In an effort to better serve all of our athletes we are sharing some general information on how to categorize, work with and guide your interactions with your swimmers with a disability. This is meant to educate coaches, parents, and officials. If you have any questions, please contact the LSC Disability Chair.

Categorizing Disabilities 
Athletes with disabilities are placed in three different categories.
P1- non-ambulatory, wheelchair bound, limited use of all 4 extremities.
P2- dwarfism, multiple limb deficiencies, ambulatory with assistance, can be wheelchair bound with high functioning upper body.
P3- single limb deficiencies, visual impairments, intellectual impairments, ambulatory without significant assistance

Working With Swimmers With Disabilities
Linked is a flowchart that will just give you a visual of how to approach working with any athlete with a disability. This is the Guiding a Swimmer with a Disability link. Having conversations with the parents & athlete is important to start off their swimming journey. There are some steps that need to be taken to accommodate the athletes, but we really just want these athletes to be included, given every opportunity possible, and help them reach their goals just like we would with any other athlete. 

Meet Participation
If you have a swimmer with a disability who will be swimming in a meet, you should follow the steps below to make sure your athlete is given the proper accommodations and so the meet ref can communicate the information with the officials during the officials meeting.  

PROTOCOL FOR OFFICIATING A SWIMMER WITH A DISABILITY ·
1. The coach notifies the Meet Committee/Meet Referee when a swimmer with a disability is entered into a meet and requests the necessary accommodations. Coaches should use the Meet Accommodation Form to communicate the information to meet staff. Please include this form with your entries. This form is attached.
2. The Meet Referee communicates with the coach and makes any reasonable accommodation(s) for the swimmer per the Meet Accommodation Form submitted by the Coach.
3. The Meet Referee is responsible for communicating the swimmer’s events and accommodation(s) to assigned Officials before the meet.
4. Stroke and Turn Officials observe swims per established meet protocol. If you observe something in violation of the rules, raise your hand. 
5.  It is the responsibility of the CJ and/or the Deck Referee to vet any call from an Official for a swimmer with a disability

Attached is a PDF that can be printed off or emailed to share with officials or have posted in an official’s meeting room with guidance on how to officiate athletes with disabilities. This is the Officiating A Disability Athlete Trifold attachment.

ND State Championships Participation
Under ND LSC Rules there is a portion in the State Meet information that I would like to make you all aware of, please see below. 
Disability Statement:
Swimmers with permanent disability as defined by USA Swimming are welcome to Participated in any ND Swimming sanction meet in any event corresponding to the swimmer’s gender within the daily individual event limit for the meet. The entering coach or swimmer must contact the meet referee to discuss any modification for the disabled swimmer to participate. Any swimmers with a defined by USA Swimming disability is eligible to participate in the NDLSC State Championships. When entries are sent for a disability swimmer, please make note to the entry chair that they do not need to make qualifying standards and are in your meet file.

Zones & Sectional Participation 
I have also included the Zones & Sectionals parallel times for Disability athletes. 
This means that whatever category your disability athlete falls under they would have to achieve those qualifying times to be eligible to participate in Zones and Sectionals. I encourage all coaches to look at these documents if you have not done so before as you may have athletes who are eligible to participate.  

Links

Guiding a Swimmer with a Disability
Parallel Time Standards For Swimmers With A Disability- Zones
Parallel Time Standards For Swimmers With A Disability- Sectionals
Meet Accommodation Form For Swimmers With A Disability Form
Coaches- Inclusion Of Swimmers With A Disability
Meet Referee- Inclusion Of Swimmers With A Disability
Meet Host- Inclusion Of Swimmers With A Disability
Officiating A Disability Athlete Trifold

If you have any questions about Disability athletes please contact the LSC Disability Chair.