Earlier this week we reported that Queensland, Australia’s State Teams Championships originally scheduled for this summer have been cancelled ‘due to the current COVID-19 landscape that we find ourselves in,’ according to Swimming Queensland.
On that decision’s heels is another cancellation of a larger scale, as Swimming Australia has canceled the 2020 State Teams Championships event as well.
Slated for September 30th to October 2nd at the Australia Institute of Sport Aquatic Centre (AIS), the annual event typically hosts 40 swimmers from each state representing two age groups (14/15 years and 15/17 years for males and 13/14 and 15/16 for females, with no more than 10 males and 10 females in each group. Queensland has won every edition of the ST=tate Championships since 2009.
Regarding its decision to cancel, Swimming Australia stated, “Due to the current COVID-19 landscape and the existing restraints still in place regarding the gathering of large numbers of people Swimming Australia, in consultation with all of our Member Organisations, have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 State Teams Championships competition scheduled for October.
“We are advanced in our planning and are aiming to replicate, where possible, the 2020 event calendar but there are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration including venues, travel and COVID-19 restrictions.
“We acknowledge that the confirmation of dates and venues is critical to the planning for athletes, parents and clubs and we are aiming to communicate a confirmed calendar with you as soon as possible.
The health and safety of the swimming community is the priority throughout our planning process and we look forward to seeing you all back on the pool deck soon,” reads Swimming Australia’s statement on the development of what the remaining 2020 calendar year of competition may look like, into the revised Olympic year of 2021.
On May 20th we published a state-by-state reopening guide for the nation of Australia, but let’s revisit how the statuses have evolved now one month later.
- Previously: As of May 19th, the New South Wales’ Minister for Health and Medical Research has enabled indoor swimming pools with a length of 25m or more to resume limited operations.
- Update: As of July 1st, sporting competitions, full training and contact activities can recommence for both junior and adult sport.
- Previously: As of June 12th, up to 20 people can be in the pool at one time, with the same 1.5m social distancing parameters.
- Update: As of July 10th, up to 100 people can be in the pool at tone time, still with 1.5m in between participants.
- Additionally, Swimming Queensland is the only state to have published a more detailed outline of competitive events for the remainder of the season. The following events appear as tentatively scheduled:
- SQ SC Preparation Meet 29-30 August, 2020
- Queensland SC Championships 25-27 September, 2020
- LC Prep Meet #1, 10-11 October, 2020
- Queensland Open Water Championships, 17 October, 2020
- Medal Shots LC Prep Meet #2, 14-15 November, 2020
- Queensland Championships, 12-18 December, 2020
- Previously: According to the official South Australia Recovery Plan, public swimming pools have been reopened as of May 11th. Facilities must ensure there are no more than 10 swimmers per pool, acknowledging facilities may have more than one pool and limit the number of people in each separate pool to 1 person per 4 square metres (density requirement).
- Update: As of June 29th, all non-contact outdoor and indoor sport (training and competition) can resume.
- Previously: As of June 15th, indoor and outdoor pools may operate for up to 20 people per pool. This may include lane swimming and/or pool-based exercise, ensuring social distancing requirements are met.
- Update: As of June 26th, full contact training, full competition sport (contact and non-contact) is now permitted.
- Previously: As of May 31st, indoor and outdoor swimming pools can have a maximum of 20 patrons. There is no limit on the number of people per lane in each pool. Organised non-contact competitions are allowed for all age groups if participants can keep 1.5 metres between them and there are no more than 20 participants in the competition.
- Update: No updates at this time.
- Previously: As of May 18th, public pools (indoor and outdoor) are permitted to open under strict rules and contains 20 patrons per pool. The guidelines can be found here.
- Update: As of June 27th, Western Australia’s COVID-19 restrictions will be relaxed even further, as WA’s roadmap is updated to complete the removal of all restrictions.
