British Swimming has made the difficult decision to cancel its male and female elite open water races this weekend, which were due to form part of the Great North Swim weekend.
Whilst the mass participation events remain unaffected, the decision has been made, following careful analysis of current and forecasted weather conditions, which will not be conducive to elite high performance open water swimming or a British team selection race.
Scheduled for 16.00 and 17.00 on Saturday 8th June, the predicted cold water temperatures, influenced by recent poor weather and the predicted forecast for the next 30 hours, do not align with high performance swimming or FINA regulations.
The elite races this weekend were due to act as selection races for places on the British team, which will follow the clauses from the respective selection policies below:
Clause 3.2 of the European Junior Open Water Championships selection policy now applies, with athlete selection at the complete discretion of the British Swimming Marathon Lead in consultation with the Head of Elite Development.
Clause 8.2 of the World Open Water Championships selection policy now applies, consideration and selection of athletes for the 5km event will be at the complete discretion of the British Swimming Marathon Lead in consultation with the NPD, GB Head Coach and Head of Elite Development
The mass participation events in the Great North Swim programme will still take place as planned.