The Australian Swimming League (ASL) has announced that its planned launch event slated for October will be delayed due to coronavirus-related complications.
According to the league, ‘the decision to push back the timing of this launch event was made with an abundance of caution to prioritize the health and safety plus provide clarity to officials and participants, considering the challenges associated with movement within Australia.
In July we reported how the brand new ASLrepresents a national professional league whose inaugural series of competitions will begin in the fourth quarter of 2022. ASL is privately owned and funded and will run the competition with the support of Swimming Australia.
Although the inaugural season isn’t set to begin for some time, the launch event for October was meant to offer up more details on the competition structure, prize money distributions, as well as how the ASL would interact with the already-established Interiaontla Swimming Leauge (ISL), which begins its 3rd season in a matter of days.
On the delay, ASL CEO Stuart Coventry said, “While it’s not a decision we wanted to make, it’s the responsible decision considering the Government and Health messaging around public movement and the strict protocols associated with staging events.
“While we are disappointed to delay our plans, what has been really pleasing is the overwhelmingly positive response the ASL has received since the league was unveiled last month. We look forward to getting off the blocks in 2022.”
Olympians who competed in Tokyo at the Games were required to stay under quarantine for 14 days upon arrival to Australia. The swimmers were only just reunited with their families earlier this week, of which you can read more here.
Competition-wise, the Duel in the Pool, as well as the National Short Course Championships, have both been cancelled in Australia due to COVID-19.