Total Locker Service Locker Specialist

The Locker and Storage Specialist Blog

  • Home
  • Faqs
  • About US
  • Contact Us
  • Lockers, School Lockers, Bench Seating, Parts, and Service
  • Product installations
  • A-Z Index Page Total Locker Service
  • Lists
  • Key Storage Solutions by Total Locker Service

GB Paralympian Robin Surgeoner on the Benefits of Disabled Swimming

Disabled Swimming: A Sense of Freedom in the Pool

Robin Surgeoner MBE is a former Team GB Paralympic swimmer. Robin, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, won nine gold medals between 1984 and 1992. He’s now involved in music, poetry and empowerment training.

Robin’s wife and kids use wheelchairs too, so he is something of an expert when it comes to accessibility. That’s why he co-founded The Accessible Planet, a website that compiles all sorts of useful information for Disabled People – from wheelchair accessible vehicles to holiday camps for children with learning disabilities.

If I could breathe underwater, I’d live in the pool

Swimming is extremely popular among people who have disabilities and Robin thinks that’s because of the freedom of movement it offers.

“If you’ve got a mobility issue, there’s a sense of freedom that water gives you.

“I am so much more comfortable in water, if I could breathe underwater, I’d live in the swimming pool. I feel free and I can move easily thanks to the weightless feeling of being in the pool.

“When people experience pain and discomfort on a daily basis, water can offer relief.”

Swimming Gives Confidence to Disabled Children

Robin supports getting Disabled Children into swimming because it builds confidence and teaches crucial lessons about water safety.

“I think it’s utterly important that all Disabled Children are taught to swim. Whether they go on to be Paralympic swimmers or not doesn’t matter, it’s about giving them confidence and a freedom of movement they might not have on land.

“There are important safety lessons that learning to swim gives you too. I know my kids can swim. If they were to fall in a pond or they were on a boat that tipped over, I know they’d be okay. If they saw someone else in trouble they would have the confidence and know how to help.”

Robin has been swimming for as long as he can remember, and jokes that he is more  at home under water than on land.

“I started swimming when I was about three in hydrotherapy and I could swim long before I could walk. I was a very natural swimmer and it was something I loved from a really young age.

“My family moved to Hong Kong when I was quite young and I spent practically every free moment either in the pool or in the sea. I’d spend hours on end snorkelling and looking at sea cucumbers and starfish.”

Ellie Simmonds is a Fantastic Role Model

Robin wants to see more young Disabled People getting involved with swimming and thinks the stars of the London 2012 Paralympic Games are helping with this.

“I hope more young people will be encouraged to start swimming because of people like Ellie. She’s done incredibly well for herself, four gold medals is an amazing tally.

“I think her age has helped her in terms of attracting media interest, and although she looks different, she isn’t different. She’s very easy for children to identify with, although she’s very identifiable as a disabled person too. I think she’s a great athlete, swimmer and role model.

“You’d be astonished by the amount of people I meet who say things like ‘you’re just like us really, aren’t you?’ or ‘I’ve never met a disabled person before, but you’re alright really’ and you just sort of think to yourself ‘thanks for the vote of confidence, but why were you expecting anything else?’

“People like Ellie and Tanni Grey-Thompson, who have been instrumental in the progression of disability sports, are really important in tackling those stereotypes.”

Swimming for Great Britain

Swimming has always come naturally to Robin. As he progressed through his career the only real barrier to reaching the Paralympics was funding.

“I joined a club called the Rushmore Mallards in 1974 when my family moved back to England. I trained with them and competed in my first national gala when I was 12. I did really well and was pretty quickly picked up to go the GB training squad.

“I started swimming as a hobby, but after that point I never looked back.

“Back then, disabled swimming was completely self-funded. You and your club had to pay to get you to the Paralympics.

“Today disabled athletes get funding from central sources like the national lottery. It’s not a huge amount, like the powerful endorsements some non-disabled sportspeople receive, but at least it means our top athletes don’t have to work and can train full time.

“I trained with my disability sports club, which helped keep our camaraderie and team spirit together. My best mate, Andy Gilbert, and I also trained each other. We managed to negotiate free membership to the local sports centre, to get lane and gym time, which helped a lot.”

Winning Paralympic Gold

Robin took part in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Paralympic Games, in New York, Seoul and Barcelona. Robin bagged an incredible total of nine gold medals in the 100-metres breaststroke and 400-metres freestyle.

“It’s hard to pick just one highlight, because there were so many great moments.

“Watching my best mate, Andy, win a silver medal in Seoul was pretty special. That’s probably the memory that means to the most to me because we had trained together for so long. Obviously it was great to win myself too, that’s what we do it for.

“The stadium in Seoul sticks in my memory too because that was the first Games that shared all Olympic Games facilities. Lining up outside this huge stadium with the Olympic rings on the outside and then going out in front of nearly 100,000 screaming Koreans, with jets flying overhead, was an unforgettable moment.

What did London 2012 do for Disabled Swimming?

Robin has concerns that not enough is being done in leisure centres and schools to build on the interest in Paralympic sports that London 2012 created.

“The Paralympics Games in 2012 were a fantastically positive event. There was a huge short term change in the general public’s perception of Disabled People – they saw them as sportspeople.

“There are more disabled people taking part in sport which is great. But at the political level I don’t think there’s been much change, mainly because a lot of the right wing press portray disabled people as scroungers, dole cheats and lazy layabouts.

“Playing fields are being sold off across the country and sports in mainstream schools for disabled kids are practically non-existent. A lot of the time they’re totally excluded from P.E. lessons.

“My son was in a mainstream school that couldn’t offer him any sport at all because they just didn’t have the facilities or the inclination. Outside of school he was involved with GB basketball squads to an international level, but he wasn’t able to do any sport in school.

“Disabled People just aren’t expected to play sport as part of their everyday lives. It’s almost a separate existence. I’ve seen kids that play wheelchair basketball at the weekend, and they absolutely love it.  Playing sport is their whole life, but they only get to do it one day a week.

Sports Centre Changing Rooms are a Big Problem

Inaccessible changing facilities are a major barrier that prevents Disabled People getting involved with sport, according to Robin.

“Many health centres just aren’t accessible. We go as a family and that causes real problems.

“Sports centres usually only have one disabled changing room, and there’s often an assumption that any disabled person who wants to play sport will have someone with them to help them get changed. There’s very little consideration given to those who want to go independently or in groups. These institutional assumptions

often exist about Disabled People and one of the biggest ones is that families with several wheelchair users are just not expected to turn up.

“Accessing lockers can be tricky too. Our local health centre has a staffed locker room which makes things easier, but I’ve never seen mid-height lockers, without another locker underneath. That would be a big help. Lockers are never big enough for crutches or false legs either.”

Sponsor:

This interview was sponsored by Total Locker Service, experts in supplying lockers and other secure storage solutions for all sorts of needs. They provide an excellent range of accessible lockers for disabled changing rooms in sports and leisure centres and gyms. Contact the team on 01284 749211 for more details.

Categories

  • Bench seating (14)
  • bike storage (5)
  • Engraved product (6)
  • extreme plastic lockers (7)
  • Key storage (4)
  • Key strap (3)
  • locker keys (3)
  • Locker parts (41)
  • Locker service (36)
  • lockers (94)
  • Locks and keys (7)
  • medical cabinets (2)
  • outdoor lockers (6)
  • plastic lockers (7)
  • Postal lockers (1)
  • safes (1)
  • Safety products (20)
  • shelving and racking (3)
  • Storage (48)
  • Uncategorized (32)
  • RSS – Posts
  • RSS – Comments

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Budget wet area lockers
Laminate door lockers


leisure lockers

combination safe

leisure wrist straps
buggy locks
probe mini lockers

probe mini box lockers
lockers
Lockers

Lockers
Wire mesh lockers

laminate door lockers
coin lockers
post box locker

Ojmar OCS lock
Container trolley
bench seating

Posts comments

  • RSS – Posts
  • RSS – Comments

TLS Facebook

TLS Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Pages

  • A-Z Index Page Total Locker Service
  • About US
  • Contact Us
  • Faqs
  • Key Storage Solutions by Total Locker Service
  • Lists
  • Lockers, School Lockers, Bench Seating, Parts, and Service
  • Product installations

Archives

  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • June 2023
  • April 2023
  • September 2022
  • July 2022
  • August 2021
  • April 2021
  • January 2021
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • October 2019
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • April 2019
  • December 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • December 2017
  • September 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012

Categories

  • Bench seating (14)
  • bike storage (5)
  • Engraved product (6)
  • extreme plastic lockers (7)
  • Key storage (4)
  • Key strap (3)
  • locker keys (3)
  • Locker parts (41)
  • Locker service (36)
  • lockers (94)
  • Locks and keys (7)
  • medical cabinets (2)
  • outdoor lockers (6)
  • plastic lockers (7)
  • Postal lockers (1)
  • safes (1)
  • Safety products (20)
  • shelving and racking (3)
  • Storage (48)
  • Uncategorized (32)

WordPress

  • Log in
  • WordPress
© 2021 Safe Secure Locker Services Ltd. All rights reserved.
 

Loading Comments...