$50,000 Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant keeps children swimming

In August 2021, the Ernestown Barracuda Swim Club (EBSC) received a $50,000 Community Building Fund – Operating grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). This grant was used to support the Club through the pandemic by increasing pool rental space and time in the Kingston area to safely follow all provincial, municipal, and Swim Ontario guidelines during the 2021/2022 swim season. The OTF grant allowed EBSC to continue to serve the local community by providing the children with a semblance of normalcy while maintaining their fitness and competitive spirit, with no increased costs to memberships. 

“The Ernestown Barracuda Swim Club has a wonderful tradition of encouraging fun, healthy swim training for all levels. The funding from this Ontario Trillium grant will give many members of the Loyalist community the chance to stay safe, stay active and have fun!” said Ric Breese, MPP for Hastings – Lennox & Addington.

This positioned EBSC well with swimmers turning out great performances when meets restarted late in 2021. We are extremely proud that our small family of 70 swimmers sent teammates to Regional, provincial, and National finals. EBSC has also maintained a core group of developing swimmers who, without the OTF grant, may not have had access to swimming as many public swim lessons were not available through this period.

“The EBSC team, parents and Board are very grateful for the grant from OTF,” said Sheri Banks, past president of the EBSC Board of Directors. “The proceeds from this grant helped us keep our swimmers in the water, focused on their goals and improving their times. Sports teams were all greatly affected by the pandemic and having grant money available to assist made a big difference. Thank you to OTF for making this possible.”

The Ernestown Barracuda Swim Club is a non-profit organization located in Loyalist Township, Kingston area, promoting a family-oriented swim club committed to excellence in competitive swimming at all levels. The club's positive swimming environment contributes to self-confidence, self-discipline, and the fostering of team spirit. The club was founded in 1979 by a group of committed volunteer parents. The Ernestown Barracudas Swim Club, now over 100 members strong, has competed at the Local, Regional, Provincial and National levels.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) mission is to build healthy and vibrant communities across Ontario. As an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations, last year, OTF invested nearly $209M into 2,042 community projects and partnerships, which included funding for the Government of Ontario’s Community Building Fund. Since 2020, OTF has supported Ontario’s economic recovery by helping non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Visit otf.ca to learn more.

Contact for Media inquiries
Mike Weber, Communications
Ernestown Barracuda Swim Club
[email protected]