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Swimming has long been recognised by parents, teachers and coaches to be a sport at which people with Down Syndrome can enjoy as a recreational activity and also one in which they can be competitive.

Coaching people with Down Syndrome is not so different from coaching any swimmer. However, for effective coaching the coach needs to be aware of these main points in coaching Down Syndrome swimmers:

Coaches need to be patient

Keep instructions short and concise, repeating them many times.

Teaching good stroke technique is essential but takes many hours, don’t give up.

Learning the basic swimming rules is again very important but is also a slow progress

Coaches must be aware of AAI and the affect this has on diving and the butterfly stroke.

Coaches must make themselves aware of each swimmers limitations in bodily movement not only when swimming but also when doing warm up, stretching and flexibility exercises

Finally, remember that coaching people with Down Syndrome is more like coaching non-disabled people than it is different.

Competitive opportunities do exist within the programmes of Special Olympics and also INAS-FID which is the International Organisation through which all people with learning disability can access the Paralympics Programme.

However, a number of years ago we realised that swimmers with Down Syndrome were being outclassed in competition by other people with learning disabilities who did not have the same physical disabilities that are often associated with Down Syndrome. For this reason the Down Syndrome International Swimming Organisation (DSISO) was created.

This organisation now provides the opportunity to swim at a World Class level through its World Championships held every two years and also keeps World Record information for swimmers with Down Syndrome. Swimmers who register with DSISO every two years are able to keep in touch with other Down Swimmers and eventually, as in the UK, South Africa and Australia, established their own DS National Swimming Organisations to further the opportunities for Down Swimmers such as National and Regional Championships. The next World Championship, for which 19 countries have already expressed an interest, will be held in Portugal in 2008. More information about this can be found on our Website soon.