It’s been six years since the norovirus slammed into the 2010 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships, but the illness is taking its toll on another championship meet with the 2016 Big Ten Women’s Championships now being impacted with an outbreak.
Following an emergency coaches meeting, the Big Ten and its coaches felt that the outbreak was contained with just three Michigan swimmers and one Indiana diver currently being isolated from contact. Therefore, the meet will continue on as scheduled.
UPDATE:
Michigan Athletics released the following statement regarding the meet schedule.
The Big Ten Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships at Canham Natatorium will start at 6:30 p.m. as scheduled.
The University of Michigan and Big Ten Conference were notified of an illness among students on central campus, including members of the Michigan women’s swimming & diving program. The Big Ten Conference, University of Michigan athletic department and the University of Michigan Health System collaboratively assessed the situation and determined that Canham Natatorium was a safe environment for competitors and spectators.
Wednesday morning’s warmups were cancelled as Michigan Athletics worked with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to test water samples and chlorine levels, sanitize the pool and perform an additional deep clean of the facility as a precautionary measure.
With the approval from OSHA and medical personnel, the decision was made to begin the championships as scheduled. The Big Ten Conference and Michigan Athletics will continue to take all the necessary precautions to minimize the risk for competitors and spectators.
Earlier today, Swimming World was informed that an outbreak of the norovirus had hit the University of Michigan and that no one could practice at the Canham Natatorium today.
Each of the teams found other locations to practice today while coaches began discussions about how to handle the situation.
This situation brings back memories of the 2010 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships where the Ohio Department of Health forced a postponement of the championships, pushing the meet back a day while decontamination efforts took place.
Texas went on to win that meet in Columbus, Ohio with an even 500 points to give head coach Eddie Reese his 10th career NCAA title.
Dan Richards
Dan Richards