Accommodations for Athletes with Disabilities

Did you know that accommodations can be made for athletes with disabilities at swim meets? Accommodations give swimmers with disabilities the opportunity to participate in swim meets side-by-side with their peers. Many aren’t aware that coaches have the ability (and responsibility) to request special accommodations for their athletes by submitting a request to the meet ref. Accommodations can range from needing a coach to help a swimmer on the block (in the case of a blind athlete) to needing an assistant on deck with a swimmer (in the case of an athlete with a cognitive disability). While accommodations for athletes isn’t new, many don’t know that making a request is simple and host teams of meets don’t need to provide anything but a meet ref (someone they already have to have at a meet!). There are guidelines for officiating swimmers with disabilities, entry procedures, a pathway to competition and other guidelines that may vary LSC to LSC. Know someone with a disability who’s interested in swimming? Here’s a great visual representation of the pathway to swimming in competition! For more info, you can visit USA Swimming’s Disability page.