A privately-managed Australian swimming league, featuring athletes drafted to teams, has been postponed because of coronavirus complications.
The Australian Swimming League (ASL) was slated to start in October, riding the wave of success of the nation's swim team at the Tokyo Olympics.
But organisers have pushed back a start date until early next year, citing uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
"While it's not a decision we wanted to make, it's the responsible decision," ASL chief executive Stuart Coventry said in a statement on Wednesday.
"While we are disappointed to delay our plans, what has been really pleasing is the overwhelmingly positive response the ASL has received since the league was unveiled."
The league was detailed during the Tokyo Games, where Australian swimmers collected an Olympic-high nine gold medals.
Partnering with the sport's governing body Swimming Australia, the ASL will be a club-based competition with an annual draft.
Each club will have a set number of swimmers, split evenly between males and females, and include junior and multi-class athletes.
The ASL will stage meets around Australia, offering prize money in a made-for-television format.
The new league follows similar privately-run swim competitions launched in recent years around the world, most notably the International Swimming League (ISL) which also has a draft pool of swimmers.
