Back to SearchUPDATED: Burlington, ON, June 30, 2025 - The City is aware of recent media stories and public comments about the outcome of our competitive bid process for youth aquatics services. There has been some confusion and misinformation shared, and now that the contract is finalized, we can provide more clarity.
Since 2020, the City has allocated pool time for competitive swim programs through a formal procurement process. This approach follows our procurement by-law and the Municipal Act. It helps ensure we get the best value for residents and that all qualified swim clubs have an equal opportunity to apply.
Procurement processes are used by the City to purchase a wide range of services and supplies – from playground equipment to transit vehicles to aquatics programming. The process is designed to be fair, competitive, and accountable to the public. Rules are in place to make sure everyone is treated equally, including restrictions on political involvement, lobbying, and sharing bid details while the process is underway.
Now that the process is complete, we can confirm submissions from the Burlington Aquatic Devilrays (BAD) and Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club (GHAC) were received for the 2025 - 2030 youth competitive aquatics contract. Both organizations also submitted bids for the 2020 - 2025 contract, with the same rules in place, including the submission of a certificate of incorporation as a Non-Profit or Not-for-Profit organization. In 2020, the contract was awarded to BAD. This year, the fact that BAD was the current provider did not play a role in the evaluation of new proposals.
As part of the RFP process bidders were required to demonstrate how their organizations will ensure 85% of participants are Burlington residents. The successful bidder - GHAC- demonstrated that it could fulfill this requirement upon service commencement in September 2025. Further, the successful bidder will be required to validate this requirement in September, and annually thereafter. This is to make sure that Burlington residents benefit directly from the pool time the City provides. GHAC met all the requirements of the proposal, including this residency threshold, and has been awarded the contract.
As BAD has shared publicly, their bid was disqualified because it was missing some of the required information - in particular, a certificate of incorporation as a Non-Profit or Not-for-Profit organization. Under the bid process rules, City staff are not allowed to overlook missing mandatory requirements or allow submission after the RFP closing date. This protects the fairness of the process.
We understand this outcome is disappointing for BAD and its members. BAD submitted a formal request for review, and that process confirmed the decision was made according to our policies and procedures.
We value the role that all local swim clubs play in our community and will continue working with BAD to explore options for accessing pool time through our regular allocation process.
Our focus remains on making sure Burlington residents have access to high-quality programs and fair use of City facilities. We appreciate everyone’s contributions to building a strong aquatics community here in Burlington.
-30-
Media Contact
City of Burlington Communications
communications@burlington.ca
Subscribe