High school group approves prosthetic fin

ATLANTA - The Georgia High School Association has approved a 14-year-old&#39;s prosthetic swim fin which was banned from a metro Atlanta swimming league this summer. <br> <br> Hunter Scott of Roswell has a birth defect that kept his left leg from growing to full size. It ends just above the knee. <br> <br> After the coach of an opposing team questioned the use of Hunter&#39;s flipper in June, the DeKalb-Atlanta Swim and Diving league ruled it violated guidelines that prohibit athletes from using artificial devices in competition. <br> <br> But the GHSA, which governs high school athletics, reaffirmed an earlier decision to let Hunter compete with the specially designed fin if he makes the Woodward Academy swim team. <br> <br> ``Our stance has not changed,&#39;&#39; GHSA executive director Ralph Swearngin said. He said there was no evidence that the fin would do anything more than provide stability, not propulsion, to the swimmer. <br> <br> ``We stand behind Hunter 100 percent,&#39;&#39; Woodward athletics director Dave Chandler said. ``I was really amazed that anyone would have said he was getting any special consideration in the first place.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``Our stance has not changed,&#39;&#39; said Executive Director Ralph Swearngin. ``There was no evidence that (the flipper) would do anything more than provide stability,&#39;&#39; not propulsion, to the swimmer. <br> <br> Hunter&#39;s attorney father, Andy Scott, had threatened to sue the DeKalb-Atlanta Swim and Diving league, which has 3,000 swimmers on neighborhood and county teams in Fulton and DeKalb counties. <br> <br> The suit was not filed, but the league&#39;s 10 board members felt intimidated and resigned anyway. Volunteers stepped in to help run the league through the end of the summer, though it&#39;s unclear whether the league will regroup next season.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/9/190141