Sports

Former Orangeville Otter receives $10,000 grant to support Olympic aspirations

October 29, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Chris Perrotte

Alyssa Smyth, a Swimming Canada athlete and former Orangeville Otters swimmer, found out she won the 2026 Petro-Canada FACE Grant, totalling $10,000, on Oct. 14.

This funding will support key expenses associated with training, equipment, education and travel as Smyth continues pursuing her Olympic and Paralympic goals.

“It was really meaningful to me to be selected as one of the 55 athletes to be receiving this grant. It is a nationwide grant, so they had to pick me out of a lot of great candidates, so I’m really honoured to be one of the ones chosen,” Smyth said.

For Smyth personally, this grant will continue to help her while she is currently billeting with a family in Barrie, Ontario, to train with her longtime swimming coach Sam Kuntz at the Barrie Trojan Swim Club.

This funding will also help relieve financial pressure as she travels to Victoria, British Columbia, to compete in the 2027 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials, which will take place from April 5 to April 10, 2027, at Saanich Commonwealth Place.

Throughout her swimming career, Smyth has faced many challenges, including the consistent switches of coaches. She met her current coach, Kuntz, when competing with the Orangeville Otters Swim Club. After he relocated to Barrie, she had to make the tough choice of whether to stay and learn under a new coach or go and join Kuntz in Barrie, with whom she built a strong relationship.

“I ultimately decided to follow him to Barrie, and this grant has really helped with that because it’s funding my ability to live here (Barrie) and train here,” shared Smyth.

She had strong praise for her coach, reflecting on his approach to training athletes.

“He is very wise in the way that he trains, and you can tell that he does really care about each and every one of his swimmers,” said Smyth.

As she continues to train for the upcoming season with help from the grant funding, her sights are set on qualifying for the 13th World Para Swimming Championships. The competition takes place in Guadalajara, Mexico, next year from July 25 to Aug. 1. Her long-term goal is to qualify for the LA28 Paralympic Games, which will take place from Aug. 15 to 27, 2028, in Los Angeles, California.

“This grant is fueling athletes and coaches who are paralympic and olympic hopefuls, so the support that I’m getting through Petro Canada through the grant and also other opportunities will really help me reach these goals,” said Smyth.

She shared that she is a pretty diverse swimmer but specializes in butterfly and backstroke.

“I like butterfly because it’s challenging, and I’ve always liked it since I was little, and backstroke is just one of my favourite strokes to race in,” Smyth shared.

Throughout her swimming career, her family and her coach, Sam Kuntz, have been a tremendous help.

“My family has supported me through all of my big decisions in this sport, and definitely this year with my move. They’re far away so they’re not staying with me but they have been really supportive through all of this,” said Smyth. “And then obviously my coach, who is always getting me through those hard workouts and always supporting me.”

Smyth shared that her old babysitter, Tess Routliffe, a paralympic medalist, has been her inspiration over the years not only because she knows her personally but because Routliffe overcame a lot through her career.

For those para athletes who are interested in swimming and pursuing their dreams, Smyth shared words of encouragement.

“Swimming, especially in Canada with our paralympic program, has grown a lot in the past couple of years, and the support is crazy… every coach and everybody you work with, they are all so supportive… and everyone is so friendly on deck,” she said. “When you are a new face, it makes it that much more welcoming, [especially] when there are people who have also gone through [the experience of] being a new para swimmer.”

Smyth added, “Just starting is the first step, and from there you will feel the support and the good environment that Swim Canada has shown me.”

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