In light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, British Swimming can today (Tuesday 17th March) provide the following update on our upcoming events.
FINA Diving World Series - London (27-29 March)
Following dialogue with the FINA COVID-19 taskforce, the FINA Diving World Series finale, which was scheduled to take place at the London Aquatics Centre between 27th-29th March, has been postponed.
Given the latest government advice, with athlete, spectator, staff and volunteer wellbeing as the priority, and with an escalating number of international athletes and teams unable to travel, it has been decided that the event cannot take place at this current time.
British Swimming will be contacting ticket holders in due course to arrange for a transfer of tickets if and when a new date is agreed with FINA, or a refund. We understand that this will cause inconvenience and cost to fans planning to attend the FINA Diving World Series in London this month, and for this we can only apologise. We will be working with ticket holders to support them wherever possible.
British Elite Junior Diving Championships (6-9 April)
The decision has been made to postpone the British Elite Junior Diving Championships, which were due to take place in Plymouth between 6th-9th April. It is the intention of British Diving to reschedule the competition for later in the year, and athletes and ticket holders will be updated in due course. The selection policy for the European Junior Championships will be reviewed in relation to this postponement.
British Swimming Championships (14-19 April) and British Para-Swimming International Meet (9-12 April)
After the latest announcement from the UK government, which advises against non-essential contact and mass gatherings of people, British Swimming can confirm that the British Swimming Championships and the British Para-Swimming International Meet (BPSIM) have been cancelled.
Both events were due to take place next month, at the London Aquatics Centre and Sheffield's Ponds Forge respectively. Refunds will be available, with ticket holders contacted in due course.
The British Swimming Championships were set to double as the Olympic trials. In light of that, the following selection policies are under review by British Swimming's World Class Performance Leadership Group, as per General Conditions G15 and G14.
- 2020 Olympic Games Selection Policy
- 2020 Olympic Games Marathon Swimming Selection Policy
- 2020 European Championships (Pool) Selection Policy
- 2020 European Junior Championships Selection Policy
- 2020 FINA World Junior Open Water Championship Selection Policy
BPSIM, meanwhile, was also a World Para Swimming World Series competition and acted as the British Paralympic trial event. The relevant Paralympic selection policies are now also under review.
Further details over updates to the selection policies and the ongoing situation moving forward will be provided as soon as possible.
British Summer Championships (21-26 July)
After consultation with our Home Nation partners, we have decided to suspend the published Qualifying Window dates and process with immediate effect. Once we have had an opportunity to assess the viability of the summer competitions and the feasibility of staging such events, we will advise the wider swimming community of the updated invite process for these Championships.
Each of these decisions was made in close consultation with the Home Nations, venue providers and other partners. We acknowledge that this is an ever-changing situation, and we will continue to follow the advice of the government and public health bodies, to ensure the best scenario for everybody involved.
We at British Swimming, along with all sports organisations, are hugely saddened by the current situation. We know how hard all of our athletes, coaches and volunteers work to keep sport going, but at the same time are very aware that the current situation transcends sport. We are all responsible for public health and we shall do everything we can to support this both during the current pandemic and on a daily basis.
If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact: bscommunications@swimming.org