Paralympic Swimming

[LGC2108]

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014 ... ureaucracy
I found this article about dyspraxic people no longer being able to participate in Paralympic Swimming, what do people think about this?

[rbannocks]

It is an interesting question. Shame no one else has answered.

My attitude would be that dysphraxic disabilities does not really affect strength and it is reasionable. But what I do not have a sense of is how wide the "dysphraxic spectrum is". My own disability mainly relates to fine motor control and organisation. I used to swim for my local swimming club and to some limited extent compete for them at the county level.

There is an issue that dysphraxia is not widely recognized. A Swede once told me "oh we do not have dysphraxia in Sweden"!

I would be interested to hear other and to find out the extent of the condition.

[LGC2108]

I have difficulties with most parts of dyspraxia, particularly hand eye coordination, organisation and concentration.
Hopefully more countries will start to recognise dyspraxia in the future.

[lightdys]

Hello !

I think this article is very interresting !

I have rode this article several times and I would like to check I understand well (I'm french) And I have also a questions about this subject . Please,give me a hand!

So, If I understand well : A disability sport categoy named S17 exists in England for dyspraxics sportmens/womens but this category is not recongnised officially insn't it ?

It's a big new for me because I point out this category do not exist at all in France !!

But, categroy S17 exists for all sports or only for swimming ?

Thanks for your help

[Tom fod]

Hi Lightdys

S17 was a category recognised by British Swimming and the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) and allowed swimmers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who have dyspraxia to compete in swimming competitions against others of similar ability.

Unfortunately the International Paralympic Committee and other countries do not recognise dyspraxia as a disability (at least in sporting circles) . Therefore Swimming Britain and the ASA, the two organisations who oversee competitive swimming in Britain, have decided that they will no longer recognise S17 as a category. Anyone who swam under this category will either have to compete with everyone else or under another disability category, if they are eligible.

I hope this clarifies this for you, but do feel free to ask further questions.

Kind regards

[lightdys]

Hello Tom food !
Thanks for your help !

[Moot]

Although I would like dyspraxia to get much more notice and it is annoy it is still not properly recognised, I don't see why for swimming it needs to be with Paralympic (if I were that way inclined, then I would just assume I'd be in 'normal'). If you're passionate enough about swimming then you can get decent with it, regardless of some coordination problems. That's my initial thoughts, anyway. Swimming is one thing but I do not deny there are other sports which probably would be more unclear.

[Tom fod]

I kind of agree. I much prefer to be able to achieve things on merit and not have any help. The more difficult the greater the sense of accomplishment as long as you're not being too much of a perfectionist!

I think it very much depends on the individual. The guy featured felt more encouraged to be able to compete against peers of similar ability. I hope he is able to still enjoy swimming.

[Jask]

As the Paralympics are on I was searching for dyspraxia in relation to the sports and saw this older thread.
I believe dyspraxia SHOULD be included as a category but the width of the spectrum would require tests.
I understand some views that coordination does not affect strength, but for more severe dyspraxia it is beyond coordination and organisation and motor skills. There is for the severely affected a significant lack of muscle strength and in particular core body strength. This means there is no way these people can compete on a level playing field and certainly have significant impairment worthy of sporting categorisation. There is also a lack of muscle memory in more severe dyspraxia

[Tom fod]

While I have never really felt motivated to participate in competitive sport myself, I believe ASA and British Swimming and other appropriate bodies (Dept for Culture Media and Sport?) should be petitioning the international Paralympic Committee (IPC) to be more inclusive given the potential benefits.