Julia Lane from Windsor, Ontario proves to Canada and the world that anyone can swim, no matter what obstacles one may face.
The 18-year-old competed with hundreds of youths and adults at the Down Syndrome World Swimming Championships in Truro, Nova Scotia in July, coming home with a silver medal and four bronze medals – a feat for any trained competitive swimmer. Lane was one of only twenty-two swimmers representing Canada, with over twenty-five countries representing themselves at the Championship.
Lane is just one of many who give us all inspiration to not only swim, but to let go of all “cannot-will not” inhibitions of us thinking we cannot learn to swim. Coast2Coast Swim School teaches everyone of all abilities, and does not discriminate in any way or form. We want to to continue having the highest standards of learning and having the Greater Toronto Area complete their goals of swimming ability!
We’ve mentioned previously the wonders that swimming does – for the mind, the body, and for your health, and we still stick by it!
We understand that not everyone is built the same – and that’s okay! Our certified and highly experienced Canadian Red Cross Instructors are trained to teach anyone and everyone of all abilities and walks of life. Those on the autism spectrum, participants with mental and/or physical disabilities, invisible illnesses and disorders, and those with hearing, speech, and/or vision impairments are all welcome to register with Coast2Coast! When we say we want all to learn how to swim – we mean it!
At the previous Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016, over twenty-six Canadians competed, with five of them (Benoit Huot, Nicolas-Guy Turbide, Aurélie Rivard, Tess Routliffe and Katarina Roxon) bringing back bronze and silver medals, with Rivard and Roxon bringing gold medals home to Canada. Like Lane, they do not let their physical afflictions stop them from representing Canada on the competitive level, and showing the world how diverse and inclusive we are in our swimming programs.
Not every child who learns to swim wants to compete. Some want to just be able to do an activity their friends love, or for their own satisfaction of learning a sport that does not divide itself between ‘capable’ and ‘incapable’.There are several helpful and superb reasons that swimming is a fantastic physical activity and competitive sport for those of all differently abled. Reasons that include but are not limited:
- Swimming speed and duration is set to your standards – it can be gentle and relaxing if needed, but also fast and exhilarating if you want to go the extra mile!
- Pools with colourful ropes that separate lanes help those with vision impairment maintain their course and progress of laps
- Hearing loops are also helpful for vision impairment in lap completion and preventing injury
- Some pools have pool hoists that lift those with physical and invisible disability into the water, which focuses the swimmers energy on the sport and not the worry of getting in and out of the pool!
Disabilities and impairments are only a secondary factor when it comes to the sport of learning to swim; the most important is the swimmer’s passion! Swimming Canada became the first integrated national sports organization in 1993 to offer a program for those with functional, visual, hearing, and intellectual disability. We continue to emerge ourselves in creating an inclusive, and widely accepted swimming training program for all swimmers! Whether your child wants to be a part of a group in our public swim program, or do private lessons where they feel no pressure amongst their peers, we accommodate all of our swimmers – regardless of abilities or disabilities!
Whether our swimmers want to compete like Julia or our Paralympians, or just have fun with their peers in a setting where their disability or impairment does not exist, Coast2Coast is here for your beginning or advanced training and expertise in aquatics! For those with physical limitations, getting in the pool can be a marvelous experience for freedom of movement that is like no other on land.
Our selected pools we use for private and public lessons have resources such as flotation devices to help control speed, movement, and direction. We want our swimmers to be able to swim however they want, yet we still talk with the parents in seeing what goals we want for the kids, in terms of Canadian Red Cross Swimming Levels and skill sets.
For private lessons, we can mobilize to your own pool or pool of your choice, where your swimmer is comfortable and appropriate equipment is available for their specific needs. Our public lessons offered at one of our three pools have varied devices and services to help those with visible and invisible disabilities.
Our Downtown Toronto pool (Harrison Pool) offers accessibility features such as:
- Wheel-Trans drop-off/pick-up at front doors
- Powered door operation – elevator access
- Accessible washrooms – private changing stalls
- Barrier free shower – accessible for wheelchairs, walkers, etc.
Our North York pool (Goulding Centre) offers accessibility features such as:
- Free accessible parking
- Wheel-Trans drop-off/pick-up at front doors
- Powered door operation – elevator access
- Accessible washrooms – barrier free shower stalls
- Ramp into the pool
Our Thornhill (Vaughan) pool (Garnet A. Williams Pool) offers accessibility features such as:
- Free accessible parking
- Powered door operation
- Accessible washrooms
- Ramp into pool
It is a scary thought to start swimming if you never have, and do not know how to start with your condition or disability. Swimming.org has brought out an information package here that includes an introduction to swimming with a disability, an overview of conditions and how to start out swimming, the stages of swimming devices used, and swimming skills that are best suited for each condition. All these should be discussed with our instructor’s before the assessment lesson to decide what level your child should start out in and what the goals are for swimming skills and ability.
Julia Lane bringing her medals home from Truro reminds us that impossibility is only a theory we think of, and not an actuality. The unimaginable can begin when we start to believe we are capable regardless of what physical, mental, or other limitations we may have. Coast2Coast Swim School has been committed in giving quality lessons and training for every ability! We offer the Canadian Red Cross Swim Kids program, and our own Coast2Coast Swimming Programs; both programs we work closely with you and our instructors and make sure you and your children get the best, most rewarding swim training in the Greater Toronto Area!
Contact us at 1-866-291-9121 to find an instructor today and begin your swim training today!
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