Germany Postpones Olympic Swimming Trials & National Championships Until At Least End May In Coronavirus Lockdown

florian-wellbrock-1500-final-2019-world-championships-5

Germany Postpones Olympic Swimming Trials and All Aquatics Events Suspended As Calendar Turns To Dust

Germany’s swimming federation (DSV) has called off the national swimming championships and Olympic selection trials, scheduled for April 30 to May 3 in Berlin, in response to in response to coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown measures coming into force across the nation and Europe in general.

The German summer championships scheduled for the end of May are also affected: a day after Britain cancelled its Olympic trials, Germany suspended all aquatics events until May 31 “to preserve the “health and safety of … athletes, members, staff and volunteers” and with a vie to giving “all parties involved the greatest possible planning security and to reduce economic and health risks to a minimum”.

Some swimmers, such as Florian Wellbrock, the reigning World champion over 1500m freestyle in the pool and the open-water 10km (marathon), have already qualified for Tokyo 2020, regardless of when or whether the Olympic Games remains on the calendar.

DSV Forms Coronavirus Task Force

The DSV also announced that it has established a task force that will hold regular talks “with external experts, authorities and the international umbrella organizations in order to be able to make appropriate recommendations for the current situation.“

The measures by the DSV including calling all Germans abroad back home and the cancellation of all training camps and course. A statement set out the first active measure of the organisation as this:

“As a first active measure, all German squad athletes and coaches have been ordered to return home from any trips or camps abroad. National and international training camp measures, courses and travel to competitions will also be suspended until further notice. Exceptions are currently being individually examined and require the approval of the director of competitive sports.”

The statement from the DSV (which has been providing regular updates for its membership of late) in full:

DSV takes further overriding measures in the fight against the coronavirus crisis – all events suspended until May 31

The current course of the coronavirus pandemic brings massive restrictions for public life and, of course, for all of sports in Germany. To protect the health of the population, public facilities such as swimming pools have largely been closed and associations have largely ceased their training activities. The DSV will continue to take appropriate steps and ensure that every decision it makes is geared to the health and safety of its athletes, members, staff and volunteers. For this reason, we have decided to take further overarching measures and, among other things, we will not hold and DSV events (championships, competitions) until May 31, 2020.

The organization of DSV events involves considerable expenditure of time, liabilities and investments, all currently facing unpredictability because of the effects of the coronavirus crisis. In order to give all parties involved the greatest possible planning security and to reduce economic and health risks to a minimum, the DSV has decided to take the following steps.

The following events are affected by this measure:

• Youth Diving Meeting (April 20-26)
• Int. German Swimming Championships (April 30th – May 3rd)
• German age group championships synchronized swimming (May 8-10)
• German youth championships in diving (May 13-17)
• German Swimming Championships (May 26-30)

Together with its partners, the DSV will try to find an alternative date for these events. At this point in time, due to the rapidly changing developments, no suggested dates can be made yet. As soon as an implementation can be classified as harmless, the situation is reassessed.

DSV forms task force

The DSV has set up a task force to deal regularly with the challenges posed by the coronavirus. To this end, we are holding discussions with external experts, authorities and the international umbrella organizations in order to be able to make appropriate recommendations for the current situation. The Task Force will be comprised of representatives of the DSV board as well as chairman Uwe Brinkmann and competitive sports director Thomas Kurschilgen, several national Olympic sports coaches, Prof. Dr. Alexander Beck as the representative of the medical management, and the agency Rough Water & GmbH, communications consultant.

As a first active measure, all German squad athletes and coaches have been ordered to return home from any trips or camps abroad. National and international training camp measures, courses and travel to competitions will also be suspended until further notice. Exceptions are currently being individually examined and require the approval of the director of competitive sports.

The DSV is in contact with the FINA and the DOSB regarding the qualifications for the Olympic Games. Alternative approaches such as the necessary adjustment of the national nomination criteria (standard requirements, nomination periods, etc.) are currently being examined and announced at short notice.

“The current situation is an unprecedented and unprecedented challenge for all of sports in Germany. With these decisions, the DSV not only wants to protect the health of its members and all those involved, but also to be a trustworthy partner, take responsibility and make its social contribution to successfully coping with the corona virus crisis. I am confident that with mutual consideration and mutual understanding we will pass this great test, ”explains competitive sports director Thomas Kurschilgen.

The DSV will immediately inform you about further developments and new findings.

Extraordinary Events In Swimming History:

Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Italy, France, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil and Japan have all had major meets affected by the coronavirus pandemic, while in the United States, the NCAA Championships have been cancelled and USA Swimming has imposed a 30-day suspension on all events, while Canada is considering what to do about its Olympic trials early next month. In Italy, where swimmers are struggling to maintain normal routines, can’t get to practice and in some cases find pool time, a #stopolympics campaign was launched by the Nuoto website calling on solidarity among swimming nations to recognise that Olympic preparations have been blown off course and that it would be in the interests of fairness to postpone the Games for a time of calm beyond the coronavirus crisis.

Our coverage:

Guidance on Water and Coronavirus

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use