Head swim and dive coach Whitney Hite and his team were ready to head off to Ann Arbor, Mich., earlier this week to participate in the Big Ten Championships. What they weren’t ready for, however, was an outbreak of the highly contagious Norovirus that has delayed the championship meet by at least a day.
According to a press release put out by the University of Michigan, the host of the meet, “[The University] has been notified of an illness linked to several community members, including members of the Michigan women’s swimming and diving program. With the Big Ten Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships held in Ann Arbor this week, the Big Ten Conference, University of Michigan athletic department and University of Michigan Health System are monitoring the situation throughout the day to assure Canham Natatorium is a safe environment for all competitors and spectators.”
The meet was scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, with championship finals finishing up Saturday.
At this time no swimmers or divers from any team are allowed in any pool in the area, including hotels, nearby high schools or the pool at Eastern Michigan University, which is six miles away.
There will be an emergency coaches’ meeting at 1:30 p.m. to determine what the plan of action will be in terms of rescheduling or delaying the two relay events that will be taking place Wednesday night.
It is unknown at this time whether any Wisconsin team members are affected by the illness.
Update 2:30 p.m.: The Daily Cardinal has learned that after the coaches’ meeting, the two relay events taking place on Wednesday night will go on as scheduled. Three Michigan swimmers and one Indiana diver have been quarantined at this point in time, and coaches will take appropriate action if they find their athletes have fallen ill.
