Swimming Canada has announced updates to their meet schedules for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
The changes are driven by new Commonwealth Games dates in 2026, which fall between July Trials and the Pan Pacific Championships in August, as well as open water junior world championships expected for late August or early September.
“Swimming Canada established the ‘Canadian Way’ for the Canadian domestic competition program for 2025 to 2028 based on the information that was available. There have been a number of changes to championships and Games planned internationally that have an impact on the domestic calendar and the plans we have in place. These changes will impact attendance and capacity at our events,” said High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson in Swimming Canada’s press release.
The organization has decided not to hold the Speedo Canadian Short Course Championships in either 2026 or 2027, as well as the Canadian Open Water Festival in 2026. They are hoping to add a Canadian long-course championships, which would include an age group championships, during the last week of July 2027, and are also considering an open water event to be combined under the same meet title.
“The national short course championships provided a later summer racing opportunity in Canada and served as a qualifying opportunity for the upcoming World Aquatics Swimming World Cup while the Open Water Festival aimed to combine a high-level open water racing opportunity in the summer with a mass participation event,” Atkinson said.
“Attendance at both events this year was below our expectations, and we heard a variety of reasons from our community. Some swimmers and coaches chose to prioritize rest over an additional racing opportunity. Many college and university athletes need to return to school in August. The late August timeframe also creates challenges for local organizers with family vacation time and volunteer fatigue,” said Swimming Canada CEO Suzanne Paulins. “With an even busier competition schedule next year, these factors will be present again if not greater. We feel it is best to make an early decision to lighten the calendar so all can adjust ahead of time.”
Canadian Open and Trials are to continue as scheduled, with potential changes being consistently evaluated. As a reminder, the team for the Commonwealth Games is not being selected at next year’s Trials. Rather, the team will be named this October based on performances from the 2025 Trials, the 2025 World University Games, the 2025 World Championships, and the 2025 World Junior Championships. Only 12 total swimmers will be added, with six men and six women to be nominated, and no more than three individuals nominated per event.
Updated 2026 Schedule
- Canadian Swimming Trials, Montreal, July 5-9
- Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, Scotland, Tour July 20–30 (Competition 24-29)
- Pan Pacific Championships (open water), Irvine, Calif., Tour August 6-11 (Competition August 10)
- Pan Pacific Championships (pool), Irvine, Calif., Tour August 7–16 (Competition August 12-15)
- Junior Pan Pacific Championships, Vancouver, Tour August 13–21 (Competition August 17–20)
- Open Water Junior World Championships, Venue TBC, late August/early September dates TBC
Updated 2027 Schedule
- Canadian Swimming Trials, Victoria, April 5-10
- World Championships (open water), Budapest, HUN, Tour June 20-July 3 TBC (Competition TBC)
- World Championships (pool), Budapest, HUN, Tour June 29–July 19 TBC (Competition July 10-18 TBC)
- Pan American Games Lima, Peru, July 16-August 1 (Tour/competition dates for open water/pool TBC
- FISU Games, Chungcheong, Korea, Tour July 27-August 8 TBC (Competition August 1-7 TBC)
- World Junior Championships, Venue TBC, August dates TBC
Total BOGEY by SNC eliminating Eastern/Westerns/CJCs!
Abandoning the age group kids and the parents who pay to attend… Canadian Opens and latest SC Nationals a bust.
Parents don’t fund 18+ to fill the backend of these OPEN meets and Canada doesn’t have the critical mass to make viable. Nice play coming out it COVID SNC
Looks. Like AG Nationals is coming back?
Yes 2027 potentially! 2 full swim seasons that most age group kids didn’t really have a TARGET meet. Jr Trials and OJIs tough cuts for most 13-15s
Total BOGEY by SNC eliminating Eastern/Westerns/CJCs! Abandoning the age group kids and the parents who pay to attend… Canadian Opens and latest SC Nationals a bust. Parents don’t fund 18+ to fill the backend of these OPEN meets and Canada doesn’t have the critical mass to make viable. Nice play coming out it COVID SNC
The dates are weird for 2027? Trials are said to be from july 5-9 but then world champs start on July 10…?
Trials were listed in April. I think that’s an error.
Yeah they’re April 5-10. Looks like the original dates were carried forward in some version of the release but that has been corrected.
Better than the other way around
All aboard!
… to where??
We don’t know yet!
It’s hard to buy into the vision when there’s… no vision
I have a suggestion.Inasmuch as the high performance centre produced zero medals in the Olympics,zero medals in the world championships and a total of 1 bronze for world juniors lets change the name from high performance centre to low performance centre and John Atkinson,s title from high performance director to lousy performance director.What a clown show.Do these people answer to nobody??
You leave out the medals achieved at all other comps like worlds, shorts course, comm games, pan pacs, pan ams because it doesn’t fit your miserable narrative to see the success for those swimmers.
Some swimmers 1-2 years into first international comps build their careers over time. Not conveniently in time for you to be satisfied during the Paris games.
So… the disgruntled people who never achieved much in this sport sit and troll on swim swam.
Did you make an Olympic or worlds final ? Did you? Did you set a PB internationally? Nope.
I think they should move the Canadian High Performance Centre to Sarasota or Austin.
Refreshing to see the ceo offer transparency around the issues with the scm summer championships vs Atkinsons opaque let’s use the changes in intl meet timing as his rationale. Swim Canada should be transparent, it has rarely if ever been the case in the past. There are fundamental issues with the entire approach to high level competitive swimming in Canada and its long past the time to whiteboard the entire athlete suppport and high performance framework and strategy.