After first seeing a change in venue, then a change in long course-to-short course format, the 2023 Swim Wales National Championships have now officially been postponed.
Originally slated to be held Thursday, April 13th through Sunday, April 17th, the championships are postponed indefinitely ‘due to extraordinary circumstances that are beyond control.’
Here is the timeline of changes for this domestic meet, which serves as a key qualifier for the British Swimming Summer Championships, as well as the Commonwealth Youth Games.
- April 4th, Change of Venue: The Championships were initially set to be held at Wales National Pool in Swansea but, on April 4th, it was announced that the meet would move to Cardiff International Pool. This was due to the fact that the moveable ‘boom and floor’ at Swansea which can be raised to split the 50m pool into two sections suffered a mechanical fault which caused it to remain in the raised position.
- April 12th, Change of Format: Originally to be held as a Level 1 Long Course Meet, organizers revealed that the format would change to short course meters. After the faulty floor in Swansea, ironically, Cardiff International Pool also saw a mechanical fault in its apparatus which also caused its system to remain in the raised position.
- April 13th, Competition Postponed: As of April 13th, Swim Wales announced it had ‘no choice’ but to postpone the meet. The organization’s statement read, “We were assured we could still run the meet over 25m and acted swiftly to ensure we could deliver a high quality event. This morning we were informed that the floor was not level which contravenes World Aquatics rules and poses a significant safety risk. The safety of our participants is of paramount importance to us and we have had no choice but to postpone.”
Swim Wales apologizes ‘for the significant disruption caused’ and says they ‘are deeply disappointed with the outcome and will be working with our facility partners to ensure a situation like this never happens again.’
As of now, the process of exploring alternative opportunities for swimmers has begun, recognizing such opportunities must fall within the qualification window for the British Swimming Summer Championships as well as the Swim Wales Summer Open.
‘We cannot stress how disappointed we are for all those affected, and we would like to thank you all for your understanding during what has been a difficult period.’