There are many different organisations, both mainstream and disability specific, that provide opportunities for swimmers with a disability.

These include;

• Disability Specific Competitions which as the name implies, are specific to the individual's disability. For example British Blind Sport, CP Sport. Many have their own systems of classification but they essentially allow swimmers with the same kind of disability to compete together.
• Multi-Disability Competitions which allow people with different disabilities to swim against one another. A good example of this is Disability Sport England events.
• Integrated Competitions when able-bodied and disabled swimmers compete together in the same races, for example ASA Nottingham County Championships.
• Multi-Disability Events where specific multi-disability races are included within the programme of mainstream competitions, for example the ASA National Long Course Championships and a number of District Championships.

At the moment City of Bradford Swimming Club has a small group of swimmers with learning difficulties and physical disabilities.  Several have swum in the Special Olympics and others have achieved representative honours at local, national and international level - gaining many medals along the way.

Swimmers are currently integrated into the other squads. We are working towards encouraging and gaining more swimmers at a younger age who would also like to train and compete.  These swimmers must be able to swim at least 100 metres backstroke, breaststroke and front crawl.  We are also looking for a keenness to improve stroke technique, stamina over greater distances and to introduce butterfly and competitive elements such as competitive turns, starts and finishes, all of which form part of session aims.

People wishing to join the club should contact Christine McCabe, Swimming Development Manager on (01274) 438791.

The club actively encourages the participation of all swimmers in the Bradford community, any concerns can be relayed to Aileen Ibbotson, the clubs Disability Liaison Officer, who can be contacted through Christine McCabe.

International Paralympic Committee Belgian Open Championships May 2007

Sarah Chown who trains with Sport and Leisure Service’s Coaching and Training Scheme was delighted with her recent performances at the International Paralympic Committee’s Belgian Open Championships.

Sarah who was representing England Wales as part of the Cerebral Palsy Swimming Team was part of the Freestyle and Medley Relay teams who won gold medals at the Championships.

Congratulations to Sarah on her gold medal winning performances in Belgium when she represented England & Wales as part of the Cerebral Palsy Swimming Team. All her hard work and increase in training has once again paid off.

Aileen Ibbotson, Disability Coach