IPC-Swimming has set up a subcommittee on Swimming Science to supporting scientific investigation leading to the further development of swimming for persons with a disability. The specific tasks are to:

Stimulate, perform and document scientific research related to disability swimming.

Assist in the development of educational material, both written and multi-media for disability swimming coaches, classifiers and technical advisors.

The Swimming Science Committee consists essentially of persons employed at Institutions of Higher Education. In this environment, the job description includes Research, Education and Public Service. Furthermore, expertise is close at hand regarding development of educational material. The possible sources of funding for such endeavours might also be more familiar to persons employed in Higher Education.

The committee will screen all proposals for research during IPC sanctioned swimming events (see guidelines below). The committee will assure that this research is disseminated not only through scientific meetings and journals specific to disability sport but also in the world of sport and movement science as a whole. The committee encourages all swimming researchers to include disability swimmers in their research projects.

Stimulating, performing and documenting scientific research related to disability swimming.

The committee should assemble an overview of researchers and current projects in the area of disability swimming. A centralised bibliography could grow out of this. (see appendix)

The committee should identify priority topics of research.

The committee (members) should participate in international scientific meetings related to aquatic activities and should communicate with related groups such as the FINA sports medical committee and the IOC medical commission regarding their work.

Assisting in the development of educational material, both written and multi-media for disability swimming coaches and classifiers.

The committee should make suggestions regarding which research finding might best be presented via multi-media (e.g. Web, video etc.) This process might be aided via the audio-visual services of their home institution as well as their previous experience in such projects via TV productions etc.

Potential priority topics of research for IPC swimming. The intention is to make a list of research topics and indicate if they are currently being worked on and by whom, if they are priority but not presently being worked on, or if they are just interesting. There should be an attempt to stimulate researchers from various disciplines to work together in attacking a specific problem. The implications of findings in this sample of persons with a disability who have a long history of intense physical activity should be clarified for persons of a more sedentary life style and for the athletes themselves in later life after cessation of intense training. Topics of direct application for scientific service to athletes are of course also of immediate interest.

Simple but valid methods of measuring buoyancy and the sinking force of legs.

Measurement of passive drag force and associating this with buoyancy measurements and physical characteristics e.g. hip and ankle muscle utilisation (active and passive flexibility)

Influence of altitude training on swimmers with hindered blood flow to some limbs.

Jet lag

Mechanical efficiency of disability swimmers (Energy cost, power, muscle use).

Computer simulations allowing the calculation of the loss of efficiency when e.g. a hand (propulsive surface) was lost.

Investigate the need (viability) for a specific class(es) for longer distance events in freestyle. This includes the 400 m free as well as Open Water events. (e.g. combining S9, S10, S13 and S14?)

Solicit information in other fields such as biology (fish swimming) which might help with the questions now proposed.

Set up suggested guidelines to be used by national governing bodies in their athlete selection policy. Closely related to this are the meet standards and medal times.

Investigate facility, seating and transport problems for championship venues

All topics regarding race analysis as well as stroking parameters.

Relationship of training background (Quantity and Quality) and age to performance.

Topics related to motivation, team membership, retirement (life after sport) and the under representation of women in some classes.

Medal and final place distribution within impairment groups.

Athletes concerns for the future of the sport.