By Pepper Parr
August 2nd,2025
BURLINGTON, ON
With a gag order in place, it’s difficult to get much in the way of information on just how much pool space the Burlington Aquatic Devilrays (BAD) has and how much space the GHAC was given.
We do know this: The Devilrays will be opening their registration for the season on Tuesday. We should have a clear sense of what they are able to offer their members.
The YMCA stepped up and is making space available to the Devilrays
We have learned as well that the YMCA has stepped up and will be making space available to BAD.
There is some doubt that the city will ever tell the public how much pool time has been allocated to BAD and how much was allocated to GHAC – what is clear is that the city has given GHAC some space.
We will keep digging away on this.
Cody Brandt, representing GHAC, sits directly behind Katie Lebel while she delegates for BAD
We also learned more about the story put out by some people that BAD refused to meet with GHAC to talk about sharing space. Bad told GHAC that they didn’t have any space to share and that there was no point in meeting. It is more than evident that the two clubs are not able to get along. While they both are organized as not-for-profit organizations serving their communities, GHAC has been on an expansion spree for some time.
At some point, the city is going to have to find the courage to tell GHAC that Burlington City Council is in place to serve the residents of Burlington.
What we are hearing from people affiliated with the club is that BAD is just glad to be alive and that they will do what they can to serve swimmers in the city as best they can with what they have.
At some point, the gag order the city imposed has to come to an end – all we were told was that the city asked BAD not to make statements. A source close to the two people who took part in the meetings with the city (Kimberly Calderbank and Katie Lebel) were told that some of their comments were negative. Something the city did not appear to want.
Kearns is in a position to bring a lot of the hidden information on the pool space allocation to the surface.
In a week or so, we should be able to learn what GHAC is offering and which pools in Burlington they are going to be able to use.
An unfortunate mess – it didn’t have to work out this way. Will the city see this as a learning opportunity?
Will ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns follow through with her suggestion that there be an audit that will bring out all the facts? Hopefully, she will.
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The sorry truth of the matter, Ms. Hersh’s laissez-faire convictions aside, is that COB staff mishandled a process that was flawed in both concept and execution. The equally sad truth is that the DevilRays will probably cease to exist by 2027 – not because of this fiasco but because they have been very poorly managed from the top down for several years – particularly from the top. Competitively, they are not a good club – not within the top 50 using the metrics established by SwimCanada. Oakville by comparison is #8.
The DevilRays suffer from internal strife and tension; coaching that has lost its currency and a heavy surplus of misplaced ego. It will lose many of its best swimmers because they can no longer progress in the environment offered and have or will move to other clubs. The botched “tender” has simply made visible the weaknesses that those close to the DevilRays have known for the last two or three years.
Hi Mike
Where can you find a ranking of the top clubs? I have looked at swim Canada website but can’t seem to find a listing.
If they’re renting public pool space it should be public knowledge.
Stop playing politics in youth sports!
Just let the kids play!
Politics (internal and external) are one of the biggest hurdles in youth sport and it’s disgusting! Shame on the adults
“We also learned more about the story put out by some people that BAD refused to meet with GHAC to talk about sharing space. Bad told GHAC that they didn’t have any space to share and that there was no point in meeting.”
The statement above tells the tale. BAD not meeting with GHAC about sharing space indicates that perhaps BAD never for a moment thought they would lose their pool time and it had less to do than “they didn’t have any space to share so why there was no point in meeting”.
I hope that BAD and other sports teams vying for city venues learned a good lesson. It is more beneficial to work collaboratively with other clubs to avoid this type of fiasco.
It is unbelievable to me that the city of Burlington hasn’t made enough efforts to support the local club, which has been proudly carrying city’s name for forty years, and the priority was given the commercial Hamilton business, which is aggressively expending into the new territories. I hope someone could dig in and find out what is really going behind the scene.
hehe ….. the “Gong Show” continues …… “fun to watch”
We’re so happy that GHAC is back in Burlington’s city pools! All three of my kids are now registered and looking forward to training with GHAC this season. After years of adversity, long commutes, and uncertainty, our family finally feels supported and at home. No more stress—just good vibes and happy swimming ahead!
We’re also incredibly thankful to the City of Burlington for its leadership and commitment to creating fair, high-quality opportunities for Burlington kids. It means the world to families like ours