FOR the second consecutive year, the Victorian Country Short Course Swimming Championships, which were scheduled to be held in Ballarat this weekend, have been called off after lockdown measures made it impossible for the event to proceed.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But the state government's surprise decision to release regional Victoria from it's lockdown measures is likely to prompt Swimming Victoria to look for a new date as soon as possible.
READ MORE SPORT:
But right now, the latest disappointing continuesd a trend of major sporting events in Ballarat which has been cancelled at the last minute in the past 18 months.
And it's not just organising committee's who have been feeling the pinch, but also hospitality and accommodation businesses who have felt the sting of ongoing cancellations.
This year, Ballarat has been forced to cancel or reschedule a host of major sporting events including the Victorian Country Water Polo Championships, the Marcus Oldham Summer Horse Trials, the Queen's Birthday Basketball Tournament and now the short course titles, just to name a few.
On top of that, attendances were banned at one of Ballarat's AFL matches, while crowds were banned for one week at local football matches, before they too were cancelled.
All of these events bring untold millions into the Ballarat economy.
Even the RoadNats Cycling Championships, while eventually allowed to operate in February, was delayed by more than a month and was fortunate to be scheduled the week before another lockdown took hold, which ruined the horse trials and the water polo events.
An update is expected to be released sometime this week on whether the championships can go ahead in the near future.
"We are working to reschedule the Victorian Country Short Course Championships and will communicate a new date early (this) week," it said. "The program and new entry process through Swim Central will be developed and communicated at the same time."