Germany Announces Cancellation Of Remaining 2020 Meets | SwimSwam

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

In October the German Swimming Federation (DSV) announced the cancellation of the 2020 German Swimming Championships, a meet already postponed from April due to the coronavirus.

Less than a month later, more bad swimming news is coming from the nation’s aquatic governing body, as the DSV has cancelled the remaining meets of the year, including the German Youth Championships. That meet was on the books for December 14th-19th in Dortmund but, after discussions between the DSV and meet organizers, they have officially been cancelled.

The German Diving Championships in Aachen slated for mid-December have also been cancelled.

Additionally, the DSV says that ‘a virtual class championships in December also can no longer be implemented due to the decision of the federal government and the states.’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a partial national lockdown effective November 1 in the nation, with restrictions in place such as the following:

• Restaurants and bars will close, except for take-away
• Overnight stays in hotels for tourist purposes is banned
• Meetings in public will be restricted to just two households of up to 10 people total.
• Entertainment facilities such as theaters and cinemas will be closed
• Public recreation centers such as swimming pools, gyms and saunas will be closed
• No crowds at sports events

Of the latest response to these closures, DSV competitive sports director Thomas Kurschilgen said, “We have to behave appropriately and proportionately as part of society in this difficult time, but not be discouraged.”

“At the same time, it is important to mobilize all forces in the sports clubs, the confederations and associations to help maintain the diversity of our sport. This applies to competitive sports as well as to club sports. That requires discipline, cohesion and the greatest possible flexibility from all of us in order to meet these challenges.”

The DSV says, although they are waiting for final statements from politicians, they believe that professional and elite sport training will be able to continue under current coronavirus-related restrictions.

At the time of publishing, Germany has had an estimated 552,000 coronavirus cases reported (.67% of the population), resulting in 10,500 deaths.

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