Todd-'o'-Vision
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http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/friday/news_d33526afe09190d400ed.html
Prosthetic fin may sink swim league
Chandler Brown - Staff
Friday, August 9, 2002
A little boy spotted Hunter Scott's prosthetic fin at a swim meet a few years ago and complained to his father that the device gave Hunter an unfair advantage.
The boy didn't know he was standing next to Hunter's mother.
"I said, 'Excuse me, that's my son,' " Amanda Scott recalls.
"At first, he was horrified. But after I explained my son's condition, he said, 'Wow, that's really inspirational.' "
Others have reacted differently.
Hunter's prosthetic fin --- a standard swimming flipper strapped to a specially designed prosthetic leg --- is at the center of a controversy that threatens to tear apart one of metro Atlanta's largest recreational swim leagues.
Hunter, 14, was born with a birth defect that kept his left leg from growing to full size. It ends just above the knee.
That didn't stop Hunter from becoming an accomplished swimmer and a medal-winning member of the River Club River Rats in Roswell. He swam successfully for several years without the prosthetic fin.
He began trying the fin a few years ago and started using it regularly in competition last summer.
Last month, Hunter was disqualified from competition by the Dunwoody-based DeKalb Atlanta Swim and Diving league after some parents complained his prosthetic fin helped him swim faster than other competitors.
Hunter's family said the fin simply gave him better balance and threatened to sue the league's board of directors. Rather than face a lawsuit, all 10 board members resigned.
Now, no one knows what will happen to the 3,000-swimmer league when competition resumes next spring. So far, no one has stepped up to serve on the volunteer board.
"It's been traumatic for a lot of people," said Mike McCarter, a former league co-president and one of the board members who stepped down. "It's questionable whether the organization will stay intact."
The controversy began in June when an opposing coach questioned the use of the fin, and a handful of parents and swimmers complained. The league's board ruled that the fin was not in keeping with the rules of USA Swimming, the national governing body for competitive swimming.
"We in no way said that he could not swim," McCarter said. "We said he could swim in exhibition [events], but not in competition."
The ruling was in keeping with USA Swimming guidelines, said Pam Redding, national chairman of the group's adaptive swimming committee. USA Swimming encourages participation by disabled athletes, but does not allow them to use any devices to help them swim, Redding said.
The Scotts threatened to sue the Dunwoody league to force the board to allow Hunter to compete, and to come up with a plan to evaluate any similar situations. They said they were not seeking monetary damages.
"This was never about money," Amanda Scott said. "This was about doing the right thing."
But board members, who are not covered by liability insurance, felt intimidated.
"It just wasn't worth being sued over," said former board member Patty Levin. "It's a very sad commentary that parents would go to that extreme just so he could swim five seconds faster."
Keller Torrey, 44, who has two kids in the River Rats, said the board overreacted.
"This is the only time he'll ever be able to compete in a meaningful way with able-bodied children," Torrey said. "What's the big deal?"
The season is over, and both sides are content to let the dust settle.
"I don't want the league to shut down," said Hunter, a rising freshman at Woodward Academy. "I did this so other kids after me would have a chance. The next kid might not have the will to fight as hard as I did."
Prosthetic fin may sink swim league
Chandler Brown - Staff
Friday, August 9, 2002
A little boy spotted Hunter Scott's prosthetic fin at a swim meet a few years ago and complained to his father that the device gave Hunter an unfair advantage.
The boy didn't know he was standing next to Hunter's mother.
"I said, 'Excuse me, that's my son,' " Amanda Scott recalls.
"At first, he was horrified. But after I explained my son's condition, he said, 'Wow, that's really inspirational.' "
Others have reacted differently.
Hunter's prosthetic fin --- a standard swimming flipper strapped to a specially designed prosthetic leg --- is at the center of a controversy that threatens to tear apart one of metro Atlanta's largest recreational swim leagues.
Hunter, 14, was born with a birth defect that kept his left leg from growing to full size. It ends just above the knee.
That didn't stop Hunter from becoming an accomplished swimmer and a medal-winning member of the River Club River Rats in Roswell. He swam successfully for several years without the prosthetic fin.
He began trying the fin a few years ago and started using it regularly in competition last summer.
Last month, Hunter was disqualified from competition by the Dunwoody-based DeKalb Atlanta Swim and Diving league after some parents complained his prosthetic fin helped him swim faster than other competitors.
Hunter's family said the fin simply gave him better balance and threatened to sue the league's board of directors. Rather than face a lawsuit, all 10 board members resigned.
Now, no one knows what will happen to the 3,000-swimmer league when competition resumes next spring. So far, no one has stepped up to serve on the volunteer board.
"It's been traumatic for a lot of people," said Mike McCarter, a former league co-president and one of the board members who stepped down. "It's questionable whether the organization will stay intact."
The controversy began in June when an opposing coach questioned the use of the fin, and a handful of parents and swimmers complained. The league's board ruled that the fin was not in keeping with the rules of USA Swimming, the national governing body for competitive swimming.
"We in no way said that he could not swim," McCarter said. "We said he could swim in exhibition [events], but not in competition."
The ruling was in keeping with USA Swimming guidelines, said Pam Redding, national chairman of the group's adaptive swimming committee. USA Swimming encourages participation by disabled athletes, but does not allow them to use any devices to help them swim, Redding said.
The Scotts threatened to sue the Dunwoody league to force the board to allow Hunter to compete, and to come up with a plan to evaluate any similar situations. They said they were not seeking monetary damages.
"This was never about money," Amanda Scott said. "This was about doing the right thing."
But board members, who are not covered by liability insurance, felt intimidated.
"It just wasn't worth being sued over," said former board member Patty Levin. "It's a very sad commentary that parents would go to that extreme just so he could swim five seconds faster."
Keller Torrey, 44, who has two kids in the River Rats, said the board overreacted.
"This is the only time he'll ever be able to compete in a meaningful way with able-bodied children," Torrey said. "What's the big deal?"
The season is over, and both sides are content to let the dust settle.
"I don't want the league to shut down," said Hunter, a rising freshman at Woodward Academy. "I did this so other kids after me would have a chance. The next kid might not have the will to fight as hard as I did."
