Swimming Canada Adds Ryan Allen As National Coach Lead of Paralympic Program

Courtesy: Swimming Canada

Swimming Canada is adding a key leader to its refreshed Paralympic Program.

Ryan Allen will join the organization as the program’s National Coach Lead, beginning Feb. 24. Allen, the head coach of Club de Natation Bleu et Or in Moncton, N.B., has been a member of multiple national team staffs, including the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, where he guided Danielle Dorris to a world record and back-to-back gold medals. He also served as head coach for Canada at the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games.

“As the program continues to develop toward the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games, it is great to have Ryan on board to help steer the technical programming,” said High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson. “He will bring a fresh new approach with his ideas, passion and talent that athletes and coaches will benefit from. I look forward to working with Ryan on the journey to LA.”

Allen will support Interim Technical and Program Lead, Paralympic Program, J-P Lavoie. His responsibilities will include providing technical and cultural leadership, acting as the coaching lead at international events, implementing a performance accountability framework, and enhancing daily training environments.

Allen, who has also been part of two World Para Swimming Championships coaching staffs, says he is “driven by inclusion, collaboration, empowerment, and a growth mindset.”

“I view it as an opportunity for my own growth while bringing something that I think is of value to the program,” Allen said. “Having had the chance to be part of the program for the past seven years, I’ve seen the growth of our high performance department in Swimming Canada. I’ve seen different eras and been fortunate to have different roles through that. I really just want to be part of the growth and momentum Swimming Canada has in both our Olympic and Paralympic programs.”

Lavoie, who joined the program in May 2024, said he is looking forward to working with Allen.

“He’s very passionate, has a growth mindset and one of the best things is that he doesn’t want to settle for what’s been done in the past. He has a vision and always wants to look ahead and get better,” said Lavoie, who will remain at the helm of the program through the fall. “It’s exciting. He will ask some questions that will challenge us a bit. He’s very professional, has a people-first mentality and believes in teamwork and the power of the team.

“It’s a freshness,” Lavoie added. “Now he has to transition from coaching a world champion and gold medallist to supporting peers and leading a program. With his awareness, he knows what needs to happen.”

Allen is known for his leadership skills, experience with integrated support teams, and his commitment to fostering a culture of excellence, resilience, and innovation. A teacher by trade, he has been head coach at CNBO since Sept. 2019. Allen has hired, supervised, and mentored coaching staff, developed and managed programs, and collaborated with IST practitioners to support targeted athletes.

As a Coach & Technical Lead for Swimming New Brunswick he has been involved in various roles, including chairing the Standards & Competition Pathway Committee and coordinating provincial Para swimming programs.

Allen has Bachelor of Education from Crandall University, a Bachelor of Kinesiology from Memorial University, his NCCP Advanced Coaching Diploma and a Graduate Certificate of High Performance Coaching & Technical Leadership from the University of British Columbia. He is working towards his Masters of High Performance Coaching & Technical Leadership, at UBC.

He was Swimming Canada’s Paralympic Program Coach of the Year for 2023, is a two-time Sport New Brunswick Coach of the Year and three-time Petro Canada Coaching Excellence Award winner.

“I hope to bring a strong sense of collaboration, accountability and empowerment,” Allen said. “The program is successful, now it’s how can I come in and support those that are working in the system. I want to say, ‘How can I help, how can I support J-P and the leadership team, the coaches throughout the country.’ I want to work behind the scenes so people on the ground can do what they do really well.”

Allen was born in Toronto and grew up in Hopewell Cape, N.B., home of the famous flower-pot rocks. He and his wife Lindsey have lived in Riverview, N.B., since 2016.