ADDISON COUNTY — The Vergennes Champs and Middlebury Marlins will not be hitting their pools this summer.
In a league meeting on Friday, May 15, the Champlain Valley Swim League board canceled its 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting safety restrictions designed to prevent the spread of the disease.
CVSL President and Ferrisburgh resident Bill Clark announced the decision in a Sunday email.
Clark cited regulations that will

allow groups of up to 25 to gather, but only while following social distancing guidelines.
Clark contrasted that with a typical summer swim event.
“Our dual meets and league championship meet require large numbers of volunteers to support a deck filled with even larger numbers of swimmers being cheered for by still larger numbers of spectators. It is impossible to imagine how we can safely run dual meets or a league championship under the current safety restrictions,” he wrote.
He added that many teams hope

to keep youth swimmers active this summer “without putting anyone at risk.”
“These ideas include smaller practice sessions or clinics that allow for physical distancing and creative ways to race and maybe even compete (virtual meets). We are canceling our traditional meet schedule this year, but we are not cancelling the 2020 swim season entirely. Teams are still free to find ways to swim as long as they are following the directions of the governor and Health Department,” Clark wrote.