Upcoming opportunities for New Zealand swimmers with a disability at National Events

Swimming New Zealand has advised of upcoming new opportunities within New Zealand for swimmers with impairment types which are not eligible for the Paralympic pathway.

Later this year, Swimming NZ will introduce additional classifications to national events to align with opportunities available internationally.

These updates provide opportunities for swimmers with a disability that don’t meet the requirements of the 14 classifications recognised at the Paralympics but are catered for at other swimming competitions around the world – such as Virtus events, Down Syndrome World Champs, and the Deaflympics.

From the 2023 Apollo Projects NZ Short Course Swimming Championships from 8th to 12th August onwards, Swimming NZ’s open national events - excluding NAGS - will provide three new classifications:

• S15 = hearing impairment of at least 40dB (decibels) or greater in the better ear

• S18 = Down Syndrome or intellectual impairment (S14) combined with a physical impairment

• S19 = Autism diagnosis

• The S18 and S19 classifications are internationally recognised in the Virtus pathway, known as II2 and II3 respectively, in addition to the S14 classification, also referred to as II1 at Virtus.

• The S15 classification has an international pathway via the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf.

The new classifications will be introduced into NAGS in a few years as the depth of field grows.

Swimming NZ are excited to be supporting these swimmers with a disability to have the opportunity to race at national events moving forward, as part of pathway to the respective international racing opportunities for their classification.

Swimming NZ’s Disability & Para Swimming Participation Manager, Cameron Leslie enthused “this is just us doing what’s needed to begin our journey into supporting swimmers who have a pathway in this direction. We want to see all swimmers having opportunities to progress regardless of whether they are on Virtus, Deaflympics, Paralympic or Olympic pathways.

“We want to make sure these athletes have the opportunity to grow through national events before they are thrust into the international stage, because that jump is challenging and we want to support swimmers to move into that space.”

Swimming NZ’s Head of Participation & Events, Dale Johnson, can’t wait to see these classifications introduced in August and added “we are committed to getting more people swimming more often and removing barriers to participation. We’re really proud of taking this step to create new opportunities in our sport and providing an environment where all swimmers are included.”

Rules
Multi-class heats will be swum together, however finals will be swum separate:
Multi-class S1 – S14
Multi-class S15 – S19
Medals will be distributed for the S15 – S19 final in relation to the pathway’s global body’s relevant records.

Some events are only open to those classifications which there is a global pathway for. These additional races will only take place if three or more swimmers are entered, aligning with the pathway’s global guidelines.

Top club points will be awarded from both finals and go toward the top multi-class club trophy announced after the final session at Short Course.

Image. Credit: Swimming NZ