Short-course swimming worlds leaving a legacy in Windsor

WINDSOR, ONT. – Make no mistake about it. Windsor is a hockey town. Home to the Ontario Hockey League's Windsor Spitfires.

But for the past week swimming has grabbed hold of this Canadian city, a pool in the place where the Spitfires would normally play.

The world short-course swimming championships were awarded to Windsor years ago. Nobody could have ever predicted the events leading up to it.

LaSalle, Ont., native Kylie Masse, an unknown Canadian swimmer when the bid for this event was put into motion, would win an Olympic bronze medal and a silver medal during this week's championship. Her childhood home is just 15 minutes from the swimming venue this week.

After that silver medal swim Masse said she "wanted to inspire kids the way Canadian swimmers inspired her."

It worked.

'No Math. No French. And a day at the pool'

Throughout the week more than 1,000 students from schools in the area received free tickets to watch the world-class swimming. Grade 6 student Aidan Belcastro was starry-eyed on the pool deck, talking about all the swimmers he saw.

"I'm going to tell my mom and dad that it was a great experience and how fast they were in the pool. They're Olympians."

"No math. No French. And a day at the pool," he said with a smile.

11-year-old Emma Burke's uncle is former NHL goalie, Sean Burke. She's played hockey since she was six. But now she's considering a swimming career after spending a morning at the world short-course swimming championships.

"I think what Kylie is doing is inspiring other people here to swim," Burke said. "I think it's a good idea because then you can get more inspired to do swimming."

And then there's Alyssa Stomp, who couldn't believe how different the WFCU Centre looked after the hockey rink to pool transformation.

"When I heard they were going to take down the boards and all that stuff I thought that sounds impossible," said Stomp. "I forgot what this place looked like and when I got here I went, oh my gosh, cool."

Grade 6 teacher Marie-Helen Spadafora said the students learned about the event before coming to the venue and spent a lot of time learning about the hometown swimming hero.

"I think it has a lot to do with Kylie Masse. She made it to the Olympics and now here she is in a world-swimming event. You can do it as long as you put the work in."

Windsor has put in the work, according to mayor Drew Dilkens.

"I've been telling people for years this is going to be a world-class event. And it has been."

Dilkens said this week is changing the way people in Windsor imagine their city and their recreation.

"We do it for the economic development and we do it to help inspire young people in the community, who see people like Kylie Masse and go, I can do that too."

Tewksbury excited about Canada's swimming future

Up until this past summer in Rio, Mark Tewksbury was Canada's last Olympic gold medallist in the pool. He took this country and the world by storm at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics by winning the 100-metre backstroke.

Penny Oleksiak then won gold in the women's 100-metre freestyle event in Rio.

"I would argue that I'm no longer the face of Canadian swimming. I'm just a past-tense now," Tewksbury said with a smile.

"I had an amazing run of being the last Olympic gold medallist for Canada. I've stayed connected to the team and the community so I think that's sort of what has kept me the face."

Tewksbury said he's impressed by how Windsor has handled this week's event and how organizers have transformed the arena into a swimming venue.

"The ripple effect is we see that a pool can be outfitted in a hockey arena which kind of opens up in Canada the possibility of having competitions all across the country," he said.

More than anything, Tewksbury said an event in this community could create a new wave a Canadian swimmers.

"It sparks the imagination of some kids who might have only seen hockey. And it's a reminder of how impressionable kids are. So if you build it and show it they will come and be inspired."