The Nepean Kanata Barracuda’s (NKB’s) own Scott Faithfull was named Coach of the Year (Swimming) at the 2023 Ottawa Sports Awards.

The Nepean Kanata Barracuda’s own Scott Faithfull was named Coach of the Year at the 2023 Ottawa Sports Awards.
March 31, 2024

The 2023 Ottawa Sports Awards marked the event’s 71st continuous year of recognizing athletic excellence in Ottawa. The awards, which were handed out at a gala ceremony held at the Centurion Conference and Event Centre on Colonnade Road on February 7th, are the largest amateur sport recognition event in Canada, and the most comprehensive and inclusive amateur sport recognition program in Canada.

The award highlights a stellar year for NKB’s Faithfull, who was named to Swim Canada’s coaching staff at the 2023 World Junior Swimming Championships. Faithfull was also selected as one of six coaches across Canada to participate in Swimming Canada’s Next Wave Coaches Group. The group of six coaches were hand picked by Swimming Canada with the goal of helping them to supercharge their coaching and provide new opportunities for development.

“Coaching is critical for Swimming Canada, which is why we continue to invest heavily in coach development,” said Swimming Canada High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson. “Coaches have been key to our success at the last two Olympic Games and will continue to be towards Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.”

2023 saw Faithfull help guide one of NKB’s top swimmers, Julie Brousseau, to international success where she led the Canadian team in podium finishes at the World Juniors with two silver medals and five bronze medals, Brousseau also captured two gold medals at the Pan American Games. Julie was the recipient of Swimmer of the year, for the second year in a row, at the 2023 Ottawa Sports Award Night as well.

2024 is already set to be another breakthrough year for Faithfull’s swimmers at NKB, as the club prepares to send seven of its athletes to the Bell Canada Olympic Trials in Montreal in May, where they will be competing for a spot on Canada’s Olympic Team in Paris, France.  

As a coach, Faithfull has received numerous awards and honours including CSCTA’s Domestic Excellence Award multiple times, Age Group Coach of the Year, coaching Provincial, Canadian, and International all-star tour teams, and Head Coach of Ontario’s Summer Games Team.  

His extensive national and international coaching experience includes work with Hall of Fame inductees and former Canadian record holder Mike Brown and Erica Seltenriech-Hodgson. As a swimmer, he was a Canadian record holder himself.

Article Written by Vito Pilieci