The Tollcross International Swimming Centre will play host to a key pre-Olympic and Paralympic Games event for British Swimming when the British Swimming Glasgow Meet takes place next month.
The four-day competition – previously known as the Glasgow International Swim Meet – will take place from Thursday 3rd June to Sunday 6th June, acting as the final consideration meet for those looking to earn selection to the British Olympic team heading to Tokyo 2020.
It will also be an ideal preparation opportunity for the 28 swimmers already confirmed on the plane for Team GB, in addition to those hoping to be a part of Britain’s Paralympic cohort, with the schedule consisting of evening heats and morning finals for the athletes - as it will be at the Games in Japan. Plans are also in place for heat-declared winner races for junior athletes in a mid-day session.
Following an unprecedented year across sport, the standard of swimming from athletes upon the return to competition in recent months has been outstanding, with a stream of British records and personal bests falling across the entire programme of races at the British Swimming Selection Trials, British Para-SwimmingInternational Meet and two separate meets in Manchester before that. Expectations will be high for that quality to continue in Glasgow, just seven weeks out from the start of the Olympic schedule at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
As with those recent events, the British Swimming Glasgow Meet will be hosted in accordance with a strict COVID-management plan that will include a restriction on numbers in attendance, no spectators at the venue and a 'bubble' environment for the duration of the event, as well as pre-competition and on-arrival testing.
On the announcement, Adam Clarke, Head of Performance Services for British Swimming’s World Class Programme, said: “While the dates and the name for this event may have changed slightly, the 2021 Glasgow Meet will continue the trend for Tollcross as a venue accustomed to showcasing great swimming performances.
“The event will offer a packed programme of racing opportunities for a range of athletes with different end-of-season ambitions – and for some it will be a first competition outing for a significant period of time. As the final chance for athletes to earn consideration for Olympic selection, this stands as a key meet in the calendar, and it is also an event in which those who are already on the Tokyo team can look to move things on in their final preparations.
“Amid the growing optimism as COVID restrictions are lifted and with many clubs thankfully now back in operation, we remain mindful that, for many involved in our sport, training and competition is still very restricted. We are in a privileged position to be able to stage the meet, so a big thank you to our partners, our volunteers and all those working tirelessly behind the scenes to enable this event to happen.
“The level of planning that has gone into each of our events over recent months has ensured the athletes, coaches and staff involved have been able to perform to the best of their abilities in the safest environment possible – and that will again be important in Glasgow, where we will hope to give those in the pool the opportunity to excel once more.”
Stephen Fivash, British Para-Swimming Development Coach, added: “For our athletes, this is a great performance racing opportunity. There have not been all that many other opportunities in the past year for obvious reasons, so following some impressive performances at the British Para-Swimming International Meet in Sheffield last month, this is another chance to see how the hard work put in by our swimmers is bearing fruit ahead of Tokyo.”
Entries open at 12pm noon tomorrow (Tuesday 4th May) and will close at 12pm noon on Tuesday 11th May. Athletes, coaches and support staff can find more information on entry consideration times, schedules and event conditions on the relevant event page on the British Swimming website.