The American stop of the 2021 World Para Swimming World Series has been moved from Indianapolis, Indiana to Lewisville, Texas amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The meet was originally announced for the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis.
This will be the first time that the global series for the world’s top para-swimmers will be held at the Lewisville ISD Westside Aquatic Centre, which among other major hosting duties was home to a stop of the inaugural season of the International Swimming League in 2019.
The Lewisville meet will run from April 15-17, 2021.
5 confirmed stops of the 2021 World Para Swimming World Series so far:
- April 8-11, 2021 – Sheffield, England @ Ponds Forge
- April 14-17, 2021 – Lewisville, Texas @ LISD Westside Aquatic Center
- Dates TBD, 2021 – Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy @ Bella Italia Village sports complex
- Dates TBD, 2021 – Australia @ Site To Be Determined
- June 17-20, 2021 – Berlin, Germany @ Schwimm und Sprunghalle, Europasportspark
The Para Swimming World Series was launched in 2017 to give the world’s best para-swimmers more elite racing opportunities geared specifically for them, in addition to more international classification opportunities. Three prior-season stops in the series have been hosted at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, which is the United States’ largest permanent indoor natatorium. Lewisville’s Westside Aquatics Center can hold about 1,200 spectators, as compared to the 4,700 at the IU Natatorium.
Indiana currently limits social gatherings to 25 percent of a facility’s cpaacity in counties labeled as “red” or “orange,” with the highest current infection rates for COVID-19 In Texas, most businesses in areas with large numbers of hospitalizations must limit occupancy to 50 percent capacity, while in areas with low numbers of cases they can operate at 75 percent capacity.
With global travel restrictions still in place, especially for swimmers in para-swimming power nation Australia, these meets will have more of a national or regional feel than their normal international spread. With 3 meets in Europe, 1 in the United States, and 1 in Australia, swimmers from the continents of Asian, South America, and Africa will face bigger challenges in participation.
Last year, Singapore was scheduled to host a stop of the series, though that was ultimately canceled because of the oncoming coronavirus pandemic.
The postponed Tokyo 2020 Paralympics are schedule from August 24 – September 5, 2021, with the swimming competition scheduled from August 25 through September 3.
All athletes’ results at each World Series edition are calculated using a standardised World Para Swimming points system via an online virtual competition platform.
This ensures that the overall World Para Swimming World Series winner will be the best performing athlete over the duration of the series, meaning that every performance counts.
After each event, the World Series rankings will be updated on the World Para Swimming Website.
If it goes ahead, watch for the new (old) Aussie cheaters heading over for classification in Texas.