Face to Face National Championships Cancelled
It is with much sadness that Artistic Swimming NZ, in conjunction with our clubs, has taken the decision to cancel Face to Face Nationals which was due to be held in Invercargill from 1st-5th October, followed by Squad Trials and Pikopiko Squad Camp.
Because there would have been over 400 people attending (athletes, coaches, judges, parents, spectators), every part of the country would need to be at Level 1 for this to go ahead, plus athletes and coaches would have needed to have at least 2-3 weeks in the water to prepare. The chances of that happening given the extent of the current COVID-19 outbreak were remote.
We initially looked at postponing Nationals to mid-December as we did last year, but with the NCEA exams being moved out to finish on the 15th December, this was getting way too close to Christmas for everyone.
We know this will be a major disappointment to athletes and coaches, BUT there is a bit of good news. We are now pivoting and turning our attention to organising a VIRTUAL NATIONALS instead, where clubs would need to be at Level 2 to compete – which seems more achievable.
Over the next few weeks we will be working together to figure out a plan that we will let everyone know by mid-September.
