OPINION: Para-athletes in High School athletics

By Tia Chakrapani ‘27

Ever since I can remember, I have been a competitive swimmer. My story got a bit complicated this summer when I was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis. Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disorder that affects your nerves and muscles resulting in severe generalized weakness.

Even though I have this condition, I still see myself as a competitor. I decided to explore what options were available to athletes like me. This is when I discovered para-athletics.

Para-athletes are athletes with physical or medical impairments that affect their performance in sports.

The Paralympic Movement started after World War II to help wounded veterans recover from their injuries. It is now an integral part of the Olympic movement.

Para-athletes worldwide vie to compete in the Paralympic Games that take place after the traditional Olympics. The next event will be in Paris in 2024.

The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) created rules for para-swimmers last year. Para-swimmers swim in their own heat and score points for their team just as other swimmers do.

Since there are very few para-swimmers, almost all of them score points, so having para-swimmers could be seen as an unfair advantage. Thus, OSAA accounted for this by making these points only helpful and not punitive.

For example, if a para-athlete scores enough points to move the team to first place, the first-place team will not be penalized. Both will get first place. So, the points para-athletes score will count toward the team total, but will not harm schools without para-athletes.

Missy Smith, the Assistant Executive Director of the OSAA, who in part created the rule for para-athletes, said, “It started through the State Inclusion Committee with Track & Field and Swimming …We then talked with other states to see what they were doing, and we developed this for both Track & Field and Swimming.” So, OSAA’s rules are in keeping with para-athletic rules around the country.

In OSAA swimming, every para-athlete swims together in the same heat/scoring category. They do not take into account their gender, type of disability, or severity of disability when constructing the heat.

For example, the OSAA rule would allow for a 6-foot male amputee to swim against a 5-foot female with autism.

Tyler Reuter, Catlin Gabel School’s (CGS) Associate Athletics Director, was initially surprised by how OSAA grouped para-athletes. “I would likely say it is not fair. However, I think OSAA would lean more on inclusivity over competitive advantage in this case,” stated Reuter.

OSAA’s goal is inclusivity. They want to allow everyone to compete rather than having absolute parity between swimmers.

Adrienne Tam, a CGS senior, is a competitive swimmer, who also competes for CGS.

Tam shared, “It is also important to realize that these para-athletes are…part of the team and are there to help support the overall team score as well, so one could argue that they fully deserve the position they earned by the points they scored and should be the only team receiving a trophy for that position.”

The trophy rule is complicated as it both tries to be fair and include para-athletes, but also tries not to upset teams without para-athletes. In the end, this position somewhat devalues the para-athlete.

Tam also has mixed feelings about combining different genders and disabilities in the same heat.

Tam proposes a more equitable solution by categorizing para-athletes into groups based on similar disabilities. She said, “A way they could make the competition in terms of disabilities more fair is if they could separate the para-athletes into groups/categories that consist of people with similar disabilities and make these groups the different heats for each event.”

This is what the Paralympic Swimming Association does, and it seems fair. The Paralympics stratifies their athletes into dozens of categories depending on the type and severity of their disability. In doing so, a level playing field is created for each category.

Reuter brings up concerns about not having enough para-athletes in Oregon to put that idea into full swing. He also states, “I wouldn’t change it as I think delineating further compares disabilities and could easily venture into [the] territory of othering.”

Tam said, “This is somewhat related to the reoccurring conversation in USA Swimming and other sports about whether or not it is fair for transgenders to compete in the gender they now identify as.”

There is a delicate balance between inclusivity, competitiveness, and fairness, but sports at their core are competitive. The goal is to win. However, an even greater goal is to allow everyone, regardless of their ability, to compete.

My story as a para-athlete is just beginning. I would be devastated if my medical condition did not allow me to compete in sports. That is why para-athletics is so important. It allows everyone to participate in the joys of sport.