Swim England London cancels events due to coronavirus outbreak!

Following the Government’s most recent announcement to implement increased social distancing, avoid crowds gathering and carrying out any unnecessary travel, Swim England London has taken the decision to cancel all competition events due to be held between now and the end of May.

Swim England London will refund Clubs for any entry fees already paid for any events falling between now and the end of May. We will look at the potential for rescheduling events later in the year if this becomes a viable solution.

Alex Harrison, Chair of Swim England London, said “The Board have taken the decision to cancel all competition events until the end of May following the latest advice from the Government and Swim England. We have the health and wellbeing of our members and Clubs at the heart of this decision, and whilst we regret that this decision has had to be made, we feel this is the best course of action for all of our members.

“We understand athletes and coaches will be disappointed that they cannot compete at Regional Championships during this period, but the safety of our community is of the utmost importance to us in these unprecedented times.

“We strongly suggest clubs review their own event calendars to follow government advice on large gatherings. Following guidance from PWTAG, we understand that the virus is inactivated by the chlorine levels in swimming pools and so we do not see any reason why clubs cannot continue with their own training programmes, in consultation with their pool operators, but we follow Swim England’s recommendation that training camps with members from different clubs should not take place.”

Sport England have published an article on their plans to support the sector during this period of uncertainty, and Swim England’s Club Development team will be working with clubs within the Region to establish what support may be required during this time.

We will continue to follow guidance and advice from the UK Government and update regularly.

In the meantime, Clubs can direct any enquiries to london@swimming.org.