Para V: a new event for swimmers with disabilities

Rowan Clarke talks to Jonty Warneken about his new challenge aimed at swimmers with disabilities

At the start of the Wild Wye Swim, a crowd of all shapes, sizes and ages made its way into the river, including a man who removed his prosthetic leg before giving it to a steward and setting off on his swim. Once swimming, he blended into the rest of the group because water is a great leveller.

Although people with disabilities have been taking part in mainstream open water swimming events for years, they still face barriers. These can be fairly obvious physical barriers such as getting across a sandy beach in a wheelchair or clambering up a river bank at the end of a swim. But other less visible barriers are often harder to overcome and both event organisers and participants can lack the knowledge, tools and confidence to find the right support.

Enter Jonty Warneken. An amputee, accomplished outdoor swimmer and formidable human being, Jonty has always had the confidence to plunge into open water swimming events forging a way for other swimmers with disabilities. Now, he has launched an exciting new challenge called the Para V that focusses on the needs of swimmers with disabilities. So, what impact will it have?

Breaking barriers

“For a lot of people with disabilities, once you’re in the water, the swimming is almost the easy bit. It’s all about the access to the water; the physical access, the monetary access, the safety aspect,” says Jonty. “So, I came up with something focused on disabled people, which is a decent challenge but something you can achieve and be proud of.”

Sitting on the board for the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA), Jonty’s been helping swimmers with disabilities into ice swimming for a few years.

Leading by example, he was the first person with a disability to swim an ice mile, has completed the 17.8km Windermere End to End, and was the a member of the first team of people with disabilities, Bits Missing, to cross the North Channel from Ireland to Scotland.

While Jonty recognises that there’s a broad spectrum of disabilities and individual lived experiences, his own experience as a swimmer and in events gives him an insight into the barriers commonly faced by people with disabilities. These might include physical access to the water, financial pressures, safety and knowing how to get the right support and advice.

“Accessibility is not just about the physical getting in, although that is massive,” he says. “You also have monetary accessibility – [people with disabilities] face extra costs, and what they get from the Government doesn’t absorb all of those extra costs.”

But confidence is also a big factor; a swimmer’s confidence in their ability, and also to ask for the right support. After their Bits Missing Channel crossing one of Jonty’s team mates, Mary Clewlow-Self, said that being a part of the team had given her the confidence to enter an event and talk to the organisers about making it inclusive for her.

“What put me off was practical issues like: OK, it’s a sea swim, but how am I going to get into the sea on my crutches?” she says. “I’m doing a swim in August and I’ve now got the confidence to say: how are we going to manage my crutches?”

Starting the conversation

Jonty set up the Para V challenge to be flexible, adaptable, affordable and inclusive. Participants pick their own swims, the only conditions being that they swim five 5km swims and one of those swims is in the sea.

As the challenge grows, participants will be able to share their knowledge on swim spots to help others choose where to attempt their swims.

While it’s centred on people with disabilities, you don’t have to have a physical or visible disability to take part, or any disability at all, meaning you do it with friends.

“I came up with this thing called the power of five, which is five 5km swims that you do in locations that suit you with an observer. It’s that simple. You can swim it in a wetsuit, you can swim it skins, whatever. You just let us know you want to do it,” says Jonty. “And then part of it is filling out the application form, adding where you swim and what the accessibility’s like so that other people can go: Jonty swam in Windermere and he says it’s good for amputees but it’s pretty crappy for wheelchair users.”

A big part of Jonty’s motivation for creating the Para V challenge and for taking on big challenges himself, is to create conversation and visibility around open water swimming with a disability. He also wants to help people gain confidence and become part of a community of outdoor swimmers with disabilities who share knowledge and experience. At the same time, he plansto offer open water events support with issues like access, transport, safety and insurance to make them more inclusive.

But, most of all, the Para V is about helping overcome barriers to achieve something amazing. “Surround yourself with ordinary people who do extraordinary things,” says Jonty. “People will be able to see that actually, there’s somebody who’s pretty ordinary who can say, I can help you; I’m no one special, but I’ve done this. You can do this.”

The Para V is open to all swimmers. Look out for the Icy Para V in autumn.

This article is from the February issue of Outdoor Swimmer. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.