{"id":422255,"date":"2020-03-12T23:25:29","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T06:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=422255"},"modified":"2024-10-28T12:00:41","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T19:00:41","slug":"breaking-australia-cancels-australian-championships-and-age-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/breaking-australia-cancels-australian-championships-and-age-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Swimming Australia Cancels Australian Championships And Age Nationals to Combat Coronavirus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Swimming Australia<\/strong> has just advised that due to the outbreak of coronavirus COVID-19 and government advice recommending restricting gatherings of more than 500 people, its upcoming Hancock Prospecting Australian Age Swimming Championships and Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Championships in Perth later next month have been cancelled.<\/p>\n

Swimming Australia CEO Leigh Russell<\/strong> said the decision was based on the health and safety of the swimming community and their wider families.<\/p>\n

The Australian Age Championships had been set down for April 7-14<\/strong> and the Australian Championships from April 17-21<\/strong> at the HBF Stadium in Mount Claremont.<\/p>\n

A Swimming Australia statement noted:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that there will be significant disappointment for our swimmers who have put in so much time and effort to be in peak condition for this event, but these are unprecedented times and the welfare and safety of our athletes, coaches, staff, technical officials, members and their families is paramount and at the centre of our decision-making.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a constantly evolving situation and we are already seeing substantial and widespread event cancellations and postponements worldwide.<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate that there are families that have made or are needing to make travel arrangements to head to Perth, so we wanted to give them as much time as possible to amend these plans if possible and provide certainty.<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cKeeping with current government advice, there are no plans to change State or local events of less than 500 people that are currently happening, but these events will be carefully reviewed daily by State organisations.”<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Russell said consideration was given to holding the events without spectators:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our decision to cancel these events, we also considered holding these events without spectators.\u00a0Given that these events are to be held in Perth, and Age Championships has large numbers of children that need to travel with their families to the event, we don\u2019t believe holding the events without spectators would achieve the main goal of avoiding the transmission of the virus.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are making the call on our future given we do not know what the situation may be in two or three weeks\u2019 time but need to prepare for it to worsen.”<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Russell said Swimming Australia also reviewed the need for international and domestic travel for staff, coaches and athletes in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are an incredibly mobile group both nationally and internationally which puts us in many situations where we could be exposed to the virus.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to take advice from the relevant authorities and follow government recommendations but have taken a conservative approach given our work with high performance athletes preparing for the Olympics and Paralympics and cancelled all non-essential travel for the next two weeks.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an extremely important year for our elite athletes and coaches and our priority is to have them fit and healthy for selection.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Russell added preparation for the Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Trials in June continues<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in constant contact with the AOC and Paralympics Australia regarding Tokyo 2020 and will continue to follow the advice of them and the IOC and the IPC.\u00a0Our athletes will continue to train and prepare for Olympic and Paralympic trials in June, while following the guidance provided by the AIS around reducing their risk of exposure.\u00a0We will continue to monitor the situation closely in conjunction with our own medical staff and the appropriate organisations and update as necessary.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThese are unique and challenging times for our community, and we will continue to adapt as appropriate with the health and safety of our people at the forefront of every decision.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Swimming Australia also noted: <\/em>“Refunds on entry fees and club staff packs already submitted will be returned to participants in the next two weeks.\u00a0<\/em>For those people who have already purchased tickets to the events, they will receive a refund from Ticketmaster.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The Australian cancellations were among many in the past 24-36 hours in the world of swimming, the Spanish nationals and Olympic trials called off, the Danish Open and Olympic Trials, the Swim Open, Stockholm, the French Junior nationals all cancelled, as were the NCAA Championships; a 30-day suspension of events by USA Swimming; a Norwegian lockdown that cancelled sport; FINA postponements; Canada considering what to do about its Olympic trials; and cancellations and a plea from Italy to halt the Olympic Games to avoid Tokyo 2020 going ahead in July when many of the world\u2019s best swimmers may no longer be in the kind of shape they would have been but for the pandemic and its knock-on effects.<\/p>\n

An Extraordinary Day In Swimming History:<\/h2>\n