cdunlop's blog

Once again this year, we are asking our community of neighbours, students, and athletes to consider donating to Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities on #givingtuesday

The Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre with financial support from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities provides local youth facing financial barriers with the opportunity to participate in the Learn to Train program. The Centre’s relationship with Jumpstart expanded in the fall of 2021 with the launch of the inaugural Girls in Sports program. Both programs are facilitated by the Sports Academy at Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.

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ABOUT THE PROGRAMS

LEARN TO TRAIN

Learn to Train started with just two schools and 46 children and has grown to provide over 50 groups and 1200 youth the opportunity to participate in the program at Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. The program provides participants with the tools and training to develop the necessary skills, habits, and mental strategies to lead healthy and active lifestyles. All while experiencing a unique training environment in a world-class sports and recreation facility.

NEW! GIRLS IN SPORT

The Girls in Sport program is intended to motivate females to stay in sports. Research shows that 1 in 3 girls are leaving sports by adolescence compared to 1 in 10 boys. The Girls in Sport program is designed to build self-esteem and physical literacy skills, two key factors influencing their decision to leave sports. The goal of the program is to transform the attitude of participants so they become motivated, passionate, and committed to stay physically active or play sports, for life.

WHY DONATE TO JUMPSTART?

One hundred percent of the money donated to Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities goes to help give kids a sporting chance. Since 2005, Jumpstart disbursed over $11 million to help more than 108,000 kids in communities across Toronto participate in sport, recreation and play. That means any donations made through Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre not only benefit children located near and around the facility but provide opportunities at the Centre as well. 

Help give kids a sporting chance.

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Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre partnered with Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities to help create the Play From Home: Girls in Sport instructional video series.

In March 2020 as an immediate response to the suspension of sport & group physical activity programs, Jumpstart launched #PlayFromHome – a digital resource that allowed children and their families to access sport & physical activity content from the safety of their homes. 

In 2021, Jumpstart built on the learnings garnered from the early days of #PlayFromHome to address the sport related problem of providing children and youth access to quality sport programming with a March Break Camp, Active Together After School and the most recent Girls in Sport program offering. Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre was selected as a primary partner for the Girls in Sport offering because of our broad range and knowledge in several different sports. 

The Girls in Sport videos are targeted for girls 6 to 10 years old without experience in the sport. Each video features at Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre staff member coaching the drills and they can be done at home with minimual equipment. 

The key areas of focus in each video are as follows:

• Introducing the girls to each activity/sport
• A warm-up routine
• The fundamentals or skills of each activity/sport
• Drills to help them learn how to play each sport
• A cool-down routine

Additonal Play From Home: Girls in Sport instructional videos are available on the Canadian Tire Jumpstart Youtube channel. 

Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities is a national charity committed to ensuring kids in need have equal access to sport and recreation. With an extensive, national network of more than 1,000 grantees and 289 local chapters, Jumpstart helps eligible families cover the costs of registration, transportation, and equipment, and provides funding to selected organizations for recreational infrastructure and programming. Supported by the Canadian Tire Family of Companies, Jumpstart has provided more than two million opportunities for Canadian kids to get in the game since 2005.

For more information, visit jumpstart.canadiantire.ca. Follow Jumpstart on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to learn about how the Charity is giving kids across Canada a sporting chance.

^{_{Photo taken pre-COVID. We can’t wait to get back to events that look like this!}} 

Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa issued a Letter of Instruction requiring all people age 12 and older who participate in indoor organized sports, including players, coaches, and officials, to provide proof of vaccination as an additional measure to reduce community COVID-19 transmission. 

The Letter of Instruction came into effect Monday, November 1. More information from the City of Toronto can be found here. 

In addition to the vaccine requirements each event hosting organization may choose to establish its own policy on the number of spectators allowed into the event as approved by Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre Inc. 

Current Spectator Restrictions (updated Nov. 17, 21) 

• Ontario Basketball Association (OBA): 1 spectator per athlete participating 
• Markham Unionville Minor Basketball Association (MUMBA): 1 spectator per athlete participating 
• Toronto Chinese Basketball League (TCBL):  No spectators at this time

If your event organization is not listed here, please reach out to your event organizer or team for specifics for your event

Additional updates about visiting Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre during COVID. 

Beginning Monday, November 15, 2021 our current Aquafit classes will change to three new outcome specific classes.

Aqua Core Training

The Aqua Core Training is an effective and fun method of exercising that combines core stability and strength with co-ordination, balance, and body conditioning in the water!

Aqua Motion

The Aqua Motion class is designed to improve flexibility, range of motion, strength, muscle tone, and cardiovascular endurance while using the resistance of the water. Exercises are performed to lively, motivating music and are effective and easy to follow.

Aqua Power

This class provides a moderate-to-high-intensity workout that includes a combination of exercises to increase strength and endurance for the upper/lower body and core. A variety of equipment is used.

Scheduling

Registration 

Each person entering the facility will need to pre-book a session. Please see the steps below to enable booking for someone other than yourself.

1. Ensure you have a self-service account created for yourself at tpasc.ca/self-service-portal 

2. Create a self-service account(s) for child(ren), dependent or family member that will be participating at tpasc.ca/self-service-portal

• If they do not have their own email address you can use yours for their self-service account

3. Once self-service accounts have been created, you can add them under the “relationships” tab within your profile on the self-service portal

• Once complete, this will allow you to book sessions for yourself and anyone you have added to your profile 

4. Once a relationship is added you will receive an email to verify the relationship.

5. Once the relationship is verified you may begin booking for yourself and others you have added to your account via the “Book Sessions” tab on the left-hand side.

*Please ensure you book for everyone attending the session as space is limited

You can reserve a spot in a session up to 48 hours prior to the start time. Sessions are 55 minutes in duration with limited capacity. There is no charge for Track Walking and times are subject to change. 

View Full Track Walking Schedule

Adult (18+) patrons accessing the facility for any purpose, including track walking, must be fully vaccinated and provide proof of their vaccination status to gain access. For more details about vaccination requirements and entry procedures please visit www.tpasc.ca/reopening

Key Tags

Have a track key tag already? Bring it with you.

Don't have one? Get one, on your first visit.

Vaccination and Entry Requirements

Set Up Self Service Account

We are excited to share that the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre has been selected by Jumpstart to receive a grant from the Sport Relief Fund. The fund helps community partners like us continue to provide access to sport and play for kids in our community. The grant will go a long way towards helping us to continue the Learn to Train program that has been running at the Centre since 2016.

As one of over 1,200 sport and recreation organizations across Canada to receive grant funding from Jumpstart’s Sport Relief Fund in 2021, the continued need for support is apparent.

With Jumpstart’s support, we’ll be able to continue to offer the Learn to Train program to schools and organizations in our community.

The Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, with support from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, provides local children from priority neighbourhoods with the opportunity to participate in the Learn to Train program. Learn to Train started with just two schools and 46 children and has grown to provide over 40 groups and 1000 children the opportunity to participate the program at Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. 
 
The Learn to Train program is facilitated by the Sports Academy at Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre and provides participants with the tools and training to develop the necessary skills, habits and mental strategies to lead healthy and active lifestyles. All while experiencing a unique training environment in a world-class sports and recreation facility.

With Canadian Tire Corporation’s commitment of an additional $12 million to Jumpstart’s Sport Relief Fund in 2021, together, we’ll help build back communities through sport and play. 

PAN AM LEGACY 

Like the name indicates Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC) was built for the 2015 Toronto Pan Am and Para-Pan Am Games. The world-class facility was the largest sport new-build for the Games and the largest infrastructure investment in Canadian amateur sport history. Just as important as the games, was the legacy that the owners and stakeholders of the facility left for future generations of high performance athletes. Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre is currently home to 15 National and Provincial Sport Organizations regularly training and competing out of the facility. The Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO), also located at Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, provides world-leading sport science, sport medicine, and performance pathway services to identified high-performance athletes. Of the 24 Canadian medalists in Tokyo, 17 of them are directly connected to the legacy of the 2015 Toronto Pan Am and Para-Pan Am Games. 

INVESTMENT CONTINUES TO PAY OFF AT OLYMPICS 

Two short years after the facility opened in the fall of 2014 the payoff of that investment started with five swimmers based at TPASC winning medals at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Five years later that payoff has continued. Nineteen of the twenty four medals Canada won in Tokyo (79%) have connections to the Centre either through daily training or through services provided by CSIO. 

Canada Tokyo 2020 Medals Supported by Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre & Canadian Sport Institute Ontario

SWIMMING

Swimming Canada High Performance Centre - Ontario 

As one of the fastest pools in the world and a hub for aquatic sports (Artistic Swimming, Diving, Swimming, Water Polo) it is no surprise that a lot of Olympic success connected to the Centre comes from the water. Home to Swimming Canada’s High Performance Centre - Ontario (HPC-Ontario) coached by Ben Titley, the TPASC Competition Pool has been the training location for Olympic swimmers since 2014 and the onset of the Global Pandemic only expanded the number of elite swimmers training in the pool on a regular basis. 

With the TPASC Competition Pool being one of the first pools to welcome back high performance activities in June 2020, HPC-Ontario returned to regular training and continued with a special provincial exemption up until they traveled west for their final Olympic preparations. Also with COVID lockdowns creating havoc with training schedules throughout the country many of Canada’s most promising Olympic swimmers relocated to the HPC-Ontario in preparation for the Canadian Olympic Trials and beyond. The swimmers also had access to CSIO and it's sport science and sport medicine services through the high performance exemption, making TPASC an ideal location for them to centralize.

In total eight women and three men training with the HPC-Ontario full-time made the Canadian Olympic Team. Titley and Associate Head Coach Ryan Mallette were both selected as members of the Canadian team’s coaching staff. Johnny Fuller, Swimming Canada’s Manager of Paramedical Services, who is also based at TPASC, was part of the Canadian Olympic Swimming Team’s medical staff as an athletic therapist. 

Maggie Mac Neil – Gold Women’s 100m Butterfly

_{Maggie Mac Neil. Photo courtesy of Swimming Canada} 

An athlete that relocated to TPASC full-time was women’s 100m butterfly Olympic gold medalist Maggie Mac Neil. Originally from London, ON, Mac Neil had spent most of the year leading into the Olympics completing her Junior season at the University of Michigan. In 2021 at Michigan she won National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles in both the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard freestyle en route to being named College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Swimmer of the Year. After her collegiate season, she made the difficult decision to relocate to TPASC, but training with a fast group of swimmers in a fast pool paid off for her resulting in Olympic Gold and setting a new Canadian and Americas record in the process. 

Relay Pod - Silver Women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay / Bronze Women's 4x100m Medley Relay

_{Women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay - Taylor Ruck, Maggie Mac Neil, Rebecca Smith, Kayla Sanchez, Penny Oleksiak. Photo courtesy of Swimming Canada} 

Mac Neil’s relocation to TPASC allowed her to train on a full-time basis with the "pod." Swimming Canada established pods at its various high performance centres to focus on specific aspects of their high performance program. HPC-Ontario has been home to the women's relay pod coached by Titley since prior to the Rio Games. The majority of the athletes in the training pod formed the basis for what would become Canada’s silver medal women's 4x100m freestyle and bronze medal women's 4x100m medley relay teams. Also, the women's 4x200m freestyle relay narrowly missed the podium in a blazing fast race with a Canadian record time; all three medalists finished ahead of the previous World record. Relay team members Penny Oleksiak, Taylor Ruck, Kayla Sanchez, and Rebecca Smith have all trained at the Centre with HPC-Ontario for a number of years.

_{Women's 4x100m Medley Relay - Kylie Masse, Taylor Ruck, Sydney Pickrem, Maggie Mac Neil, Penny Oleksiak, Kayla Sanchez. Photo courtesy of Swimming Canada}   

Ruck was born in Kelowna, B.C., and her family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona when she was 10 months old, but she moved back to Toronto for her senior year of high school to train at HPC-Ontario. While still a member of the National program Ruck began her collegiate swimming career with Stanford University winning an NCAA title with the Cardinal in 2019. She redshirted at Stanford for the 2020 and 2021 seasons to return to training at HPC-Ontario on a full-time basis leading into the Olympics. Smith moved from Red Deer to Toronto at age 16 to train at the HPC-Ontario. Sanchez grew up in Scarborough and trained with the Ajax Aquatic Club before transitioning to HPC-Ontario.

Sydney Pickrem and Kylie Masse were the final two relay members in the 4x100m medley. Pickrem, born in Florida to a Halifax family, has primarily trained in the USA, swimming collegiately for Texas A&M University, before relocating to HPC-Ontario on a full-time basis leading into the Olympic Trials.

_{Penny Oleksiak, Kylie Masse, Maggie Mac Neil. Photo courtesy of Swimming Canada.}

Additional Canadian Record Performances  

_{Photo courtesy of Swimming Canada/Ian MacNicol}

Joshua Liendo and Yuri Kisil - Men’s 4×100m Freestyle Relay

The men’s 4×100-m freestyle relay finished fourth and set a Canadian record in Tokyo. It was the best placing for the Canadian men's 4x100m relay at an Olympics. Joshua Liendo and Yuri Kisil from HPC-Ontario were part of that relay that set a Canadian best. Prior to joining HPC-Ontario Liendo swam with TPASC resident club the North York Aquatic Club (NYAC). The relay was led by Brent Hayden who came out of a nine-year retirement to make the Canadian Team. Hayden trained with High Performance Centre - Vancouver (HPC-Vancouver), but spent significant time in the TPASC competition pool as HPC-Vancouver relocated to the Centre in the lead up to Olympic Trials.

_{Photo courtesy of Swimming Canada/Ian MacNicol}

Summer McIntosh – Canadian Record Women's 400m Freestyle 

Like many other swimmers, Summer McIntosh relocated to HPC-O during the pandemic. After bursting onto the scene at the Olympic Trials, the 14-year-old finished fourth in the 400-m freestyle, set two Canadian records and swam three personal bests in Tokyo.