Swimming Canada’s CEO, Ahmed El-Awadi, has confirmed that all national events have been cancelled or postponed until at least April 20.
This includes the Olympic and Paralympic Swimming Trials. Further, the 2020 Eastern and Western Championships in Windsor, Ont., and Saskatoon will also be cancelled. The governing body has been closely monitoring the evolving global COVID-19 situation and has been consulting with team physicians and experts from partner organizations with participant and public safety deemed as a priority.
Senior staff will continue to meet regularly and explore all potential adjustments, including implementing an alternate games qualification path. The committee will review all nomination criteria and will communicate an update to these documents once available.
The Canadian Open Water Championships that was scheduled to take place between April 25 and 26 has also been cancelled due to the Government of Canada’s advisory on travel outside the country and the Cayman Islands restriction on public gatherings of more than 50 people. Those events were to serve as selection trials for Tokyo 2020 Olympic hopefuls seeking to advance to the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier scheduled to take place May 30 to 31 in Fukuoka, Japan.
The committee is assessing the feasibility of hosting the Canadian Masters Swimming Championships scheduled to take place between May 22 and 24 in Etobicoke, Ont. It has also instructed their provincial sections to cancel all sanctioned competitions until April 20.
Training and other activities may still be allowed under certain circumstances, in accordance with local health authorities’ guidelines. Clubs should take all appropriate steps to mitigate the risks associated with the spread of COVID-19.
“With 3000 to 5000 people expected to attend these events (these numbers would grossly exceed the recommendations from Ontario’s chief medical officer),” said El-Awadi. “We also recognize other provinces and cities are restricting access to pools and some athletes will not be able to train and prepare properly. As such, admission purchased through Ticketmaster will be refunded.”
