The International Swimming League ‘s Toronto expansion team will be called the “Toronto Titans,” the league announced Tuesday. The Toronto team ran an “interactive campaign” encouraging fans to submit naming ideas across the ISL‘s social media platforms.
“These are extraordinary times in so many ways, I’m glad to be a part of something that is so positive and progressive. I’m excited to be leading a new team, in a new league, into a new era,” Toronto Titans general manager Robert Kent said. “We’re going to have a team that will be a real contender. We look forward to a lot of success and a lot of fun.”
According to the announcement, the Titans will begin announcing their team roster Wednesday. The team had an early protected period to try and sign Canadian athletes, but one Canadian (Mary-Sophie Harvey) has already been announced as part of Energy Standard’s 2020-21 roster.
The Titans will announce the roster one to two swimmers at a time over the next several days, the team told SwimSwam. Between officially signed swimmers and verbal commitments, the team says it has over a dozen swimmers on board as of Tuesday’s name announcement.
The league’s expansion to ten teams with Toronto and a yet-to-be-named Tokyo squad was announced at the 2019 season Grand Finale in Las Vegas. Four-time Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima will head ISL Japan and the Tokyo team.
The second season is scheduled to see the number of meets nearly quadruple from the first: the 2020-21 calender will feature 27 meets running from September to April, according to the ISL‘s December announcement. The expanded format will include a regular season, playoffs, and a final. Teams will be split into two regions: Euro-Asia and America. The league is considering advancing the top four teams to the final, regardless of which region they’re based in.
Though no venues have been named, that timeline falls just after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (as of now), which will feature the brand-new Tokyo Aquatics Centre — slated to have a capacity of 15,000 and be used to host “domestic and international competitions” following the Games. Toronto is home to the five-year-old Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, which features two Olympic-sized pools and seats 6,000.
I expect Brent Hayden to captain. Could be a good way to capitalize on a successful comeback.
That would be awesome!!!
Absolutely… Right Brent??
Has SwimSwam heard when Roar will begin announcing their roster?
Have they hired/chosen a coach/leader yet ?????
Nothing announced, yet. I would assume Ben Titley will be involved somehow, if Swimming Canada permits him to be.
I like that name – much, much better than Energy Standard and Team Iron.
I think Energy Standard and Team Iron are the only original sounding team names. The others sound sort of forced and cheesy.