The Latest COVID-19 Directives From Denmark, Norway & Belgium

You can view all of the Olympic-qualifying meet changes, postponements and cancellations here.

We’re tracking all of the additional changes announced by swimming federations as decisions unfold concerning the coronavirus (COVID-19). Here is a round-up including Denmark, Norway, and Belgium.

Denmark

• The 2020 Danish Open, which served as the nation’s premier Olympic-qualification meet, was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), as we reported on March 12th.
• Since then, the Danish Swimming Union has published several announcements concerning events, meetings and other items of note. For instance, the Union’s Board of Directors has decided to postpone its Annual General Meeting originally scheduled for Saturday, April 25th to a new date of Saturday, June 6th.
• For the 2020 Olympic Games, the Union says it is awaiting feedback from FINA and the Danish Olympic Committee (DIF) on the possibility of adjusting the announced nomination criteria.
• Additionally, the LEN will be meeting this weekend concerning the 2020 European Championships. Against that background, the Union has chosen to wait for those decisions before announcing anything relating to how the Danish European team will be selected.
• The original Danish Olympic selection criteria can be found here.

Norway

• The Norwegian Olympic Committee (NIF) and Norwegian Sports Federation have jointly requested that all sports, training, and competitions cease with immediate effect (March 17th).
• “Unfortunately, this decision has major consequences for the sporting activity in our 11,000 sports teams across the country,” reads the statement on the NIF site. “But we are ready to take the guidelines coming from the Norwegian health authorities in most seriously and we had to take the measures that are necessary  to prevent the spread of infection in the community.”
• The Norwegian Board of Health’s decision to ban/close sports events and organized sports activities both indoors and outdoors is based on the Norwegian Anti-Infection Act. Violations of the decision could be prosecuted.
• There is word that the Oslo Olympic Training Centre is opening for 25 athletes defined by sports federations as medal candidates. We are verifying this.