Canada Calls On FINA & WPS To Shunt World Titles & All Other 2021 Events To 2022

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Canada, which triggered a chain reaction to get the Olympic Games moved to 2021 as the first nation to declare that it would not send a team to Tokyo 2o20 this July, has called on FINA to shunt the Fukuoka 2021 World Championships and all other events to 2022.

The same message has been sent to World Para Swimming, while Swimming Canada has also announced that it will not send a team to the 2020 World Junior Open Water Championships in the Seychelles this August.

The federation, which has already cancelled the whole of the summer season 2020 through August, welcomed the new 2021 dates for the Tokyo Olympic Games as “great news” that would help swimmers, coaches and programs plan properly.

Canada having won praise for its stance on Tokyo 2020, the swim federation now explains why it it in favour of FINA and World Para Swimming moving all their respective 2021 world championships to 2022 “for a variety of reasons”.

As things stand, there is talk of holding the Fukuoka World titles immediately ion the back of the Olympic Games next year, in August. If that could work well on a financial and organisational level, on a performance level it leaves world-class programs shaking their heads. As Swimming World has already noted, for a distance freestyle swimmer such as double World champion Florian Wellbrock, of Germany, it would mean:

Week 1: 800, 1500m free debut at the Olympic Games
Week 2: Olympic marathon debut
Week 3/4: World 10km (marathon) title defence
Week 4/5: 800m and defence of World 1500m title

In a statement, John Atkinson, head of performance at Swimming Canada, noted:

“Having the two premier Games and championships staged close together in the same year would create many challenges. From budgets to program planning, to timing, to the risks of athletes being overloaded, there are so many unknowns. As we continue to navigate the uncertainty of this current global situation, we encourage FINA and World Para Swimming to choose 2022 as the best alternative for the world championships.”

On Swimming Canada’s decision not to attend the 2020 FINA World Junior Open Water Championships Aug. 21-23 in Victoria, Seychelles, he said:

“While we understand this is another disappointing decision for our athletes, the event falls in the period when other events have been cancelled or postponed because of the world situation with swimmers unable to train due to the measures in place to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope to plan and announce new activities for those swimmers in the fall.”

Atkinson’s former boss at British Swimming, Bill Sweetenham, told Swimming World on Monday that the current re-scheduling of international events offered the sport a chance to reinvent the sporting calendar and remove the current chaos and clutter of events:

“For me, this is a chance and opportunity to put a new system of global competition. And – No Sacred COWS!. The IOC could show some really great innovative leadership and stage a conference via the internet, no travel required, with ALL competition stakeholders and clients to come up with a fully integrated global competition plan and schedule/calendar that all can support and have confidence in and sign on.

“There should be no isolation of objectives other than providing the absolute best opportunity for all athletes. Buy in from ALL stakeholders would provide global swimming with a distinct advantage. We desperately need a global-leadership and direction-based strategy.”

The statement in full, English and French Canadian

OTTAWA – Swimming Canada welcomes the news of new confirmed dates for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held in 2021.

With the announcement that the Olympic Games will be held July 23 – Aug. 8, 2021, followed by the Paralympic Games Aug. 24 – Sept. 5, the organization is adjusting its high performance plans with those dates in mind.

“This is great news to get the dates for the Olympic and Paralympic Games so quickly,” said Swimming Canada CEO Ahmed El-Awadi. “This will help our organization begin to prepare.”

With the 2021 FINA World Championships originally scheduled for July 16 – Aug. 1 in Fukuoka, Japan, Swimming Canada expects further announcements to clarify the world competition calendar.

“There are still more dates to be set but we know FINA just received the news as well and they need time to work with their partners and stakeholders to find a suitable time for the world championships as do many other international federations,” El-Awadi said.

“This is great news,” added High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson. “We have already been planning for what the rest of 2020 and the 2021 plans will look like, and we look forward to sharing more detail in the coming weeks.”

Atkinson has encouraged all swimmers, coaches and support staff to continue to follow all government guidelines with regard to social distancing, instructing athletes to train at home, on their own, under the advice of their coaches and/or other qualified experts.

“We fully support this stance,” Atkinson said. “In time it will be great to have plans in place to give our athletes and coaches from both the Olympic and Paralympic programs something to focus on. Before we can get to the detail we are now waiting for FINA to announce the revised Olympic qualification process for both the pool and the open water marathon swimming events. We are also looking to the International Paralympic Committee/World Para Swimming to review their process with regard to classification and events. What we do know is that qualified athletes and teams will remain qualified, so we are awaiting the additional details we need to move forward.”

Swimming Canada supports FINA and World Para Swimming moving their respective 2021 world championships to 2022 for a variety of reasons.

“Having the two premier Games and championships staged close together in the same year would create many challenges,” Atkinson said. “From budgets to program planning, to timing, to the risks of athletes being overloaded, there are so many unknowns. As we continue to navigate the uncertainty of this current global situation, we encourage FINA and World Para Swimming to choose 2022 as the best alternative for the world championships.”

Swimming Canada has also decided not to attend the 2020 FINA World Junior Open Water Championships Aug. 21-23 in Victoria, Seychelles.

“While we understand this is another disappointing decision for our athletes, the event falls in the period when other events have been cancelled or postponed because of the world situation with swimmers unable to train due to the measures in place to fight the COVID-19 pandemic,” Atkinson said. “We hope to plan and announce new activities for those swimmers in the fall.”

El-Awadi added that he would like to thank the Government of Canada for its continued support through this challenging time.

“This is a very difficult time for all and we know the Government of Canada has thousands of decisions to make in a short period of time. While there are certainly more important things than sport, our swimmers will have a role to play when they return to inspire Canadians to embrace a lifestyle of fitness and health,” El-Awadi said. “That’s why we appreciate the support and assurances from our government that will help us continue to serve the Canadian swimming community through this difficult period and beyond.”

La planification de la haute performance se poursuit en fonction des nouvelles dates des Jeux

OTTAWA – Natation Canada se réjouit de l’annonce des nouvelles dates confirmées pour les Jeux olympiques et paralympiques de Tokyo 2020 qui se tiendront en 2021.

Compte tenu de l’annonce de la tenue des Jeux olympiques du 23 juillet au 8 aout 2021 et celle des Jeux paralympiques du 24 aout au 5 septembre, Natation Canada procède à des ajustements à ses plans de la haute performance en fonction de ces dates.

« C’est une excellente nouvelle d’avoir les dates de report des Jeux olympiques et paralympiques si rapidement », dit le directeur général de Natation Canada, Ahmed El-Awadi. « Cela aidera notre organisme à commencer les préparatifs. »

Comme les Championnats du monde de 2021 de la FINA devaient à l’origine se tenir du 16 juillet au 1er aout à Fukuoka, au Japon, l’organisme s’attend à ce que d’autres annonces soient faites pour clarifier le calendrier mondial de compétitions.

« D’autres dates devront être déterminées, mais nous savons que la FINA vient de l’apprendre elle aussi, et, comme plusieurs autres fédérations internationales, elle a besoin de temps pour travailler avec ses partenaires et ses intervenants et trouver le moment propice pour les Mondiaux », précise El-Awadi.

« C’est une excellente nouvelle », ajoute le directeur de la haute performance et entraineur national, John Atkinson. « Nous planifiions déjà le reste de la saison 2020 et la saison 2021, et nous sommes impatients de partager nos plans plus en détail au cours des prochaines semaines. »

Atkinson a encouragé tous les nageurs, les entraineurs et les membres du personnel de continuer à suivre toutes les directives gouvernementales sur la distanciation sociale et leur a demandé de s’entrainer à la maison, seul, sous la supervision de leurs entraineurs et d’autres experts qualifiés.

« Nous appuyons entièrement cette position, dit Atkinson. Ce sera éventuellement super d’avoir des plans en place sur lesquels nos athlètes et entraineurs des programmes olympique et paralympique pourront se concentrer. Avant d’être en mesure de donner les détails, nous attendons que la FINA annonce son processus révisé de qualification olympique pour les épreuves de natation en piscine et de marathon en eau libre. Nous attendons également que le Comité international paralympique et la World Para Swimming révisent le processus relatif à la classification et aux épreuves. Nous savons déjà les équipes et les athlètes qualifiés le resteront, alors nous attendons d’avoir des détails supplémentaires pour continuer notre travail. »

Natation Canada appuie la décision de la FINA et la World Para Swimming de déplacer leurs championnats du monde respectifs de 2021 à 2022 pour diverses raisons.

« La tenue si rapprochée dans la même année des deux plus grands Jeux et championnats créerait plusieurs défis, explique Atkinson. Des budgets à la planification des programmes, à la coordination jusqu’aux surcharges possibles que les athlètes risqueraient de subir, il y a plusieurs inconnus. Même si nous continuons de composer avec l’incertitude de la situation mondiale actuelle, nous encourageons la FINA et la World Para Swimming à considérer la tenue des championnats du monde en 2022 comme la meilleure solution. »

Natation Canada a également décidé de ne pas participer aux Championnats du monde juniors en eau libre 2020 de la FINA qui devaient se tenir du 21 au 23 aout à Victoria, aux Seychelles.

« Bien que nous soyons conscients qu’il s’agit d’une autre décision décevante pour nos athlètes, cet évènement se déroule à la période durant laquelle d’autres évènements ont été annulés ou reportés en raison de la situation mondiale qui empêche les athlètes de s’entrainer étant donné les mesures prises pour lutter contre la pandémie de la COVID-19, souligne Atkinson. Nous espérons planifier et annoncer de nouvelles activités pour ces nageurs à l’automne. »

Le directeur général El-Awadi a ajouté qu’il voulait remercier le gouvernement du Canada de son soutien continu durant cette période difficile.

« C’est une période très difficile pour tous, et nous savons que le gouvernement du Canada a des milliers de décisions à prendre en peu de temps. S’il y a assurément des choses plus importantes que le sport, nos nageurs auront un rôle à jouer lorsqu’ils reprendront leurs activités pour inspirer la population canadienne à adopter un style de vie sain et actif.

« C’est pourquoi nous apprécions le soutien et l’assurance de notre gouvernement qui nous aideront à continuer de servir la communauté canadienne de natation tout au long de cette période difficile et après. »

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