Government decisions in several states this week could influence the extent to which summer swimming is allowed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is expected to announce a plan Thursday for the place of swimming pools and summer activities in the state’s economic reopening. The statewide reopening process began May 1 with expanded medical services. Retail was included this week, with outdoor bar/restaurant service beginning Friday and indoor dining to restart May 21.
DeWine assembled a working group for youth and adult sports. Ohio has had 25,250 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,436 deaths, as of Tuesday.
Tennessee won’t open pools at 13 state parks this summer due to COVID-19, it announced Wednesday.
“COVID-19 presents unique challenges for managing pools – they are confined spaces not conducive to social distancing and the very nature of lifeguarding requires close contact with pool users and creates potential for unnecessary risk in life-saving situations,” Kim Schofinski, the Deputy Communications Director for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, told Nashville’s WKRN. “We apologize for this inconvenience and look forward to the next opportunity we have to reopen the pool for visitors’ enjoyment.”
Elsewhere, the question comes down to jurisdiction over summer swimming. In Illinois, where at least one county has given provisional approval to open pools, the final authority rests with the state government.
Clubs in Pennsylvania are fighting to clarify language from the state’s “Process to Reopen Pennsylvania,” on whether summer swimming clubs qualify as camps or gyms, which affects which phase of reopening a county or region must reach before they open. Two leagues in the center of the state, the Mid Penn Swim League and Capital Area Swim League, opted to cancel their seasons this week, while clubs in suburban Philadelphia are fighting to open, even if their planned summer seasons are diminished.
Kentucky swim clubs have launched a campaign called “Save Our Summer” seeking to get swimming pools reopened this summer. As of Wednesday evening, the petition has more than 15,000 signatures.
Positive news came from Georgia Tuesday, which decreed that public pools will be allowed to open.
Wednesday also brought another league cancellation, with the Roanoke Valley Aquatic Association in Virginia wiping out its summer slate.
Swimming Through a Pandemic
The postponements and cancellations wrought by COVID-19 haven’t just affected the Olympics and the ranks of elite swimmers. They’ve trickled down to neighborhood clubs and summer youth leagues, affecting thousands of recreational and competitive swimmers alike. Here is some of our coverage of COVID-19’s effect on the American summer swimming calendar.
- Connecticut Swimmer Launches Petition to Reopen Pools
- As More States Reopen Pools for Summer, Obstacles Remain
- USA Swimming California LSCs Pen Letter to Governor Requesting Pools Open
- Chattanooga Swim League Joins Cancellation List as COVID-19 Restrictions Elsewhere Ease
- David Marsh to California Gov. Gavin Newsom: “We’d Love to Get These Pools Open”
- Summer Leagues Cancel in Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee; On Hold in Delaware
- Summer Leagues Cancel in Ohio, Nebraska; California Fights To Open Pools
- Northern Virginia Swimming League Cancels Season Officially, But Unofficial Meets Might Go On
- ‘Tremendously Difficult’ Decisions Loom for Summer Swimming Clubs
- Texas Pools Begin to Open, But Some Cities Holding Back
- With ‘Great Pain,’ Coastal Carolina Aquatic Association Cancels Summer Season
- Kentucky LSC Files Proposal to Reopen Pools in State
Resources for returning to the pool in the COVID-19 era
- COVID-19 Pools Guidance Updated By CDC On “Healthy Environments & Operations”
- Chlorine Not a Guaranteed Answer to Covid-19; Detailed Protocols The Way to Go, Says Expert
- USA Swimming Unveils Road to Competition Roadmap For Summer Return
- Pool Water Unlikely to Spread Coronavirus But Facility Environments Need Careful Handling, Says Expert
- Swim Practice Social Distancing Protocol
- The Worries and Concerns of Lap Swimming When Pools Open
- Proper Ways for Teams and Athletes to Resume Training (USA Swimming)
- Is the Water Safe From Coronavirus? Considerations for Return to the Pool
- Pools and Swimming: Getting Back in the Water Safely
- Coronavirus And Swimmers: CDC Issues Guidance On Water Transmission & COVID-19
Union County in North Carolina has allowed clubs to open back up as “day camps”
Thank goodness for Georgia! Time to get back America ??
Some assistance for MN and the teenage demographic.
David Barton …….what this doesn’t highlight is the damaged health of those that survived. All this shows is infected and death but nothing in between.?stay safe?
David Barton exactly. The issue isn’t for the kids.
David Barton exactly and certainly not a problem for athletes. I keep asking for someone to show me those numbers. Meanwhile swimmers everywhere are struggling to stay in shape. This was their life!
Elite swimmers are not the only ones that need swimming. I’m 69, have cerebral palsy on one side, back stenosis, and curvature of the spine. Swimming is the only exercise I can do. I swim at an indoor pool at a YMCA near Pittsburgh. The Ys and gyms in Pennsylvania are not allowed to be reopened yet. I can walk about 20 feet with a cane before by back gives me extreme pain.
Anthony … you raise an important issue: it’s important that phased strategies to open swim pools up make priority provision for therapeutic/rehabilitative uses in the groups of those at the helm of consideration and planning. I hope you can soon return to the water.
It’s so simple, open up!!!
LOOM and FATE.
Nice headline SWM.
Have hardly heard anything about any plans either way here in Colorado!
There was no reason to shut things down to begin with. Shame on every local and state authorities that did so. Open the damn pools …it’s time
?
This is getting ridiculous
I think we hear about Ohio today
The ax has already fallen for the 17,000 Northern VA Swim League
The CDC has stated that COVID 19 cannot survive in chlorinated pools.
My suggestions for pools are
1. Open pools without opening locker rooms. Swimmers come prepared to swim immediately and leave once out of the pool.
2. Swimmers must use physical distancing when out of the pool and recommend use of face coverings.
3. Permit no more than four people per lane, ideally only two. Swimmers start their intervals from opposite sides of the pool.
4. Those using a restroom must sanitize it after usage.
5. Lifeguard use PPE.
6. A waiver must be signed and on record that the pool user is accepting the possibility of contracting the COVID virus and releases all involved of liability.