By Gazette Staff

July 16th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

The City released the following statement earlier today:

“Swimming plays a significant role in the lives of many young people in Burlington, offering opportunities for growth, achievement, and community connection. The City of Burlington is committed to engaging the Burlington Aquatic Devilrays (BAD) and the Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club (GHAC) in finding a path forward that supports all Burlington youth swimmers.

“As we have heard over the past few weeks, recent discussions about the future of youth swimming have been difficult for many in our community. However, what has become clear over this time is that high quality competitive swim programming is a treasured aspect of life in Burlington – and one that our residents feel strongly about.

“At the City, we are also mindful of our responsibility to provide strong services and good value to taxpayers. We are committed to working closely with GHAC and BAD toward a balanced solution – one that meets the needs of athletes and families while making effective use of public facilities and resources.

“In the coming days, we will engage in open and constructive dialogue with both clubs, focusing on collaboration, fairness, and the best interests of Burlington’s youth.

“We look forward to sharing the results of this effort with the community in the near future and thank City Council for their support of this work.”

The only difference between this media release and the one rsent out late yesterday is – in this one, the intent to share the results of the deliberations is set out.

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By Jordan McAllister

July 14th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

If you’ve ever placed a bet on an NHL game that looked like a sure thing, only to watch it go completely sideways, chances are, you’ve walked right into a betting trap. It happens to the best of us. The lines seem too good to be true, the public money is flowing one way, and everything just feels… off.

Sometimes the smartest bet is the one you don’t make.

That’s why it’s worth keeping an eye on platforms like https://betbrothers.ca/ – not just for tips, but for reading between the lines. Sometimes the smartest bet is the one you don’t make. In this article, we’ll break down what a hockey betting trap looks like, how to spot one before you click “place bet,” and what signs most people miss.

Let’s get into it.

What Is a Betting Trap in NHL Markets?

A betting trap happens when the odds on a game look strangely appealing — almost too appealing. You’ll see a strong home team, maybe on a winning streak, playing a weaker opponent, and yet… the odds are surprisingly generous. That’s your red flag.

Sportsbooks don’t just hand out value for free.

Sportsbooks don’t just hand out value for free. If a team that should be -120 is suddenly listed at +130, there’s probably a reason – even if it’s not immediately obvious. Maybe their starting goalie is scratched late. Maybe the opponent is coming off rest while they’re playing their third game in four nights. Or maybe the public is so heavily backing one side that the books shift the line to take advantage of that blind confidence.

The trap isn’t always about the team itself — it’s about the perception of the matchup. When the numbers feel off in a way that favors you, don’t celebrate too fast. Step back and ask: Why is the line like this? What am I missing? Most of the time, there’s something buried just beneath the surface.

And that’s what separates a good bet from a baited one.

Common NHL Betting Situations That Can Be Traps

When it comes to NHL betting, there are some situations that can easily catch you off guard, even if you have experience. For example, an underdog who’s had a couple of good games might still have high odds. That often means there’s something hidden behind the scenes, and it’s not as simple as it looks.

Also, teams playing back-to-back games, fatigue can make a big difference. But many forget about that and bet as if both teams are equally fresh.

Injuries are another unpredictable factor. Sometimes a key player gets hurt last minute, and if you’re not following closely, you can get caught off guard and lose your bet.

Finally, it’s not enough to just look at past head-to-head results. One team may have dominated before, but things can change – form, fatigue, travel – all of that affects the game today.

If you keep an eye on these things, you’ll avoid traps much easier and make smarter bets.

Use the Right Tools (Without Overthinking It)

To make smarter hockey bets, it helps to use the right tools – but don’t get overwhelmed. Check out websites that compare odds and lines to see where the best value is.

Also, keep an eye on advanced stats like Corsi, Fenwick, and expected goals — they tell you more than just goals and wins.

And don’t forget to read deeper game analysis on sites that go beyond the surface, looking at the full context of each matchup. Using these tools together can give you a clearer picture without making things too complicated.

Real-Life Examples (Optional but Powerful)

Important to follow everything, not only form and results, but also small details.

It’s best to learn from real examples. For example, during one NHL season, many people were betting on Montreal as the favorite against a team with a lower record. On paper, it looked like an easy game, but a key detail that many overlooked was the absence of their first goalie.

Although the odds looked tempting, this information changed the entire picture. Without a main goalie, the team was more vulnerable than many thought, and those who did not follow these details remained “stuck” in the trap of bad betting.

Such examples show how important it is to follow everything, not only form and results, but also small details that can completely change the outcome. This is exactly what real bettors know, and that is why they avoid the pitfalls that lurk in seemingly “safe” games.

How to Stay Sharp and Avoid Betting Traps

If you want to be a smart bettor and avoid traps, it’s important to build good habits:

• Don’t just jump on a bet because the odds look tempting. Not every high odds is a good opportunity – often there’s a reason behind it that makes the bet risky. Always try to find out what’s really going on behind those numbers.
• Don’t blindly follow the crowd. When everyone’s backing the same team, it might seem like a safe bet — but that’s exactly when you need to be careful. The public can be wrong, and sportsbooks know how to use that to their advantage.
• Get info from multiple sources. Don’t rely on just one website or one opinion. Check stats, read news, and listen to experts who follow the league – this way you get the full picture.
• Before you click “place bet,” pause and ask yourself: “Why are these odds set this way? Am I missing something?” Sometimes just taking a moment to think can save you from a bad decision.

If you stay calm, informed, and critical, you’ll be much better at spotting when something isn’t as good as it looks, and avoid falling into betting traps.

By Pepper Parr

July 10^th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

The Special Council meeting came to order promptly at 9:00 am. The first thing we noticed was that the Mayor was not wearing her Chain of Office.  Is it an Official meeting without the bling?

There is one registered delegate for today’s meeting, Cody Bradt the Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club, regarding the confidential verbal update on potential litigation for aquatics procurement, which is our only item on today’s special council agenda.

Bradt got a chance to add to what City Council knew about GHAC – not sure what that had to do with the purpose of the meeting which was to look at the option related to potential lawsuits.

Good morning. My name is Cody Bradt, and I’m the Chief Operating Officer and Associate Head Coach of the Golden Horse Show Aquatic Club. First, I’d like to thank you for your time and for listening to this important matter. I also want to extend my appreciation to city staff for their continued professionalism throughout this process. Today, I want to take a moment to provide some clarity regarding the letters presented before you today from swim Ontario and swim in Canada. These letters are not endorsements in response to the current public conversation. They were not written as lobbying tools, nor were they drafted to apply political pressure.

Cory Bradt with GHAC supporters addressing Council

Rather, they are letters of record submitted in April 2025, as part of our formal bid document. They were included to provide facts about our organization, that the Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club is a member in good standing with both swim Ontario and swimming Canada, that we are actively engaged in the betterment of our sport at the local, provincial and national levels, and that inclusivity and athlete centered programming are long standing principles at the heart of GHAC.

These letters speak to our values, our track record and our commitment to creating safe, welcoming and high performance environments for all swimmers, and that’s what they’re intended to do, and that’s exactly how they should be read. I’d like to take a moment to speak about the strength of our coaching staff, because when it comes to athlete development and a quality experience here in Burlington, coaching matters at the Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club.  We are proud to have some of the most qualified and respected coaches in the province. A few highlights of this past year alone, two of our coaches received world class performance coaching awards for coaching an athlete ranked in the top five globally, and we’re proud to have the OUA women’s coach of the year on staff leading one of Canada’s most successful university programs when it comes to certification, we have three fully certified level three coaches, the highest level of coaching certification in Canada, leading Para program.

We also have a growing team of level two and level one coaches who are certified, trained or actively working through that process. But these aren’t just titles. They represent our deep commitment to safe sport, athlete well-being and a culture of excellence that supports every swimmer from their first stroke to the national and international stage, that commitment to excellence shines through in our athletes as well. G hack is proud to be home to four members of Team Ontario, three swimmers and one coach who have been selected to represent the province the Canada Summer Games later this year in St John’s. That is the most from any club or any program in the entire province, and all four of those members have benefited from training and coaching within city limits, and over the years, more than 200 GX swimmers have gone on to compete at colleges and universities across North America, a testament to the pathways we create and the legacy we continue to build.

I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the broader issue that brings us here today, the critical shortage of aquatic infrastructure in Burlington, Canada’s most livable city. Quite simply, this community needs more aquatic infrastructure and space. A 50 meter pool is not a luxury. It is a necessity for recreation, for learn, to swim programs, for accessibility and for a healthy, active future, let alone the sport tourism impacts that competitive swim brings to this community. I want to share that the aquatic Sport Council of Ontario has produced a white paper titled building more aquatic centers in Ontario, a practical and forward looking document that supports government and industry stakeholders for planning the province’s aquatic infrastructure needs. Burlington deserves to be part of that future. I will share that publication with your offices, for you to review that needs to be part of this bigger conversation on behalf of our coaches, our athletes and our families. Thank you again for the opportunity to speak today, we remain committed to working collaboratively with the city to ensure that competitive youth swimming is inclusive, high quality, and firmly focused on what’s best for our young people. Thank you.

Mayor Meed Ward: You do have a couple of questions coming to you.

Councillor Stolte:  I wanted to ask you a question about that lack of aquatic space, and what your thoughts are for the club that you are such an integral part of, is that you spoke of being very resourceful, and I admire that, that over the last five years, you were able to find space at the YMCA and goldfish, I think you mentioned, yeah, another private facility here in Burlington. Is it your intention to maintain those contracts as well as utilize the city pools, or would you be moving your swim program into the city pools, and would free up that other aquatic space?

Cody Bradt: : I can’t speak to that particularly based on what we don’t know what Pool time we have available from the city. So what those hours are, depending on what’s available to us and how it best suits the interest of Burlington residents will depend on whether or not we continue to use private facilities and the manner in which we’ve been doing okay.

Councillor Kearns: My apologies. I’m joining you from Joe Brant Fracture Clinic with my 14 year old.  I want to ask if you feel that there is a possible path to the delegate to allow both organizations to operate in the city of Burlington. Yes or No,

Cody Bradt: I think that if the city prepares in writing a process forward, it would be something that certainly we will take back to our team and our legal counsel as a path forward.

FIX  Councilor Bentivegna:  I appreciate everything you do for the community. I want to follow up on the question Councillor Kearns raised about other organizations in the city have in the same situation that you’re in, facilities are always an issue. We never have enough. I’m familiar, and I’ve been part of in the past, working with the city and other organizations in that sport to build facilities. Are you familiar with this sort of a discussion or potentially a debenture to build a new pool, for example, with the organizations in the swimming   fix?

Cody Bradt: Absolutely, while we talk about other resources and the scarcity of it, nothing is more scarce than aquatics, right? Aquatics are used by the greatest range of population, of constituents of the City of Burlington, compared to our baseball diamonds, our soccer fields and other city amenities. GHAC would be proud to be a part of that conversation moving forward. And it is a not only a municipal issue, but a provincial issue and a national issue, FIX It’s created more effective use of space, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re able to get that many more people that we would with the new facilities. So absolutely, and the white paper done by the Aquatic Council of Ontario, and I know swim Ontario and swim Canada is certainly willing to be part of that conversation with the municipality

Bentivegna: Would you be willing to sit down with other members in this sport to sort of say, let’s all get together and think about what how we can do this and then approach the city?

CodyBradt:  Absolutely, we would be willing to work together with that. I think that there are a lot of user groups within the city that would benefit from new aquatic infrastructure, ranging from other competitive youth swimming providers, masters programs, diving Synchro. And I think that a collaborative approach to Council and the importance of aquatic infrastructure would be certainly beneficial.

Councillor  Sharman:  You raise an extremely important point, which, of course, is the lack capacity. I don’t know the numbers. Presumably you don’t know in terms of how many pools, how many? I don’t know what you wouldn’t measure it by square feet or square meters or cubic meters, but if you were to think about in terms of what we have versus what we need now and what we might need in the future, in terms of basically number of pools, do we need 50% more or 100% more. What are we talking

Cody Bradt:  Speaker   I think that the first part that needs to be looked at is an indoor, long course, 50 meter pool; that is the Olympic distance that we currently don’t have in the city of Burlington. And if you look around the region, there’s nothing but aging facilities that provide that service to our members, but that is raced up at the international level and provincially and nationally, and I think that it has to be part of a greater picture of what Council and its constituents within their wards want for this city and the sport tourism impact that can be brought because that makes a big part of “Hey, we’re going to build a 10 Lane, 50 meter pool that is a flat bottom depth that we saw, or we see at some pools across the nation. But that doesn’t necessarily allow you to have learn to swim programs at a flat bottom depth.

That means provincial and national and world regulatory specifications. So it needs to be looked at what it needs to be used for, and does it have a movable bottom? Look at what the city of Windsor did, and they have a beautiful facility down on the waterfront that has a movable bottom that they’re able to utilize for different user groups, depending on what is required, and that’s just one piece. But it’s also looking at how many stands need to be. What does the city want to host? Do they want to host a provincial championship that currently has 1500 participants plus in Toronto, that keeps getting pushed back to Scarborough or Windsor outside of our community because we don’t have the infrastructure for it, because I can speak to an event we hosted this year that had hundreds of people participating, but not only as swimmers, as family members, buying and spending money, buying goods and spending money in those cities, And the more heads and beds we can get in this city, and in correlation with competitive swimming, I think, will really help Burlington grow as a community.

And it’s important to note that when this conversation happened five years ago in the 2020, RFP process, the Centennial pool  had different rules and regulations surrounding the number of spectators and the participants on the deck level. That has since changed, which inhibits the max number of participation, bringing less tourism dollars to the city and less participation by youth, and that’s nothing beyond like that’s all beyond our control, because it’s fire regulations, etc, but that’s just a piece that we’ve lost. Well, we haven’t lost the lane space. We’ve lost the infrastructure space to support the sport tourism that once existed in this great city.

Sharman: I appreciate the answer, and I it’s clear what you’re saying is, just like many things in the city, we need more and more and more and more. The big, big question, though, and you’ve already said that you think there needs to be a collaborative relationship to serve the members of the community that we have a shortage, and somehow we have to fight figure out how to make that work. Is that your point?

Cody Bradt: Absolutely. We have to figure out how to make it work. And the youth of Burlington and making an inclusive, accessible sport available to our young people is at the heart of what we did in this city, owned facilities, 2009 to 2020 and what we’ve done outside of that 2020, through 2025, and I think that that need is not any like that was pressing in 2020 when we lost out and had 1000s of opportunities missed for people to understand and get to participate in what makes our organization great. And I think it’s an important conversation that we need to have to continue moving forward, but the framework that we currently have set out is a formal RFP process that has a signed contract and that will be on the city to come back in writing what they’re proposing needs to be done.

Mayor Meed Ward: Not seeing any other hands, so I’ll jump in with a couple of questions. I was very interested to read about the Para swimmer program in your letter mention the 13 para swimmers. Are those all the Burlington residents?

Cody Bradt:  They’re not all in that program, because we are the one of the only programs in the province that we are the only program in the province that has that many swimmers at that level. So we have people driving all the way from North York and Vaughn to be a part of our program. And you can see that later in the letters. So a number of those people listed in Para  swimmers are Burlington residents, but they haven’t had the opportunity to be part of accessible programming for competitive youth swimming for children with visual, intellectual or physical disabilities in the past five years.

So the number isn’t a direct reflection of our organization, but the lack of opportunity we had within city of Burlington owned facilities to offer our program, which we did offer, pre 2020, and actually a national champion, a the swimmer that was mentioned in my presentation, that was ranked top five globally last year, grew up learning how to swim in City of Burlington, pools down in Aldershot, and I can remember him being this big, and this week he’ll present. He will raise provincials, and five of the members grew up swimming in our programs here in Burlington, within city limits. And then there are a number of young people that have since reached out and joined us at other facilities, because it didn’t exist with other organizations within city limits.

Mayor Meed Ward: I am interested in this notion of the need for a 50 meter pool, which has recently come on my radar. Iyou may be aware that Mississauga Council, somebody notified me that their council did a resolution very recently, probably as a result of the Aquatic Council of Ontario white paper saying that there needs to be indoor 50 meter and asking for provincial and federal assistance. We do have two 50 meter pools, or outdoor Nelson and mountainside, and I know they’re used for meats in season, so I don’t know if sticking a dome on there would help make it all season, but, but we do have the two, at least during the summer. I’m very interested to get the paper. Do you think that that would be something that this council should explore is what, what Mississauga and others are doing to advocate to for assistance in adding more aquatic facilities?

The following was not part of the CHAC delegation.  We added the information so that readers could have an idea of what the Mayor was talking about when she asked about a bigger swimming pool

The Windsor International Aquatic and Training Centre (WIATC) in Windsor, Ontario, features a 50-meter competition pool. This state-of-the-art facility, located at the Family Aquatic Complex, also includes a diving well and a leisure waterpark area. The 50-meter pool is part of a larger 71-meter by 25-meter pool with 10 lanes, and it can be reconfigured using movable bulkheads and a movable floor.

A ten lane swimming pool with a movable bottom that would accommodate diving events also has a viewing stand is on the Mayors radar.

CodyBradt: Absolutely. I think that that needs to be a broader conversation. I know that a formal RFP process brought it, brought us here, and has opened that conversation to move forward. And I think it’s a great gateway, and I think that we need it in our city. I would note that the pool at Mountainside is not suitable to competitive swimming, in the sense that you’re not able to host competitions because it’s only three lanes and it’s in a small section, whereas Nelson was able to have that great outdoor meet and have that great community impact.

The piece that is interesting that you bring up about domain, which we’ve thrown around in our own conversations in the past, is that, well, a dome is its own entity in and of itself, and I want this council to evaluate the air quality and the importance of managing the chloramines, etc, within doming a facility. That ability to evaluate that air flow and structure is something that’s really important, and one of the reasons that existing long course facilities in this province have lost the opportunity to host provincial championships because the air quality doesn’t meet the needs of the sport or best supporting the health of our youth. So I know that the city has made a great deal of improvements in infrastructure within the city facilities and Victor and his team have worked very hard to update that system and go away from liquid chlorine and those elements, but I think that that broader conversation, we need a committed indoor, 50 meter pool that can be year used year round, that not only provides 10 lanes worth of space, but if you have 10 lanes worth of space in 50 meters, that’s 20 Lane short course which all of our other city facilities are. So that aquatic infrastructure is just that much greater. And you have seen it work in other municipalities such as the city of Markham that had the TORONTO Pan Am sports center built, where multiple user groups exist at the same time in competitive swimming to share Lane space within those 20 lanes. So it is being done around the province, and I believe that the aquatic community here in Burlington could work together to make that happen.

Councillor Kearns:  One piece I’m still not completely clear on is, you know, with the ability to access these additional hours and lanes and uses, who are the athletes that will be using the pools? Are they existing competitive swimmers in Burlington that will change teams? Or are you going to help the people who are swimming in Vaughan to come in?    I’m not sure what the scale up looks like, and I just wanted some additional clarity on that.

CodyBradt:  Absolutely. That’s a great Parr the piece of it that is important to note is that the contract that we have signed with the city requires 85% Burlington residents, and we are committed to remaining with that so 85% at minimum will be Burlington residents, where those 50 though that extra 15% comes from we see reach from Oakville, from Milton, from Hamilton, which exists in both organizations as provided by the statistics that you requested from some Ontario and were provided to Council and the public. So I think that G hack is committed to supporting both of the existing competitive swimmers that are in the city and youth that are going to be new to the sport, and going from city programming to the great sport of competitive swimming.

Councillor Kearns: Okay, so just if I could be really blunt and clear, so is the scale up intention to pretty much bring most of the BAD swimmers under the GHAC umbrella, or is there another cohort that we don’t have visibility to that are waiting to get into the GHAC program with this potential new opportunity?

Cody Bradt:  I can only speak to our program specifically that we have members that currently aren’t able to access our programs and want to be a part of G hack because we’re using outside facilities, as I mentioned the other day, that are not at ideal prime times for youth. So yes, there is a demand for our programs here in the city, and we prior to 2020 the incumbent organization had approximately, and I’m going to use approximate figures, we had 275 kind of on both sides swimming here in Burlington.

And so that’s 550 youth using competitive swimming as their sport in the city of Burlington. And at City of Burlington owned facilities, because we only had a handful of hours at a private facility here in Burlington, pre 2020, so those numbers have actually diminished the utilization rate of competitive swimming in the city within city owned facilities. And that number, those statistics, are provided every year by swim Ontario, as to how many people are registered within each organization, and that we go from 550 and now we’re talking about the number that has been publicly shared is in that realm of 400 within city of Burlington owned facilities. Well, that’s a far cry from the 550 approximately that used to exist.

Mayor Meed Ward:  I am not seeing any other questions, so thank you for coming again this morning, and we will now move to the discussion of the item: a confidential verbal update regarding potential litigation for aquatics.  We will be moving into close to discuss that. I have a motion from councilor Pennsylvania, seconded by councilor Galbraith that the special meeting of council proceed into close to receive confidential verbal verbal update regarding potential litigation for aquatics procurement in accordance with the following provisions under the municipal act, pursuant to section 239, 2e litigation, or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals affecting the municipality or local board, and pursuant to section 239, 2f advice that is subject to solicitor client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose regarding item 10.1, and I’ll turn it now to the clerk for the recorded vote. Unless there are any questions or comments from Council on that, okay, not seeing any, we will move into the vote.

That’s six in favour, and that does carry.  We are now moving into closed session.  Folks who shouldn’t be here kindly move into the lobby.

We will update, folks, as soon as we can, if there’s anything to update you on.

By Pepper Parr

June 8tjh, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

I was about to write a piece on the failure on the part of City Council to address the problems behind the swimming pool allocation problem involving two swimming clubs; The Burlington Aquatic Deveilrays (BAD) and the Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club (GHAC), when the Mayor announces that she has called a Special Council meeting to take place on Thursday at 9:00 am.

The Mayor didn’t say a word about this during the Standing Committee that adjourned at 2:15 this afternoon – nor was there any mention at the Special Council meeting that took place immediately after the Standing Committee.

Hopefuly, the city staff members that made some of the decisions will be asked to explain what they did.  We would like to hear from the City Treasurer Craig Millar, the Director of Parks Recreation and Culture Emilie Cote on why she chose to send the issues to City staff who were asked to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP)  and where the Chief Administrative Officer was when all this was happening.

City Treasurer Craig Millar

Director of Parks, Recreation and Culture Emilie Cote

Chief Administrative Officer Hassaan Basit

The public deserved to be told where the city failed at both transparency and accountability.

Mayor Meed Ward does deserve credit for calling the meeting.  Let’s expect that the kimonos will be wide open.

Marianne Meed Ward delegating before City Council

Is Mayor Meed WArd returning to her transparency and accountability roots?

After publishing news of the Special Council meeting we went looking for the agenda.

Here is what we found:

As soon as the meeting begins Council will go into a Closed Session, which means viewers will be looking at a notice. When the Closed session ends Counil might say what took place in the meeting.

This isn’t a meeting to inform the public – this is a meeting at which council will try and figure out of the hole they are in.

When you are in a hole you dug for yourself – rule 1 – STOP digging

By Pepper Parr

July 8th^th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

Katie Lebel delegated at City Hall on behalf of the Burlington Aquatic Devilrays

I’ve been asked to speak on behalf of the Burlington Aquatic Devilrays. I am a Burlington resident, a sport business professor, and the proud parent of a young swimmer on the team.

I’m also a former competitive swimmer. My sister and I grew up swimming under Head Coach Sergei Soloukhin more than 25 years ago. Now, I have the privilege of watching my daughter fall in love with the same sport—under the same coach who helped shape who I’ve become.

Katie Lebel

I’ve delivered talks around the world on the power of sport. But I’m not sure I’ve ever spoken with more at stake than I do today. What’s at risk isn’t just pool time—it’s community, continuity, and the systems we count on to support our children and protect what matters in civic life.

We are here because we believe a better way forward is still possible.

While we did file for judicial review after our proposal was rejected without evaluation, we paused that process in good faith, because we believe a collaborative solution is still possible.

We’re not asking for special treatment. We are here to advocate for fairness, for transparency, and for a shared-use model that reflects Burlington’s values.

The Burlington Aquatic Devilrays is a not-for-profit, volunteer-led swim club with a 40-year history in this city. We serve over 400 swimmers from across Burlington and surrounding communities.

We’ve raised money for the Terry Fox Foundation, the Burlington Food Bank, and the Compassion Society. We don’t just use public resources—we help build and sustain them. We’ve welcomed national-level athletes and complete beginners. We’ve kept our programs affordable. And we’ve remained rooted in the community, season after season, for four decades.

Katie Lebel delegating to Council for BAD. Sitting immediately behind her is Cody Bradt – Associate Head Coach & Chief Operating Officer who later delegated for the GHAC

That legacy—everything we’ve built—was destabilized by a process that disqualified our proposal over a document that doesn’t exist in the form requested.

The language in the RFP asked for a “current and valid certificate of incorporation”—a document that, in Ontario, is not re-issued after initial incorporation. What’s typically used to verify legal status is a Certificate of Status or a Corporation Profile Report from Service Ontario. This technical ambiguity in language had real consequences: our proposal was rejected outright, without review.

The result was not a level playing field. It’s a signal that the process, while well- intentioned, may not be aligned with the realities of youth sport.

We met every substantive expectation laid out in the RFP, But we were disqualified before these strengths could even be considered or evaluated.

the RFP model is not designed to capture the depth of community relationships, the value of consistency for youth, or the contribution of legacy volunteer-run organizations. To our knowledge, competitive swimming is the only youth stream in Burlington currently operating under an RFP process. That fact alone suggests we need to stop and reconsider.

And all the while, time is running out.

A BAD swimmer

Every day that passes, more families leave. More swimmers ask if they’ll have a team. Our coaches can’t plan. Our registration is late.  Just two weeks ago, our club was riding high.

We had just hosted two outdoor swim meets—one for our senior athletes, which welcomed 14 clubs, including one from Newfoundland. And another for our novice and precompetitive swimmers—just our own athletes—who got to experience the thrill of racing, many for the first time.

No child should ever have to worry about losing their community.

In youth sport, ‘do no harm’ should be the baseline. But when a team is destabilized— when kids lose their teammates, coaches, and training rhythm, the familiarity of practice sites—it’s the swimmers who feel it first. It shakes their confidence, interrupts their development, and undermines their sense of belonging.

Our senior swimmers train six days a week, often twice a day. They’re not just athletes, they’re leaders in our club who mentor younger teammates and help shape the club culture.

Disrupting those relationships carries real emotional and developmental cost.

Our club reputation, built over decades, has been put at risk by a process that did not allow us to be evaluated.

this decision didn’t happen in a vacuum. What’s unfolding here reflects a broader shift in how sport is being delivered across Canada.

Our club reflects a community model: affordable, team-based, volunteer-run, and grounded in long-term athlete development.

In contrast, we’re seeing the rise of market-based models—regional, fee-for-service programs that function more like private providers than community-rooted teams.

This isn’t just about two swim teams. It’s about two different visions for youth sport. One prioritizes access, development, and community.

The other prioritizes flexibility, expansion, and the ability to scale—at a significantly higher cost to families.

That’s not just a pricing issue—it’s an equity issue.

These are public pools, built with public dollars, meant to serve the public good.

If we allocate that space without factoring in cost and accessibility, we risk excluding the very kids who need it most.  Let’s not make affordability the casualty of process.

Procurement-style evaluations that ignore the difference between community and commercial models risk outsourcing youth development—not by design, but by default.

Yes, there’s room for both in our sport ecosystem.  But giving public pool time to a fee-for-service provider should never come at the expense of a long-standing, community-based club that has served Burlington for over 40 years.  That’s not innovation. That’s displacement.

If it can happen to us, it can happen to others—Teen Tour Band, youth hockey, gymnastics, student theatre.  This is a precedent-setting moment.

This issue has reached far beyond our pool deck. It has mobilized parents, athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, and community leaders — not just from Burlington, but across Ontario and beyond. Other community-based organizations are watching closely, too — because what happens here doesn’t just affect BAD. It sets a precedent for how legacy youth clubs across this city may be treated when they come up for renewal.

We understand that pool time decisions are operational, but the values that guide those decisions start with Council.

A competitive event – sponsored by BAD

So our ask is this: immediate stability—40 hours of pool time this fall. And longer-term, a better process for allocating public sport resources that reflects the realities of community-based youth programming.

This isn’t about being chosen over another club. It’s about being given a fair chance to be considered—something every community organization should expect when applying to use city-owned public facilities.

We’re asking you to lead—not just with policy, but with principle. It’s not too late to apply the simplest, most universal principle in situations like this: do no harm. Especially not to children, especially not through bureaucratic oversight.

This is your chance to send a message: that in Burlington, we protect legacy, we honour fairness, and we show up for our kids.

The delegation has been edited due to space restrictions and clarity.

Chair of the Standing Committee that heard the delegations: Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns.

Chair Lisa Kearns: Okay, so you’re going to pause. I’m going to look to committee for any questions. You’re going to stay and answer the questions. Okay, okay. You will not be asking questions of staff either. Don’t ask questions back. Okay?

Councillor Stolte:  My question is around any advice you have for us, around a better process than an RFP to allocate scarce Pool time,

Lebel:  a rental agreement at the end of the day. I think the RFP just does not capture the ability to there’s no waiting for community legacy, and I don’t think that it’s able to capture the difference between that community model versus the market based model that we’re starting to see show up, and that’s going to be a broader problem across sports, so potentially a pool rental procedure. I think there’s other ways. Historically, my understanding is that this is a relatively new process that’s been applied. It started in 2020 I’m not sure what was done, but sure what was done before that, but potentially going back, I do think there’s room for more, different models in our ecosystem. We have a wait list of over 150 swimmers. So there’s a there’s a huge demand for swimming, but I don’t think that we can have one at the expense of another.

Stolte: Well, are you and your I don’t know if you’re speaking for the club, but would you be willing to speak with our staff and other people who want access to Pool time to sort it out? That’s how we do it with some of the other sports is that a viable way forward?

Lebel:  Yes, our goal is to protect the kids. This has been, horrific for these kids, and we need to do better for them.

Chair. Thank you so much for your delegation. I just wanted to ask a quick point of clarification. I’ll ask, to to expand on it. But did you say that it’s your understanding that it’s only the swim clubs that are put through this RFP program that is our understanding?   If you go through the language, I’ve pored through this for the last week, it’s very much more of a construction contract, honestly, which is fine for some processes, but again, it just does not reflect youth sport

Councillor Bentivegna: Just a quick question with regards to follow up from Councillor Stolte prior to 2020     Can you tell us how things proceeded?

Katie Lebel

Lebel:  Don’t have that history.

Bentivegna: Okay, so membership, how many swimmers?

Lebel: We’ve got 400. Our pool time program is based on the amount of the allocated time that we’re given by the city.   We are not in a growth mindset. We’re doing what we can with the number of hours we’re provided by the city.

Bentivegna: 400 swimmers. Has that been consistent?

Lebel: Yes, we’ve got a wait list of swimmers now that’s divided up between pre competitive and competitive. We’ve got about 85 pre competitive swimmers. It’s generally competitive swimmers, and 85 not pre competitive.

Chair Kearns: Last question; I’m not sure if you can answer this, but if everything proceeds as is, what happens to that?

Lebel:  I’m not sure we’re able to exist.

Chair Kearns: I’m going to ask one question of you; we’re going into closed session for potential update on litigation, as it says in the statement on the public agenda. In that regards, do you have any potential litigated, avenues that you’re looking to explore? Just a yes or no.

Lebel: Yes?

Chair Kearns: Okay, thank you very much. I don’t have any other questions for you as a delegate. Thank you for joining us.

Lebel:  Thank you very much for the time to share our story.