OTTAWA – Swimming Canada is taking the first step in a new direction today by unveiling a new brand at swimming.ca/brand
The brand was inspired by legends and imagery dating back to the London 1908 Olympic Games, when Canada first appeared on the international stage. In the coming months, the new brand will come to life across all Swimming Canada’s touch points, including websites, events, social media platforms, and Team Canada uniforms.
The new emblem reinterprets a century of Canadian swimming iconography for the next generation in a simple, bold aesthetic — communicating “Swimming Canada” without words. 
“This is an outward signal of the changes that have been taking place within the organization over the past two years,” says CEO Ahmed El-Awadi. “Our new look is immediately noticeable, and we want it to draw people’s attention to the many other positive changes that have been taking place.”
Swimming Canada engaged the firm Hulse & Durrell, known for their work with the Canadian Olympic Committee and Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, in a months-long process to develop the new brand. Partners Ben Hulse and Greg Durrell worked with senior Swimming Canada leadership to deliver a brand foundation that was consistent with the organization’s storied past and bright future.
“Swimming Canada has a remarkable range of programs and events from grassroots to high-performance. Our goal was to distill every aspect down to its most essential form and develop a lasting brand,” said Greg Durrell, partner at Hulse & Durrell.
“The new brand extends the look and feel across the whole organization. People will notice it everywhere from our upcoming events, to presentations to Team Canada uniforms and in a few months a great new website” added Marketing Director Chris Wilson.
In recent weeks Swimming Canada has offered a sneak peek of the new brand to select alumni, athletes and partners. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Here are just some of the testimonials from big names in the Canadian swimming world:
Two-time Olympic medallist Ryan Cochrane
“It’s exciting to see the direction we are taking as an organization and I am eager to see that we are going back to classic, simple designs. I’m looking forward to wearing the new brand, as it will allow us to be easily recognized as a strong and unified Canadian team.”
1984 Olympic gold medallist Anne Ottenbrite-Muylaert
“I love the new logo! A fresh look heading into Rio!”
2012 Olympic medallist and 2007 world champion Brent Hayden
“I am very excited about the new brand. It honours the past while setting a bold statement for the team going forward.”
1992 Olympic medallist Stephen Clarke
“I am very excited with the new Swimming Canada branding, it is perfect blend of our rich history with a modern twist. I love that the red Maple leaf is still the prominent symbol that so many of our national swimmers proudly display. ”
19-time Paralympic medallist Benoit Huot
“This is a good looking logo and gives a new look to our brand. I am looking forward to wearing it proudly over the next couple months.”
Three-time Olympic medallist Tom Ponting
“I am thrilled that although there is insurmountable pressure for change, for newness, that this brand is comfortably recognizable by swimmers from the last several decades. The ability to use it from grassroots to the top levels is fantastic. It is genuine. Well done to all involved.”
2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Katerine Savard
“I cannot wait to wear the new Swimming Canada logo. It says it all. It will be great to have it on our team gear because it will represent us well as a sport and as a country.”
1996 Olympic medallist Marianne Limpert
“I think it looks awesome! The logo itself is classic, clean and easily recognizable – and I love the prominence of the Maple Leaf! It’s a throwback to the logo used years ago and to me it’s symbolic of paying tribute to the past while looking forward to the future and connecting generations of proud Canadian swimmers. Great job!”
Canadian Olympic Committee Chief Marketing Officer Derek Kent
“We applaud Swimming Canada for investing in their brand to grow their brand. We are proud of the investment from our NSF Enhancement Initiative fund and our support to help turn their brand building vision into reality,” said Derek Kent, Canadian Olympic Committee Chief Marketing Officer. “This new logo and design architecture is a leap forward and will help build the Swimming Canada brand for years to come.”
Swim News Courtesy: Swimming Canada
I didn’t now Anne Ottenbrite won an Olympic gold in 1984. Way to go! Belated congratulations.
This is another one of those times that, as soon as the new (whatever) appears, I forget what the old one looked like. Any links to what the old logo looked like?