The Nashville Swim League, one of the most prominent summer league swimming programs in the United States, has announced the cancellation of its 2020 summer season, including the 2020 City Meet.
The league is one of several large leagues around the country to have cancelled in recent weeks. In addition to leagues in Houston and the Northern Virginia Swim League, which we’ve previously reported on, those cancellations also include the Jefferson Swim League in Virginia; the Mid-Penn Capital League in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and the Gwinnett County Swim League in suburban Atlanta.
While the Nashville Swim League is not as big as, say, the monstrous NWAL and NVSL leagues, it is significant for its prominence. Among those who raced last summer at its championship meet were US National Team member Alex Walsh, US Junior National Team member Gretchen Walsh, and Tennessee high school state champion in the 100 free Kallie Chelsvig.
“It was a difficult decision, but ultimately the safety of our swimmers and families is our priority. We spent considerable time researching the current COVID-19 guidance provided by local, state and CDC officials, as well as factored in our local club teams’ plans and USA Swimming suggested best practices,” said league president Amy Caulkins, who has both swum and coached in the league for more than 40 years.
If the name “Caulkins” and “Nashville” sounds familiar, that’s because Amy is the older sister of Tracy Caulkins, one of the best American swimmers in history who is still the only person to have held American Records in all four strokes of competitive swimming.
“We are taking a pause in 2020,” Amy Caulkins continued. “The mission of the NSL is to foster, promote and sponsor summer age group swimming in Middle Tennessee, and we will be back. While we won’t have a formal league season this year, teams can independently practice or hold intrasquad meets under their individual club’s guidance.”
The Nashville Swim League was founded over 50 years ago and has around 2,000 swimmers compete every summer.
In spite of the season cancellation, the league will present its annual academic scholarships to 2 high school seniors who have been “leaders during their NSL summer league careers.” Information about those awards will be posted on the league website by June 8, 2020.
Under updated social distancing guidelines, Tennessee is expected to begin reopening pools as soon as May 26.
Gwinnett County Swim League
A large league in northwest Atlanta, the Gwinnett County Swim League has 43 teams and around 6,500 swimmers. They announced the cancellation of the summer 2020 season on May 13th.
Pools in Georgia were able to begin reopening last week, with limitations on numbers, though some cities have delayed reopening their facilities.
Gwinnett County has 9 pools and aquatic centers that are county-run, and have not yet announced a plan for reopening those facilities.
The league cited the strain on an all-volunteer team council to enact the CDC’s social distancing guidelines for pools.
The league was formed in 1973. The nearby Atlanta Swimming Association, another huge league in Georgia, is moving forward with plans for the 2020 season, including updating waiver language to address coronavirus.
Jefferson Swim League
This league, located in the greater Charlottesville area (University of Virginia), the league has 18 teams and 2,870 swimmers. After considering both the health and safety of participants, as well as the financial implications of attempting to have a partial season, the league voted to cancel the JSL dual meet season, “in any form,” for 2020. The league’s championship meet was already cancelled.
The league, like many others, has said that its member teams are free to have learn-to-swim programs, hold individual team practices, or have other events at their home pools, but that those events are outside of the sanction and supervision (and, they hope, liability) of the league.
The Jefferson Swim League was founded in 1966. Among swimmers who participated in the league last summer are high school state champion Athena Vanyo, a Virginia Tech commit; high school state champion Izzy Bradley; and high school state champion Noah Hargrove.
Mid-Penn & Capital Area Swim Leagues
The Mid-Penn Swim League and Capital Area Swim League, both located in and around the Pennsylvania state capital of Harrisburg decided that, based on Governor Tom Wolf’s plan to reopen the state, it would be “most impractical, if not impossible, to conduct swim meets.” This includes both dual meets and championship meets.
Dauphin County, where Harrisburg is located, has confirmed 963 coronavirus infections with 39 deaths caused by COVID-19. The county is still not in Pennsylvania’s “yellow” area, which has begun to allow gradual reopening.
All pools in Alleghany County (Pittsburgh) will also remain closed for the summer, though that region has not seen the high rates of spread that other parts of the state have. Several summer leagues in that part of the state have not yet made a decision on the summer 2020 season.
It was a rough Monday for the Coronabros. The stock market is up a thousand points, sports are coming back in a hurry (except swimming) deaths are at two month lows, & states (w/common sense leaders) are all opening back up in a hurry.
In Illinois:
on Apr 18, 286 of 1259 deaths (23%) were in nursing homes & 4 weeks later on May 15, 1975 of 4058 deaths (49%) were in nursing homes.
Yup, sounds like the lockdowns are doing wonders. Thank you billionaire governor.
In this case, it’s a bit of an odd choice for an ad hominem attack. Given that his family wealth comes from the Hyatt Hotel chain, why would his billionaire status indicate he’s likely to try and keep things closed down? His family’s company has lost half of its value this year, which is substantially worse than the market as a whole (travel companies have been hit harder than most companies by the shutdown). If anything, that seems to give weight that he’s at least attempting to make the right decision for his citizens, not his pocketbook.
He may ultimately be wrong, but I don’t think the fact that he’s a billionaire really lends any weight to his decision-making motives.
Billionaires are out of touch with the mainstream society. Plus, this man is in politics because, unlike others in his family, he doesn’t have the chops for business. Furthermore, he’s probably one of those people that is intentionally trying to change the political climate to his liking at the expense of innocent people’s livelihoods and way of life.
Blanket statements about billionaires like that really serve only to land political blows.
There are plenty of billionaires who want to reopen businesses, and plenty who want to keep them closed. That alone indicates that they can’t all be lumped into one big “are out of touch with the mainstream society” classification based on the lone evidence of how quickly they want to reopen their areas of governance.
I agree with you, Braden, that I shouldn’t have lumped all billionaires in together. However, and the bottom line, is that this man made a big mistake and continues to make a big mistake. He grossly misjudged the situation, caused panic and affected people’s livelihoods.
Or…. he’s genuinely worried about making the wrong decision and having lives lost on his conscience. Keeping the economy shut down is not good for anyone’s bottom line… but there is no conspiracy theory in play here. If he had done nothing… and thousands had died outside nursing homes I am sure you would be complaining about that as well. Guerra: you have nothing but inflammatory statements backed up by opinion. I feel for all our leaders. By the way, I would like Illinois restrictions eased and don’t support everything he’s done.
Not a conspiracy. Mostly just self serving ineptitude
That is a pretty unfair blanket statement about billionaires. I know one whose company is experiencing the effects of the virus and concern for employees, their safety, and their financial hardship is at the forefront of his mind. I also have family who worked closely with JB pre-politics and have heard many stories and never heard a negative word about him and I actually had quite a good impression of him, how he cares for other people, and how down to earth he is. I don’t follow IL politics but suggesting that he is “trying to change the political climate to his liking at the expense of innocent people’s livelihoods…” is pretty ridiculous. My first thought when he got into… Read more »
It does in the fact. Being a billionaire makes him financially insulated from any decision he makes. He can make any decision he wants without feeling the consequences himself or those in his inner circle.
You don’t think billionaires are seeing any financial impact from the economic collapse? Pritzker’s money is in a blind trust, of sorts, but it’s possible that he’s lost a full billion dollars in the last 3 months.
Sure, we can all scoff because that still means he has $2 billion left, but to pretend as though people with $3 billion make cavalier decisions because “they’ll still have $2 billion left even if they’re wrong” doesn’t sound like any billionaire that I’ve ever met (and I’ve met several).
Pritzker venture company owns a company that makes and sells tests. (Cue Healthcare)
He owns a company that does testing. (Pathgroup)
Many more connections I could list. Too hard for me to know if he’s making or losing $$$ during this downturn.
But leaving the billionaire comment aside. It seems
That Pritzker is greatly mismanaging the situation.
If I’m on the board of one of those teams, I would seek out the other teams interested in still swimming and create a new league just for this for the summer. Offer the people that want to participate the opportunity and those that don’t, well that’s their choice. This time in our country is all about individual choice and leadership and not succumbing to the illogical pack mentality that currently exists in this country.
Italy will reopen to European tourists from early June and scrap a 14-day mandatory quarantine period, the government said on Saturday, as it quickened the exit from the coronavirus lockdown.
That progressive nation of Italy is moving forward.
USA? Caught in partisan BS.
What’s the end game here because it’s starting more and more not to look like public health.
Guys the coast is clear now….lets all book our trips to Italy then!!
From the WHO chief scientist:
“What we have seen in countries where schools have remained open is that there have not been big outbreaks in schools.
“And where there have been it’s been associated with events where a lot of people gather, not in regular classrooms. And it’s often been associated with an adult who has had the infection.
Let the kids swim already, adults keep your distance.
How do you do summer league meets without parents?
Open bar upstairs?
Solid.
Did I say without? One timer per lane, less officials, no snack bar, etc.
Unnecessary.. they could have started practice on June 1 and run championships in late July. People have a better chance of dying in the way to swim practice than from the Covid 19. Our country is becoming Californiaized and its not good.
Very sad.
Very smart decision for the safety and well being of the athletes and families in the Nashville area. Sadly, other locations for summer leagues in the state of Tennessee cannot come to the same conclusion. Taking a break for one summer is not going to deter people next year from enjoying the sport.
Commie alert!
I love it, GA Boy! Drop the mic!
LMAO.
There are tyrants among us. Let individuals decide what is good for their well being as opposed to the state.
They aren’t deciding what’s good for their wellbeing; they’re deciding that their freedom to do whatever they want is more important than other people’s wellbeing. Your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins.
That’s contradictory to closing the league, it’s a choice to swim and compete, but not anymore.
A private organization deciding to put health of others ahead of financial gain. Ohh, the tyranny!