Canada Artistic Swimming is proud to announce Yingli Hou as Head Coach and Salma Elbaba as Assistant Coach of the 2026 Canadian Junior National Team. The program will prepare the country’s top emerging athletes for the 2026 World Junior Championships, with the host location to be confirmed by World Aquatics.
Coach Hou is a former elite athlete who represented China at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. She has coached athletes to multiple podium performances at the national level. Yingli served as Head Coach of Team Ontario at the 2019 and 2025 Canada Games, and she has contributed significantly to the national pathway as Assistant Coach of the Junior National Team for the last three editions of the program.
Reflecting on her appointment, Coach Hou stated: “It is an honour to be entrusted with leading Canada’s Junior National Team. I am grateful for the opportunity to represent this country and to work with such a motivated group of staff and athletes. Together, we will challenge ourselves, strive for excellence, and continue building a strong foundation for the future of Canadian artistic swimming. I look forward to the journey ahead.”
Coach Elbaba brings international and national high-performance experience to the role. Her coaching career began in Egypt, where she developed national-level athletes. Since arriving in Canada, she has contributed to programs with Montréal Synchro, Team Québec, and the Canadian National Team. Most recently, she coached and managed Team Québec at the 2025 Canada Games, with a strong focus on technical excellence, creativity, and collaborative athlete development.
Coach Elbaba shared: “I’m incredibly honored to be named Assistant Coach to the Junior National Team as it is a great privilege to help guide Canada’s future athletes on the international stage. I really look forward to collaborating with Yingli, who has contributed greatly to the success of past Junior National Teams. As a new Canadian citizen, I feel especially proud to represent Canada and to contribute to a positive, high-performance environment that inspires excellence and national pride.”
Both coaches will be on deck at the Junior National Team Selection and Development Camp, taking place October 28 to November 1 in Montréal, QC, where they will begin working directly with the athletes invited to join the 2026 preparation pathway. The selection process will continue in March 2026 in Québec City, QC, prior to the National Qualifier, and will conclude in May 2026 in Saskatoon, SK, following the Canadian Championships.
Canada Artistic Swimming’s Chief Operating Officer, Stéphane Coté, expressed confidence in the newly appointed staff: “Yingli and Salma each bring outstanding expertise, deep care for athlete development, and a shared commitment to excellence. Their leadership reflects the values of our high-performance system and our belief in an athlete-centred environment built on trust, collaboration, and ambition. We have every confidence they will guide our junior athletes with purpose and pride as they strive to represent Canada on the world stage.”
Canada Artistic Swimming looks forward to supporting Coaches Hou and Elbaba as they lead the next generation of Canadian talent toward international success.