Swimming With A Mission (SWAM) Canada, previously SwimAbility Canada (2016–2018) and Making Waves Canada (2009–2016), is a Canadian not-for-profit organization whose mission is to improve the lives of children with disabilities through private, low-cost, and adapted swimming and

water safety Water safety refers to the procedures, precautions and policies associated with safety in, on, and around bodies of water, where there is a risk of injury or drowning. It has applications in several occupations, sports and recreational activities. ...

instruction.

Scope of activities

The organization's mandate is to provide services to children left behind by typical organizations that provide swimming lessons. Programming is provided via SwimAbility's chapter intermediaries which have their own management committees. Since 2009, the organization has established itself in cities across the country and now offers over 9000 lessons per year. SwimAbility Canada partners with NGOs around the world, sending trained instructors to develop swimming curricula and to increase awareness of and support for persons with disabilities. The second Annual General Meeting was held on June 22, 2014, at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

Affiliated chapters

SWAM currently oversees the following 15 chapters: British Columbia * SwimAbility Okanagan (the

University of British Columbia at Okanagan The UBC's Okanagan Campus (commonly referred to as UBC Okanagan and UBCO) is University of British Columbia's campus located in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. The campus is the research and innovation hub in the province's southern interior ...

) Weekly swimming lessons are held on Saturdays at the Parkinson Recreation Centre and on Sundays at the Johnson Bentley Memorial Aquatic Centre, located in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

. The cost per child is $25 per season (of 9 lessons). Manitoba * SwimAbility Dauphin * SwimAbility Brandon * SwimAbility Winnipeg ( University of Winnipeg) Weekly swimming lessons are held at Seven Oaks and/or the Margaret Grant Pool in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. The cost per child is $20 per season (of 8 lessons). Ontario * SwimAbility London (

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

) Weekly swimming lessons are held at the swimming pool of the Western Student Recreation Facility, located on the University of Western Ontario campus in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

. The cost per child is $30 per season (of 8 lessons). * SwimAbility Kitchener-Waterloo ( University of Waterloo) Weekly swimming lessons are held at the Physical Activities Complex on the University of Waterloo's campus in

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

. * SwimAbility Hamilton ( McMaster University) Weekly swimming lessons are held at the swimming pool of Hamilton Downtown Family YMCA Pool, located in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

. The cost per child is $25 per season for 30-minute lessons or $50 per season for one-hour lessons (of 8 lessons). * SwimAbility Mississauga (University of Toronto, Mississauga Campus) Weekly swimming lessons are held at the Cawthra Park Pool in

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

. The cost per child is $35 per season (of 7 lessons). * SwimAbility Toronto (

) Weekly swimming lessons are held at the Beverley School Pool in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario. The cost per child is $40 per season (of 8 lessons). * SwimAbility Kingston (

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

) Weekly swimming lessons are held at the Queen's Athletics and Recreation Centre in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. The cost per child is $25 per season (of 8-10 lessons). * SwimAbility Ottawa ( University of Ottawa) Weekly swimming lessons are held at the swimming pool of Jack Purcell Community Centre Pool and/or Lowertown Community Centre Pool, located in Downtown

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario. The cost per child is $25 per season (of 8 lessons). * SwimAbility Sudbury (

Laurentian University Laurentian University (french: Université Laurentienne), officially the Laurentian University of Sudbury, is a mid-sized Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, incorporated on March 28, 1960. Lau ...

) Weekly swimming lessons are held at the Jeno Tihanyi Olympic Gold Pool, located on the Laurentian University campus. The cost per child is $15–25 per season (of 6-10 lessons). Quebec * SwimAbility Montreal (

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

) SwimAbility classes are held at the swimming pool of the CEGEP du Vieux-Montréal, which is located in downtown

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec. The cost per child is $20 per season (there are 8 lessons offered per season). In 2009, SwimAbility Montreal won the 2009 Forces Avenir Award for work towards Mutual Aid, Peace and Justice in Quebec. New Brunswick * SwimAbility Saint John (

Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University The Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University, also known as Dalhousie Medical School, is a medical school and faculty of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Faculty of Medicine has operated continuously since 1868 and is o ...

at Saint John Regional Hospital and

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

, Saint John Campus) Weekly swimming lessons are held at the Canada Games Aquatic Centre in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

. The cost per child is $20 per season (8 lessons). Nova Scotia * SwimAbility Halifax (

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

) Weekly swimming lessons are held at the Centennial Pool in downtown Halifax. The cost per child is $20 per season (there are 8 lessons offered per season). Windsor *SwimAbility Windsor ( University of Windsor) Weekly swimming lessons are held at the YMCA Aquatic Centre in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

. The cost for one child is $20 per season (there are 8 lessons offered per season).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming With A Mission Canada Sports organizations of Canada Swimming in Canada Children's charities based in Canada Disability organizations based in Canada 2009 establishments in Canada