CAO’s Empowering Stories from Behind the Bench article series – June 2026
“For many Queer and Trans folks, walking into sport and recreation spaces can be nerve wracking and even risky – which is understandable given the lack of inclusive sport spaces that exist.”
By David Grossman
You can call it convincing and even uncompromising.
Talk with Amber Hutchinson, or maybe watch her in action, and you’ll meet a person who is making a real, and positive, difference in people’s lives.
Her mission continues to focus on creating opportunities for people to avoid hiding their identity.
As a 37-year-old mother of two, the Brampton native is committed to recruiting – and that’s not necessarily targeting up-and-coming elite athletes. Hutchinson is quite clear, when speaking with her, that one of her key objectives is to seek out Queer and Trans individuals who have an interest in important leadership roles such as coaching sports teams.
“There are lots of people with talent, inspiration and a desire to help others,” said Hutchinson, who is a Queer woman.
“But (those individuals) feel like there is no place where they get a sense of belonging within a sport community. That has changed – and continues to change.”
Hutchinson, with a strong understanding of the sport system, high performance training and experienced in program management, has coached swimming and supportive programs for Swim Ontario and Swimming Canada for the past 13 years. A wealth of knowledge was gained from those experiences. She is currently employed with the Toronto Swim Club.
In 2021, as an advocate of the aquatic sport being a lifelong activity, it was more than her instinct, passion and well-educated background as a graduate from Western University in London, Ont., that led to this personal huge initiative.
It was about filling a gap as it relates to gender equity.
Her focus and ideology, as well as the responsibilities of being a President and founder of Toronto’s Purple Fins Swim Club, continues to be around building a social organization that is exclusive to Trans, Two-Spirit, and Non-Binary individuals.
Purple Fins now has some 60 members and is a gender-free masters swimming club intended to train Trans and Non-Binary swimmers. The club also welcomes Queer women.
“For many Queer and Trans folks, walking into sport and recreation spaces can be nerve wracking and even risky – which is understandable given the lack of inclusive sport spaces that exist,” said Hutchinson. “Creating a space that folks can trust has taken a lot of patience, care, and authenticity.”
The Coaches Association of Ontario, as part of its popular feature story series “Empowering Stories from Behind the Bench”, is featuring Hutchinson during Pride Month which honours and advocates for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
In May of 2026, Hutchinson was involved in a session titled “Building Inclusive and Equitable Coaching Spaces” where she spoke about understanding the challenges that 2SLGBTQ+ coaches may face and the importance of belonging in sport. The session included recognizing how inclusive leadership shapes coaching and athlete experiences.
For Hutchinson, whose coaching experience started while studying at Western, the areas of tutoring, guiding and improving swimmers has become a huge part of her life.
Her career involves a field unfamiliar to many people. She’s a biomechanist. Sometimes it’s referred to as sport science and is associated with kinesiology. Swimming biomechanics blends sport-specific expertise with physics and human movement. Hutchinson’s work includes an emphasis on skill acquisition and performance analysis.
Hutchinson is a technical performance coach who supports instructors, educator, trainers and athletes in many ways. She works collaboratively with coaches and swimmers to enhance their current training programs.
In her case, it’s using an underwater video system and hand paddles with force sensors to analyze a swimmer’s strokes and skills. She then uses the data collected to teach athletes how to apply force more efficiently within their movements. Ultimately, it’s leading to improved performance and greater confidence in their racing abilities.
“When I entered coaching, it was a way to connect with individuals who knew they had a coach on deck that that could support them for more than just swim instruction, but also to nurture friendship and their journey of self-identity,” said Hutchinson, whose club functions out of the recreation and athletic centre at Toronto Metropolitan University.
“At Purple Fins, our swimmers come to the pool for more than a workout – they come for community and friendship and the joy in belonging to a space that affirms their identity.”
Hutchinson, who now resides in Toronto and chose not to hide her Queer identity, knows diversity is beautiful. At Purple Fins, swimmers show up as their authentic selves and feel supported to succeed and thrive in sport as well as celebrate their differences.
“I have had individuals tell me that being involved with the Purple Fins has been life-changing and essential for survival – it’s a place to develop friendships, an opportunity to build confidence, great relationships as well as share values and beliefs.”
Hutchinson knows the 2SLGBTQ+ community has come a long way in the past five years.
“To get to where we are now, has taken a great deal of work – and I’m proud of what we’ve done (at Purple Fins),” she said. “Many of us grow up feeling like we don’t have the same opportunities as others – and many of us grow up without a vision of a fulfilling future.
“That’s why visibility is incredibly important – not only for swimmers in the water and the coaches on the pool deck, but for everyone in the community to see that they have an opportunity to join a swim team as their authentic self.”
As a leader on deck, Hutchinson sees individuals show up at the pool carrying a lot of heaviness from their daily lives.
“I use swimming as a tool for folks to re-focus, connect with their bodies through movement and achieve short term goals within practice,” she added.
“Swimmers leave practice walking with more confidence and breathing a bit easier – you can see it in how they move and how they connect with their teammates with renewed energy. I can also feel the change myself as a coach.”
END
David Grossman is a veteran multi award-winning Journalist and Broadcaster with some of Canada’s major media, including the Toronto Star and SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN, and a Public Relations professional for 50+ years in Canadian sports and Government relations. In 2026, he was inducted to the Toronto Sports Hall of Honour with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Creating a space that folks can trust has taken a lot of patience, care, and authenticity.”
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