British Swimming can provide this latest update on the make-up of the upcoming British Swimming Championships after the culmination of the entry process.
Following a review of total entries and session capacity limits, the British Swimming Event Planning Group has unfortunately had to restrict entry numbers to some events for the British Swimming Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield, scheduled for 5-10 April.
In accordance with the pre-published event conditions, relevant operational limitations relate to maximum pool capacities, the total number of athletes in each of the three sessions per day and the number of heats that can be accommodated per event.
As per the event conditions, those athletes whose entries are unable to have been accepted will have their entry fees refunded in full. We are also sensitive to the fact that there may be some people who have booked accommodation and done further planning in advance of the Championships, and we were therefore keen to communicate this update as soon as we could to avoid as much inconvenience as possible.
A full draft programme for the British Swimming Championships will be published later today and we would kindly ask all those who have entered to check the listings for each event. The draft programme will be available at this link.
Adam Clarke, British Swimming’s Associate Performance Director for Strategy and Operations, said: “The prospect of a return to relative normality at the British Championships, with an increased event programme and spectators cheering on from the stands, is hugely exciting for everyone involved. While we never want to be in the position of not being able to accept entries from dedicated swimmers who have trained hard and shown dedication to achieve entry standards, we do, however, have to operate within the restrictions of our partner’s operating procedures. Our priority will always be the safety and wellbeing of all involved.
“Throughout the planning process, we have done everything we can to accommodate as many swimmers as possible, including hosting two heats sessions each day and introducing an increased ‘four-final’ format in the evenings to give greater exposure to more swimmers. We wholeheartedly apologise to those swimmers that have met the standard but are unfortunately not able to swim on this occasion.
“With around 1,500 athletes accepted into the meet and a total of nearly 4,000 scheduled swims across the six days of competition, this will be a British Swimming Championships of significant scale, with more than double the number of swimmers involved than at the previous British Championships in Glasgow in 2019. As we prepare for such a large meet, we thank all volunteers, officials and staff who we know will play such a key role in this event’s success.”
The British Swimming Championships will be used as a key selection meet for numerous senior and junior national teams for 2022.
We are pleased to confirm that spectators will be able to attend this year’s event. An update on spectator and ticket information will be communicated in the coming days.