July 24, 2025
Media Release from SNC:
Hello again to our swimming community. There is much to update you on since my message on May 12, 2025. The May message provided an update and important context around the process Swimming Canada has undertaken since January recognizing the challenges our community faced with the roll-out of REMS. An independent and systematic assessment of REMS was completed in May. We also recognize that communication hasn’t always worked as we want it to, and collectively we, Swimming Canada and the Provincial Sections, are committed to improving how and when we share information to the community.
Since my May message, and in conversation and discussion with the PSO Executive Directors (EDs) and Presidents, additional work was undertaken to complete a review and risk assessment to consider whether returning to the RTR was a viable option. A thorough risk assessment was conducted with the RTR vendor and other subject-matter experts, we listened deeply to the PSOs, and considered all risks. It was determined that a return to the RTR was not a viable option for September. We understand that there are some who wanted to go this direction and will be disappointed to know that is not the outcome, but the risks were determined to be too great.
With that decision, a strong focus was placed on what needed to be done for September that would have the greatest impact for our community, recognizing it wouldn’t all be perfect, but where were the areas where we could make critical operational improvements, that would provide the greatest value in the shortest period of time. The areas of meets/events; category changes; member look-up were all prioritized as high impact elements for our community. A functioning meet platform for sanctioning, entry upload, results management and reporting are crucial for the operations of our PSOs and clubs.
Swimming Canada contracted additional technical support to ensure we reach the milestones required. Darren Richer, who is not only an expert in swimming, but also has the IT expertise to support, is working directly with SportLomo to achieve results in the short period of time we have to the start of the season. Since he began with us, the week of June 9th, we have seen consistent progress. Progress updates including a dashboard reflecting the current status is being provided to the PSOs bi-weekly.
From a registration perspective, each province will continue to make decisions that make sense for them. Online payment options including the use of self-registration will continue and expand to additional provinces; off-line payment processing will continue to be an option for those provinces who rely on this process; reporting has been improved; and issues surrounding registrants in multiple categories was identified as a priority and is on track to be fully tested and in-place for September. A member look-up tool has also been added, making it easier for administrative users, with permissions, to look up swimmers, coaches, officials when required. Self-registration for officials across the country will also be encouraged for every club and PSO, dramatically reducing the volunteer efforts of the Club Officials Administrator.
Swimming Canada is continuing to work with Differly in supporting an improved governance structure. A Steering Committee made up of Swimming Canada Board members (Luc Bisaillon and Matt Dans), PSO EDs (Dean Boles (ON) and Elmar Heger (BC)) and Presidents (Keltie Duggan (AB) and Maggie Middleton (PEI)), Swimming Canada staff (myself and Heather Birenbaum), and a subject-matter expert (Trevor Cowan) have just begun their work. The Steering Committee will provide oversight from a short-term (September) perspective but will also provide oversight when considering what long-term solution is required by our community. Differly is also supporting work surrounding processes, release management, and support frameworks, all of which will support both short and long-term solutions.
Swimming Canada anticipates having updated User Guides ready for the PSOs the week of August 8th, and then club resources ready the following week. PSOs will need to update the guides in many cases based on the processes in place locally. Training on the new meet functionality will also be provided.
In closing, these efforts are helping us move forward in key areas like meets and registration, while also tackling the main points from the independent assessment we shared in May.
Specifically, Darren and Differly’s work on meets and registration is especially important—it’s helping us mitigate risk and impacts from the inconsistencies in how things are done across the organization. On top of that, this work will enable us to put together more detailed requirements that play a role in guiding our future tech decisions and implementations. This also puts us in a position where process changes could lead to better efficiency and smoother operations.
In addition to the release of meet management, the biggest near-term wins will likely come from Differly’s work on support, escalation, and release management. These improvements will make things easier for you, save time, and help ensure everything is more ready and usable for our users and for our teams supporting our users.
Thank you for your ongoing work, we will continue moving forward together to evolve and improve the registration and events system for our community.
Warmest regards,
Suzanne Paulins
CEO
Swimming Canada