ELITE SPORT

BRITISH PARALYMPIC SWIMMERS SPORT SCIENCE

AND MEDICINE SUPPORT FOR By Clare Pheasey, BSc

CLASSIFICATION AND DISABILITY IN SPORT In competitive sport for people with disabilities, athlete classifica- tion is used to describe the systematic process by which the participants are objectively evaluated in relation to their impair- ment (disability) and/or sports potential for the allocation to a specific competition class, band, group or division for the conduct of a fair sports contestant. To the uninitiated, the terminology and complexity within the different classification systems can be both confusing and off-putting. However, in simple terms all disabled athletes are classified using two types of medical classification: (i) disability specific and (ii) functional ability. Elite disabled swim- mers and those who aspire to be the best, must have an authorised International Paralympic Committee classification in order to be eligible to compete at an international level.

PARALYMPIC SWIMMING Swimming has been a Paralympic Games event since the first games were held in Rome in 1960. It is one of the largest and most pop- ular competitive events in the Paralympic Games. Athletes compete in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke, individual medley and relay. In Athens, Britain’s swimmers won an impressive haul of 16 gold, 20 silver and 16 bronze medals.

SPORTS SCIENCE AND MEDICINE SUPPORT As a result of the lottery funding, British Swimming provides sport science and medicine support for elite disabled and non-disabled swimmers. This includes the development of current international swimmers aiming for Beijing in 2008. Over the last four years an integrated, sport-specific sport science and medicine support pro- gramme has been developed to ensure a multi-disciplinary approach to training and competition. This group of individuals including physiotherapists, nurses, doctors, biomechanists, physiologists and a dietitian, and including personnel from all three Home Country

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Institutes of Sport, have a unique insight into the scientific and medical requirements of disabled swimming. This allows for detailed guidance on the training programmes for elite performance includ- ing: individual training programmes, maintaining health status, maximising dietary intake, enhancing rehabilitation and recovery, appropriate monitoring for training progression/regression, avoid- ing overtraining and optimising competitive performance.

Physiological support Swimmers’ development and fitness status is monitored through a comprehensive physiological testing programme. This provides the swimmer and/or coach with individualised information on training progress and status, through: (i) poolside support at training venues, camps and competitions (ii) regionalised step tests utilising the three “Home Country Institutes of Sport” (HCIs) (iii) acclimatisation and hydration advice (predominantly at train- ing camps, including morning heart rates, sleep quality, osmolality, and pre- and post-training weights) (iv) coach education (v) applied research.

In recent years heart rate, blood lactate, rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and swim data has been collected during training and where possible during the competitive environment. Research findings, together with the testing and monitoring of training programmes, have enabled swimmer and coach education on the physiological demands of training and competition. During the lead up to Athens 2004, this included the development of a comprehensive database of swim-down protocols for individuals in relation to their key events.

Regional step tests are carried out within the swimmers’ home- based training programme on a 6-8 week basis, utilising the swim- mer’s home-based coach and a HCI physiologist. British Disability

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