Ohio Adapted Swimming

Adapted Swimming Links:

• Ohio Adapted Swimming News
• General Overview
• Upcoming Events
• Championship Requirements
• Disability Classifications
• Free Materials
• Central Zone Meet
• Related Websites
• Contact Information

Adapted Swimming News

1/29/07 - Results from World Champs, Direct from Athlete

Today's update comes directly from Ohio Paralympic athlete April Kerley who went to South Africa to swim in the Paralympic World Championships in December. April was recently recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee as a member of the "Team of the Week" for all Olympic sports due to her World Record breaking relay performance.

"Here is a recap of my experience at the International Paralympic Committee World Swimming Championships in Durban, South Africa."

"My overall results were 2 medals, a gold in my free relay and silver in the 50 free. I earned 3 American records, 2 Pan-American and a World record."

"My relay broke the world record. My 50 free re-set my own records as I was already the American and Pan-Am record holder, but I got my best time to improve the records. I also swam an American record split in my fly on my IM. I swam best times in 3 out of 4 of my events-- that is my biggest personal accomplishment from the meet."

"We didn't have a lot of free time on the trip; we spent 8-10 hours a day at the competition, but after it ended we went to the Indian Ocean and splashed around in some aggressive 20+ foot waves. The water was so warm (and shark infested. South Africa has the highest concentration of great white sharks). We initially jumped in a deserted side of the beach, then the lifeguards came running up and we finally realized there were no shark nets or electric fences on that side which lead to our prompt exit to another area of the beach!"

"On our last day, we went on a safari at the oldest game park reserve in South Africa. The safari was different than I expected. I think I went in expecting to see a lot of animals up close like you do at the zoo, but what I didn't consider is that a safari is completely unpredictable because you are visiting their natural habitat."

"For more information, visit my website at: www.aprilswimming.com"

11/21/06 - South Africa Calls 3 from Ohio

3 Ohioans leave Thanksgiving day for the Paralympic World Championships, to be held in Durban, South Africa. Athlete April Kerley (SAK) heads this team as a member of the Paralympic Elite Team, being ranked 3rd in the world in the 50 Free.

Also attending this meet as one of the United States Team Coaches is Keith Kennedy (GTAC) who is coaching his first National Team on the world stage.

Also, Ohio official Cindy Millen Roberts has been selected to be the Starter for the meet.

Ohio swimmer Beth Kolbe was also selected to be a team member this year, but had to decline due to school conflicts at Harvard University.

10/1/06 - Ohio Coach Selected for World Championships

Keith Kennedy, Head Coach of the Greater Toledo Aquatic Club, will join the coaching staff of the US Paralympic World Championship Team that will compete in Durbin, South Africa this December. Congratulations, Keith!

10/1/06 - Ohio Swimmers Shine at Nationals

Two swimmers represented Ohio at the US Paralympics National Championships, both members of the Seneca Aquatic Klub. April Kerley (pictured above) and Beth Kolbe competed August 10-12 in San Antonio, Texas. Kerley and Kolbe joined over 140 swimmers from 5 countries. Going into the meet, both Ohioans held US Paralympic National Team status with World Rankings in the Top 8.

Kerley advanced to elite Team status with her 50 free time of 30.50 seconds, placing her 3rd in the world in the S9 classification. Kerley, age 28, lives in Cincinnati. She also achieved significant time drops and personal bests in the 100 fly and 100 free. April was selected to be one of 25 swimmers to represent the US at the World Swimming Championships in South Africa this December.

Kolbe, 20, lives in Tiffin and earned four first place finishes. Her time in the 100 free (2:50) ranked her 5th in the world in the S3 classificiation. Kolve declined the World Championships in South Africa because of conflics with college (Harvard).

Seneca Aquatic Klub coach Peggy Ewald joined the US Paralympic Swimming coaching staff this year at England's World Cup in Manchester and at the Belgium Open in Antwerp. Both Kerley and Kolbe joined Ewald last May for the competition in Belgium.

General Overview of Adapted Swimming

Adapted swimming is a broad term relating to swimmers with a disability. This includes common sense adaptations of competition rules (for example, not disqualifying a swimmer with quadriplegia for not moving his legs), inclusion for swimmers with a disability in all swimming organizations (club, YMCA, high school, college, etc.), official classification for fair competition, paralympic competition opportunities, and information support.  More info under the 'adapted' section on the Ohio Swimming Website.

Swimmers with a Disability are Welcome to Enter Ohio Swimming Meets

Coaches: 1) Enter the swimmer on Hy-Tek or the paper entry form; 2) Provide advance notice of any necessary accommodations; 3) List in the email with the Hy-Tek entry (or on paper) the swimmer’s name, entry times, stokes/distances, days/sessions, and how the swimmer prefers to be seeded. Swimmers with a disability will be seeded with the same age group in either the same distance race or a longer distance race (i.e., 50 free during the 100 free). Qualifying time standards at regular season meets are waived for swimmers with a disability. For Ohio Swimming Championship meets, swimmers with a disability may enter if they qualify in at least one event for the US Paralympic National Championships. At the Central Zone meet, four swimmers with a disability are welcome on the Ohio Zone Team without meeting the time standards.

Upcoming Events in Adapted Swimming

Swimmers with a disabiltiy are welcome to enter USA Swimming and Ohio Swimming meets.  In addition, the following paralympic meeets for swimmers with a disabilty are offered:

March 16-18, 2007
2007 Spring CAN-AM Championships
Montreal, Canada
LCM / Classification Available / IPC Approved

This will be the selection meet for the US Team that will compete in Brazil at the Pan-American Games in August of 2007. Look for more information on the US Paralympic website under ‘sports‘ then ‘swimming‘ then ‘events‘: www.usolympicteam.com/paralympics

April 13-15, 2007
GTAC Disability Open
Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
LCM / Classification Available / IPC Approved

All disability classifications welcome, including S14. No qualifying times encourages developing swimmers to take advantage of this opportunity to compete at a quality meet with members of the US National and Elite Swim Team. Free information clinics will also be held. Look for more information on the GTAC website: www.gtacswim.com

December 6-8, 2007
U.S. Paralympics Open Swimming Championships - 2007 CAN-AM Open
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
LCM / Classification Available / IPC Approved

Look for more information on the US Paralympic website under ‘sports‘ then ‘swimming‘ then ‘events‘: www.usolympicteam.com/paralympics

Championship Requirements

As specified in the statement printed in all Ohio Swimming meet packets, swimmers with a disability may enter Ohio Swimming Championship meets if they have a qualifying time for at least one event for the US Paralympic National Championships. If a swimmer does not have an official International Paralympic Classification, it is acceptable in this instance for the swimmer’s coach to determine the probable classification. Also, please note that with only one national qualifying time, a swimmer with a disability may enter more than one event at the Ohio Swimming Championship meet. To view the current qualifying times, please click the appropriate time standard below:

Disability Classifications

Classification in swimming attempts to place individuals with disabilities into groups of comparable abilities and function. Quite simply, classification provides the structure which allows swimming competition to take place.

Classes 1-10 are allocated to swimmers with a physical disability.
Classes 11-13 are allocated to swimmers with a visual disability.
Class 14 is allocated to swimmers with an intellectual disability.

The prefix S before the class represents Freestyle, Backstroke and Butterfly.
The prefix SB before the class represents Breaststroke.
The prefix SM before the class represents Individual Medley.

The classes range from swimmers with severe disability (S1, SB1, SM1) to those with minimal disability (S10, SB9, SM10).

The Layman’s Guide to Classifications is particularly helpful and can be found on the following International Paralympic Committee website under ‘classification’: www.ipcswimming.org

Free Materials

Large color posters featuring accomplished Ohio swimmers with and without a disability, reference cards listing adapted resources on the web, USA Swimming five pamphlet set about including swimmers with a disability, flyers from US Paralympics titled 'seeking swimmers,' and Ohio Swimming photo bookmarks are available. To request free materials please contact the Ohio Swimming Adapted Chair as listed in the following section.

Also, a full-color laminated 18" x 25" banner is available to borrow for swim meets/events. The banner reads: "Ohio Swimming Welcomes Swimmers with Disabilities, info at: www.ohioswim.org"

Central Zone Meet

As specified in the statement printed in all Ohio Swimming meet packets, 4 swimmers with a disability (2 in each age group) are welcome on the Ohio Zone Team without meeting the time standards. This is a great way to encourage and motivate young swimmers with a disability! More information on the Central Zone meet for Ohio Swimming is available on the following website: www.centralzones.org

Swimmers who are interested in participating in the Central Zone meet should contact their coaches and the Ohio Swimming Adapted Chairperson (please see contact information below) at least two months before the Central Zone meet. In the event that more than 2 swimmers with a disability in each age group are interested, the Ohio Swimming Adapted Chairperson will be responsible for selecting the 4 Ohio participants for that year’s meet.

Related Websites

Contact Information

For questions or comments, please contact the Ohio Swimming Adapted Chairperson:

Cindy Kolbe
80 Schonhardt Street
Tiffin, OH 44883
419-448-1715, 419-618-8477
E-mail: kolbe_c@yahoo.com