The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) today launched a design competition for a lift that will give disabled swimmers access to the London 2012 pool.
The ODA is exploring options for an affordable alternative lift to those currently available on the market for disabled swimmers that will use the two 50m pools in the London 2012 Aquatics Centre after the Games.
Current solutions to access pools either prevent a full swimming lane being used for competitions or do not enable disabled swimmers to enter the pool independently or with minimal assistance.
ODA Chairman John Armitt said: “This is an opportunity for London 2012 to provide the UK design industry with another platform to demonstrate their creativity. It is a challenging brief but I’m confident the UK has the expertise to develop an innovative solution that could potentially benefit disabled swimmers across the world.”
The competition, which is being advertised on the ODA’s online opportunities website CompeteFor, is intended to help the market develop a new design that could become available to disabled swimmers across the world. The solution being sought could be used in existing pools that are currently inaccessible to disabled swimmers and be able to be stored during competition.
Designers can register their interest in the competition for an ‘Accessible Pool Platform’ at CompeteFor through the London 2012 Business Network www.london2012.com/business
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