“With 3,000 to 5,000 people expected to attend daily, our Olympic and
Paralympic Trials would grossly exceed the recommendations from Ontario’s chief
medical officer. We also recognize that other provinces and cities are
restricting access to pools and some athletes will not be able to train and
prepare properly,” El-Awadi said. “For these reasons, among others, the Trials
will not run as scheduled from March 30 to April 5 in Toronto, and all Trials
tickets purchased through Ticketmaster will be refunded.”
The 2020 Eastern and Western Championships in Windsor, Ont., and Saskatoon
April 16-19 will also be cancelled.
Swimming Canada has been closely monitoring the evolving global COVID-19 situation,
consulting with team physicians and experts from partner organizations with
participant and public safety as the foremost concern.
Senior staff will continue to meet regularly and explore all potential
adjustments, including postponing the Trials or cancelling the event and
implementing an alternate Games qualification path. Swimming Canada will review
all nomination/selection criteria and will communicate an update to these
documents once available.
On or before April 21, the organization will make additional decisions
regarding the status of Trials and remaining national events for 2020,
including the Open Water Championships scheduled for April 25-26 on Grand
Cayman.
Swimming Canada has also instructed its provincial sections to cancel all sanctioned
competitions from March 16 to April 20. Training and other activities may still
be allowed under certain circumstances, in line with the guidelines of local
health authorities. Clubs should take all appropriate steps to mitigate the
risks associated with the spread of COVID-19.
“The Olympic and Paralympic Trials are our flagship national event of the
four-year Games cycle. We recognize that this is a tremendously disappointing
decision for swimmers and coaches who have been training and preparing for
months and years to be at their best for these trials,” said Swimming Canada
High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson. “While it was a
difficult decision, we have no doubt it is the correct one for the safety of
our swimming community and the public at large. We thank our swimmers and
coaches for their professionalism and adaptability, and will communicate more
details as soon as possible.”
“As an athlete and as president, I understand that this is a difficult
situation for everyone affected,” added Olympic medallist Cheryl Gibson,
Swimming Canada’s president. “Swimming Canada is committed to ensuring we make
every possible effort to prepare the athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and
Paralympic Games. That said, the safety of our participants is always our
foremost concern, and we must make this difficult decision in the interest of
safety.”