Multiple junior Olympic championships and like meets have been canceled due as a result of Coronavirus-related precautions. Stock photo via Alex Miller
Pacific Swimming, Potomac Valley Swimming and the New England Region YMCA are among the authorities to cancel age group championship meets Tuesday due to coronavirus-related closures and mandates.
Pacific Swimming Junior Olympics
Pacific Swimming canceled its upcoming Junior Olympic Championships at the Santa Clara Swim Club after Santa Clara County issued a mandate barring gatherings of 1,000 or more people Monday night.
Potomac Valley Swimming Junior Olympics
Potomac Valley Swimming announced Tuesday it would cancel its upcoming JO meet Mafter the host, the University of Maryland, canceled all campus events through April 5.
“It is too early to know if the meet can be rescheduled at a later date,” PVS chair Tim Husson wrote in the announcement.
New England Swimming YMCA Championships
The 2020 New England YMCA Swimming Championship was also canceled as of Tuesday due to host school MIT’s ban on events bringing more than 150 people to campus.
“We asked for an exemption for our event, but the University said they are remaining firm on the policy,” the New England announcement said.
Southern California Swimming Junior Olympics Back On
Initially forced to cancel after the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center closed their doors, Southern California Swimming has found a new host for their Junior Olympics in Mission Viejo. Most pools in Southern California are outdoors, including the Marguerite Aquatic Center, which in theory should reduce the rate of spread of the virus. Read more here.
Ohio Swimming Junior Olympics Postponed
Ohio Swimming posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday that the Ohio Junior Olympics are being postponed, but that the LSC is “actively working on an alternative meet option in the future.” The meet was scheduled from March 13th-15th at Ohio State University. This follows several other adjustments to events in Ohio, including closing the MAC basketball championships to spectators and limiting spectators at Ohio High School sporting events.
Michigan’s 13 & over state championship was canceled Wednesday after host Eastern Michigan suspended all on-campus events through the end of March.
“This was an extremely difficult decision, but it is one that Michigan Swimming believes is in the best interest of our broader swimming family,” Joe Gazzarato, chairman of the board of directors of Michigan Swimming, wrote in an email.
Connecticut Swimming Short Course Age Group Championships
Connecticut Swimming and Chelsea Piers announced in an email that they made the decision to cancel the 2020 Connecticut Swimming Short Course Age Group Championships based on recommendations put forth by the CDC and WHO. The event was expected to draw “1,200 athletes, coaches, spectators and additional volunteers from across Connecticut,” according to the email announcement.
Indiana Spring Senior and Age Group Championships
Indiana Swimming announced Wednesday that its upcoming spring senior and age group championship meets are canceled. The announcement suggested that teams hold sanctions time trials or attend closed invites instead.
“After considering the growing concerns of the coronavirus (COVID-19) we are strongly committed to the health and safety of our athletes, coaches and families and wanted to let you know that it was an extremely difficult decision,” LSC general chair Tom Johnson and executive director Tony Young wrote.
Ohio Swimming Junior Olympics
The Ohio Swimming board of directors announced it is canceling the short course junior Olympic meet scheduled for March 13-15.
“This decision was not made by any one person. It was a decision by our Board of Directors after careful consideration of information from the Governor, the Ohio Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and The Ohio State University,” the board of directors wrote. “Part of our decision-making took into account the density of the space and our inability to ensure attendees and swimmers had ample space to spread out. For instance, the entire area can hold 2,500 people, and we were expecting about 2,000. Compared to the OHSAA events, the Schottenstein Center holds thousands but will only be admitting hundreds per game.”
Illinois Swimming Age Group Championships
The Illinois Swimming Age Group Championships were canceled by the host facility, the LSC announced Wednesday. The meet could be moved to an alternative site.
“We have been informed by the Elkhart Aquatic Center that the facility has been shut down under directive of Elkhart Hospital who owns the facility,” the LSC said. “We are working hard to find an alternative site for the meet.”hi[
Lousiana 14 & Under State Championship
The Louisiana 14 & Under State Championship was canceled Wednesday following the LSU Athletic Department’s decision to bar external contracted events from taking place within their campus facilities.
“The LA Swimming Board of Directors and local swim club coaches are actively pursuing other swim options for these athletes,” the announcement said.
SwimSwam will continue to update this article with announced meet cancelations.
25
Leave a Reply
Subscribe
25 Comments
newest
oldestmost voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
NENETTE Abinuman
4 years ago
Do we get charged for the canceled events?
Anonymous
4 years ago
RMSC is adding 14U March Splash Meet to replace PVS JOs. We shall see if it sticks.
swimmer
4 years ago
swimmers have the right to be upset about this. meets they have been working hard for and tapering down for are being taken away from them. while the virus is very serious there is no need to put down the swimmers who are simply upset.
Swammer
4 years ago
Adirondack swimming is canceled. PVS meet is back on at the ST. James.
Reality
4 years ago
To the people here that think this is “hysteria” or that this is all hype created by the media. Go look at the direct personal accounts of what is happening in places like Italy. Hosting these meets or any public gatherings is WILDLY irresponsible and dangerous to our communities. The United States will be in the same if not a worse position as Italy by the end of the month. Please please please heed the warnings of the medical community and the accounts of the international community that are dealing with this. It will affect our country and public gatherings like this are only going to make the spread worse.
Colin
4 years ago
The majority of the reason why is because colleges are shutting down so they are no longer able to host the meet.
Corn Pop
4 years ago
It is estimated to be based on the exponential of 22 deaths from 1000 -19,000 ppl in & around Washington state with Covid 19. WA needs to be in lockdown . Olympics are not happening, we could be battling to save our countries not our sporting events.
MDswim MOM
4 years ago
MD LSC cancelled junior championships due to being held at college campuses.
Torrey is from Oakland, CA, and majored in media studies and American studies at Claremont McKenna College, where she swam distance freestyle for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps team. Outside of SwimSwam, she has bylines at Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, SB Nation, and The Student Life newspaper.
Do we get charged for the canceled events?
RMSC is adding 14U March Splash Meet to replace PVS JOs. We shall see if it sticks.
swimmers have the right to be upset about this. meets they have been working hard for and tapering down for are being taken away from them. while the virus is very serious there is no need to put down the swimmers who are simply upset.
Adirondack swimming is canceled. PVS meet is back on at the ST. James.
To the people here that think this is “hysteria” or that this is all hype created by the media. Go look at the direct personal accounts of what is happening in places like Italy. Hosting these meets or any public gatherings is WILDLY irresponsible and dangerous to our communities. The United States will be in the same if not a worse position as Italy by the end of the month. Please please please heed the warnings of the medical community and the accounts of the international community that are dealing with this. It will affect our country and public gatherings like this are only going to make the spread worse.
The majority of the reason why is because colleges are shutting down so they are no longer able to host the meet.
It is estimated to be based on the exponential of 22 deaths from 1000 -19,000 ppl in & around Washington state with Covid 19. WA needs to be in lockdown . Olympics are not happening, we could be battling to save our countries not our sporting events.
MD LSC cancelled junior championships due to being held at college campuses.