Dear NAA Members,

It is with great honour that I present the 2026 Competitive Swimming Executive Report. In the last four years, we have worked hand-in-hand to advance a new, ambitious vision for our community and the Competitive Swimming Programme. 

Over my mandate as your Vice-President, we succeeded at growing participation by between 12% and 23% in four years, with an impressive 8% growth just in 2025. In 2026, we’ve recruited a new member pool into the circuit, with more to come in the upcoming seasons. 

Under the slogan Community Wave for Everyone, the 2026 Competitive Swimming Programme once again became the stage for membership-widening and partnership-establishing initiatives which intend to reduce barriers to participation in our activities and improve community involvement. Here are some of our accomplishments from the last four years:

• With the support of DDO Swimming and the Dorval Swim Club, we succeeded at providing dozens bursaries to first-time competitive swimmers; 
• In collaboration with the YMCA, Volunteer West Island and Trajet OJA, we have granted hundreds of hours in volunteer work; 
• With the help of Le Phare, we raised awareness for Québec’s largest palliative care home for children.
• With the help of Arena, Domino’s and Beta Bloc, we succeeded at reducing the costs of Competitive Swimming activities by 40% and incentivize participation at our events. 

Building off the success of last year’s Competitive Swimming Partnership Programme,I am particularly pleased to have spearheaded a new, multi-year partnership with Arena Canada. With their support, we succeeded at rewarding our membership for participating, while also encouraging the athletes of the Summer Swim Meet to pursue Competitive Swimming further. 

And there’s so much more to come. I look forward to continue working with the membership to advance these plans and make our community more accessible.

I am also delighted to have welcomed back the City of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue (SAB) to our circuit. Over the past year, we had worked closely together to prepare their return. SAB makes for an incredible team, and I am pleased to have them amongst us. 

Alongside SAB, discussions continue with the representatives from other pools so that our Programme can benefit more children and families.

This summer was impacted by the unfortunate, sudden and unexpected withdrawal of several long-standing teams. In these changing times, I would like to reiterate our commitment and unwavering support to every member pool. Our Association is stronger united; the struggle of one member pool is struggle of all. 

In light of these events, I would like to highlight the tremendous work deployed by NAA volunteers, who assisted me in devising contingency schedules and coordinating the changes with member pool representatives and NAA partners alike. Because of their efforts, the repercussions on participation and membership base were minimized.

---

As we enter a new mandate, it is the aim of NAA Competitive Swimming to continue pursuing the the “3 E’s” Plan:

1. Enhance its visibility and reputation, 
2. Ensure its viability through effective support and resources, and 
3. Expand its accessibility and outreach.

Concrete plans and objectives have already been developed for the off-season in preparation for the next two years.

I hope that you find these developments and plans just as exciting and impressive as I do. Not only did we succeed at increasing participation, but we’ve made our activities more accessible, sustainable and participatory. And we’re not done yet: our plan for the future is ambitious, goal-oriented and uniting; it is what our Association deserves to aspire for, and what it deserves to obtain. I can’t wait for you to hear the announcements to come.

As I mentioned last year, NAA Competitive Swimming and its member pools provide a tremendous positive social impact to countless neighbourhoods across Montréal. With the help of hundreds of volunteers across Montréal, we can serve thousands of children and families of all socio-economic backgrounds. This is a feat that only few 100% volunteer organizations can hail.

I would like to finish by recalling a statement I made in last year’s foreword: Each new idea we pursue for our community, each project we initiate for our collectivity, each contribution we make to our fellow constituent pools has the potential to spark a Community Wave of Change which unlocks new possibilities and opportunities for both the Association and each member pool. Let us seek these opportunities and find ways to serve our communities even better.