By Gazette Staff
July 6th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The Gazette received the following from Cody Bradt – Associate Head Coach & Chief Operating Officer
Thank you for the opportunity to provide clarity regarding the 28% Burlington resident statistic cited from Swim Ontario data.
The Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club (GHAC) is not a “Burlington” or “Hamilton” club—we are a multi-jurisdictional organization that has proudly served athletes across Burlington, Hamilton, Dundas, Stoney Creek, and beyond for over two decades. Our programs span several municipalities, and our membership reflects the diverse communities we serve.
Cody Bradt – Associate Head Coach & Chief Operating Officer
The 28% figure provided by Swim Ontario refers specifically to the home addresses of our registered members, not the locations where they train. Swim Ontario does not track or differentiate training locations in its reporting—only member residences. This data does not accurately represent the proportion of Burlington residents actively training within City of Burlington facilities.
To provide a more accurate picture: in the 2024–2025 season, 85% of the swimmers utilizing our training facilities within City of Burlington limits—specifically Goldfish Swim School and the Ron Edwards YMCA—were Burlington residents. Please refer to the attached map outlining all the facilities we utilized throughout the season.
We remain committed to serving swimmers across the Golden Horseshoe, including providing accessible, high-quality programming to Burlington residents within their own community.
That may be so, but Mr. Bradt is not that committed to talking directly to media; using media releases and statements allows GHAC to at least try to control the narrative.
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Such a petty and desperate attempt to discredit GHAC. I applaud GHAC for declining the interview if that is the journalism level that was offered. Maybe Burlington Gazette should review its reporting standards.
Comparing youth sports to a waste management contract is in fact a lunacy, Bruce. There is a community of children at stake that in a lot of cases have been like a family to each other since they begin swimming when they entered the school system.
No Bruce – that is not what I said and you misunderstood my point.
Good point, It would be beneficial to see some absolute numbers v percentages from both proponents. Council members have the opportunity to ask the right questions of the proponents. Will they though, or will they invoke the standard we understand you, escape clause?
Slide 7 of the presentation package that GHAC will present tomorrow at Burlington’s Committee of the Whole, states:
– 28% statistic provided by Swim Ontario reflects total membership of our entire organization, not the location where swimmers are training
– 85%+ of Burlington-based swimmers are Burlington residents
– We meet all residency requirements
In effect, the GHAC has either redefined the “residency requirements” of the RFP OR provided a glaring example of how the RFP is flawed. For example, by their definition, if GHAC only has 12 “Burlingtons based swimmers” but 11 are located in Burlington, then they feel that they have met the residency requirements. On its face this can not be what was intended.
Moreover, as I have posted before, any public procurement process that awards a contract to one proponent that causes or will cause the destruction of another is immoral and can not be condoned.