Australia cannot have representatives at the World Short Swimming Pool, which takes place in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates in December. Australian authorities have canceled the National Short Pool Championships to be held from 23 to 26 September. The platform was suspended due to restrictions imposed in the country due to the pandemic.
The Australian Swimming Federation’s rationale is that there is no guarantee that athletes will be able to compete in the World Cup, as Australia has strict rules about traveling outside the country. Therefore, the organization decided not to send an official team from the country.
– It’s an unfortunate situation and a decision we didn’t take easily, but we needed to provide some kind of certainty to our swimming community and with the borders being so volatile and regular lockdowns, it seemed like the right decision. Had been. – Federation CEO Alex Baumann said
The CEO also recalled that due to the country’s quarantine requirements, athletes will have to miss the holiday season with their families if they go to the World Cup.
– With limited opportunities to return to Australia, post-competition quarantine requirements will include the Christmas and New Years period and many of our athletes have spent periods of just 10 weeks away from home. We felt it was not possible to send a team to the event.
If they are allowed to leave the country, and still want to participate in the World Cup, swimmers can go freely. The ranking process will be based on the indices entered by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) in any international competition or the Australian Swimming Federation between March 1, 2019 and November 28, 2021. A maximum of 20 Australian athletes can enter through this process.
The federation made itself available for athletes who want to go to the World Cup to help with accommodation and travel. The Abu Dhabi Short Pool World Championships is scheduled to take place from 16 to 21 December this year.
