Prosthetic fin dispute threatens swim league

Posted 9:51AM on Friday 9th August 2002 ( 22 years ago )

ATLANTA - One of the state's largest recreational swim leagues is in disarray, its existence threatened by a controversy surrounding the use of a prosthetic fin by a 14-year-old. Hunter Scott was born with a birth defect that kept his left leg from growing past the knee. He swam successfully for several years without the special fin, winning medals with the River Club River Rats in Roswell. A few years ago, he began using a standard swimming flipper strapped to a specially designed prosthetic leg. He began using it regularly in competition in the summer of 2001. 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. No one knows what will happen to the 3,000-swimmer league when competition resumes next spring. There have been no volunteers to serve on the 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 board ruled that the fin was not in keeping with the rules of USA Swimming, the national governing body. ``We said he could swim in exhibition .125events.375, but not in competition,'' McCarter said. According to Pam Redding, national chairman of USA Swimming's adaptive swimming committee, the ruling conformed with the organization's guidelines. USA Swimming encourages participation by disabled athletes, but does not allow them to use any devices to help them swim, Redding said. The Scotts said they were not seeking monetary damages. ``This was never about money,'' Hunter's mother, Amanda, 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."

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/8/191512