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Para swimming is an adaptation of the sport of swimming for athletes with disabilities. Para swimmers compete at the Summer Paralympic Games and at other sports competitions throughout the world. The sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee. Both men and women compete in para swimming, racing against competitors of their own gender. Swimming has been a part of the Paralympic program since the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.[1]
Rules for the sport are adapted from those set forth by the International Swimming Federation (FINA). Swimmers compete individually in backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle, individual medley, and as teams in relay races. At the Paralympics, World Championships and other elite level competitions, swimmers compete in an Olympic-size swimming pool.
Significant differences between able-bodied and para swimming include the starting position and adaptations allowed for visually impaired swimmers. Competitors may start a race by standing on a platform and diving into the pool, as in non-disabled swimming, or by sitting on the platform and diving in, or they may start the race in the water. In events for the blind and visually impaired, people called "tappers" may stand at the end of the pool and use a pole to tap the swimmers when they approach the wall, indicating when the swimmer should turn or end the race.[2] No prostheses or assistive devices may be worn during competition.[1]
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Swimmers are classified according to the type and extent of their disability. The classification system allows swimmers to compete against others with a similar level of function.
Swimmers with physical disabilities are allocated a category between 1 and 10, with 1 corresponding to the most severe types of disability. Physical disabilities of para swimmers include single or multiple limb loss (through birth defects and/or amputation), cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries (leading to paralysis or disability in limb coordination), dwarfism, and disabilities which impair the use of joints.[3]
Blind and visually impaired swimmers compete within separate categories, being allocated to categories 11, 12 or 13. Category 11 corresponds to totally blind swimmers, while competitors in category 12 have severe but not total visual impairment.[3] Category 11 swimmers compete with blackened goggles to ensure competitors are on an even level. Category 11 swimmers are also required to use tappers but they are optional for categories 12 and 13.[4]
Swimmers with mental disabilities compete in category 14,[3] while deaf and hearing impaired swimmers compete in category 15.[5]
Numbers are combined with a letter prefix depending on the event type. An "S" prefix corresponds to freestyle, backstroke and butterfly, while "SB" corresponds to breaststroke and "SM" to the medley. Hence, a swimmer with severe physical disabilities competing in backstroke may compete in an S3 event, while a blind swimmer in the medley would compete in class SM11.[3]
For relay races, athletes from different classifications compete together, but the sum of their individual classifications must not exceed a given points total. For example, a relay team for a 34 points freestyle relay may consist of two S8 swimmers and two S9 swimmers (9 + 9 + 8 + 8 = 34), or an S10 swimmer and three S8 swimmers (10 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 34) [6]
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- Swimming at the Summer Paralympics
- World Para Swimming Championships
- World Para Swimming European Championships
- Para Swimming World Series
The World Series was launched in 2017.[12][13][14][15][16][17]
- 2017 World Para Swimming World Series - 5 Meetings
- 2018 World Para Swimming World Series - 6 Meetings
- World Para Swimming World Series 2019 - 7 Meetings
- World Para Swimming World Series 2020 - 7 Meetings (5 of 7 was cancelled)
- World Para Swimming - World Series 2021 - 4 Meetings
- World Para Swimming - World Series 2022 - 6 Meetings
- World Para Swimming - World Series 2023 - 8 Meetings
2017
Source:[18]
2017 World Para Swimming World Series
City, country Name Date
- Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen 2017 World Para Swimming World Series 11-12 March
- São Paulo, Brazil São Paulo 2017 World Para Swimming World Series - Loterias Caixa Swimming Open Championships 21-23 April
- Sheffield, Great Britain Sheffield 2017 World Para Swimming World Series - British Para Swimming International Meet 27-30 April
- Indianapolis, USA Indianapolis 2017 World Para Swimming World Series 9-11 June
- Berlin, Germany Berlin 2017 World Para Swimming World Series - Internationale Deutsche Meisterschaften Swimming Berlin 6-9 July
2018
Source:[19]
2018 World Para Swimming World Series
City, country Name Date
- Copenhagen, Denmark 2018 World Para Swimming World Series 2-4 March
- Indianapolis, USA 2018 World Para Swimming World Series 19-21 April
- São Paulo, Brazil 2018 World Para Swimming World Series Loterias Caixa Swimming Open Championships 26-28 April
- Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy 2018 World Para Swimming World Series 24-27 May
- Sheffield, Great Britain 2018 World Para Swimming World Series British Para Swimming International Meet 31 May-3 June
- Berlin, Germany 2018 World Para Swimming World Series Internationale Deutsche Meisterschaften Swimming Berlin 7-10 June
2019
Source:[20]
2019 World Para Swimming World Series
City, country Name Date
- Melbourne, Australia – 15-17 February 2019
- Indianapolis, USA – 4-6 April 2019
- São Paulo, Brazil – 26-28 April 2019
- Glasgow, Great Britain – 25-28 April 2019
- Singapore – 10-12 May 2019
- Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy – 30 May-2 June 2019
- Berlin, Germany – 6-9 June 2019
2020
Source:[21]
2020 World Para Swimming World Series
City, country Name Date
- Melbourne, Australia 14-16 February 2020
- Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy 27 February -1 March 2020 (CANCELLED)
- São Paulo, Brazil 25 -28 March 2020 (CANCELLED)
- Sheffield, Great Britain 9-12 April 2020 (CANCELLED)
- Indianapolis, USA 16-18 April 2020 (CANCELLED)
- Singapore, 1-3 May 2020 (CANCELLED)
- Berlin, Germany 2020 15-18 October 2020 (new dates)
2021
Source:[22]
2021 World Para Swimming World Series
City, country Name Date
- Sheffield 2021 World Series, Great Britain; 8 – 11 April
- Lewisville 2021 World Series, USA; 15 - 17 April
- Lignano Sabbiadoro 2021 World Series, Italy; 17 - 18 April
- Berlin 2021 World Series, Germany; 17 – 20 June
2022
Source:[23]
2022 World Para Swimming World Series
City, country Name Date
- Para Swimming World Series Great Britain 17–20 February Aberdeen
- Para Swimming World Series Australia 18-20 February Melbourne
- Para Swimming World Series Italy 11-13 March Lignano Sabbiadoro
- Para Swimming World Series Germany 31 March-3 April Berlin
- Para Swimming World Series USA 7-9 April Indianapolis
2023
Source:[24]
- Citi Para Swimming World Series Australia 17-19 February
- Citi Para Swimming World Series Lignano Sabbiadoro 9-12 March
- Citi Para Swimming World Series Great Britain 16–19 March
- Citi Para Swimming World Series USA 20-22 April
- Citi Para Swimming World Series Singapore 29 April-1 May
- Citi Para Swimming World Series Berlin 11-14 May
- Citi Para Swimming World Series France 26-28 Ma
- Citi Para Swimming World Series Mexico 5-8 October
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