership.”
The Burlington Aquatic Devilrays extend their gratitude to the Ron Edwards YMCA in Burlington for their generous hospitality and continued partnership in supporting grassroots, community-based sport.
Senior swimmers show junior members how to put decals on their arms
With over 40 years of history as a not-for-profit, Burlington-based swim club, BAD continues to nurture athletes of all levels—from first-time competitive swimmers to those pursuing national and international aspirations.
Join the Devilrays
Interested in taking your swimming to the next level?
Learn more about upcoming tryouts and registration at www.burlingtondevilrays.ca or email admin@burlingtondevilrays.ca.
About the Burlington Aquatic Devilrays (BAD)
The Burlington Aquatic Devilrays (BAD) is a not-for-profit, community-based swim club that has served Burlington youth for over 40 years. With a focus on development, leadership, and inclusion, BAD supports swimmers from learn-to-swim to national-level competition. We are proud to build not just strong athletes, but strong citizens.
The issues that came up when the swimming pool space was being allocated limited what BAD was able to do with their 25-26 program. Requests for an independent audit have been published. The Gazette has been informed by a member of Council that she will move a motion in October for an audit to take place.
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Why pretend Ike this will do anything? The city will drag their heels and find “no wrong doing”. The damage is done, BAD is swimming out of the YMAC and basically need to live with that decision. GHAC played the game on this RFP and won, procurement needs to be reviewed and I suspect we will find either laziness or someone “helped” their friends at GHAC.
Why wait until October?
Why not now?