Championship date confirmed

BRITISH Swimming has announced its flagship domestic event, the British Swimming Championships, will be held in London in 2021.

Due to take place at the iconic London Aquatics Centre at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2020, the event will make London its home some 12 months later than originally planned, and is now scheduled for April 13-18, 2021.

With the Olympic Games postponed by 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 British Swimming Championships will feature highly in the qualification process for the Tokyo Games. As in previous years, the meet is also envisaged to help select teams for the remaining 2021 summer international meets, both senior and junior.

The 2021 Championships will see an upgraded format designed to be more inclusive and allow more athletes, both junior and senior, the opportunity to compete. We will be introducing a second session of heats each day, ensuring the total number of swims will be significantly greater than in previous editions. Qualifying times will be pitched accordingly and the ‘window’ during which these times need to be achieved backdated significantly to March 1, 2019. Further information on the entry standards and wider meet conditions will be published in December.

British Swimming’s Chief Executive, Jack Buckner, said: “We are delighted to make this announcement and give the aquatics community a major event to look forward to. Whilst we, as a country, still have a long way to go to beat the pandemic, we have to be optimistic that by April we can return to sport as we know it.

Performance Director, Chris Spice, said: “After more than six months of disruption, it is vital that we give our athletes something to focus on, and what could be better than a British Championships in London. Our elite swimmers are back working hard at our designated training centres across the UK and we’re keeping everything crossed that club programmes will be able to have some consistency leading into these Championships.”