Age:

13–30

Age Description:

Athletes must be a minimum of 13 years of age and maximum of 30 years of age in 2026. Eligible birth years: athletes born between 1996 and 2013, inclusive.

Zone Team Composition:

A maximum of 8 athletes for the sport.

Wildcards:

Not applicable.

Maximum Athletes:

8

Coaches:

(See BC Games General Rules for information about the “adult supervisor” role)

One (1) head coach and two (2) gender specific assistant coaches or adult supervisors for the sport.

Every zone must name a head coach and at least one assistant coach (exception: sports for athletes with a disability, which must have one head coach and at least one assistant coach for the sport).  If additional adults are named for the zone (or sport) and they meet the certification requirements of assistant coaches, they should be registered with the role “assistant coach”, otherwise they are registered with the role “adult supervisor”.  See BC Games General Rules for more information.

Officials:

The number of Officials the sport is permitted to register as participants)

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Transportation, accommodation, and meals, as arranged by the Host Society, will be provided for officials. See BC Games General Rules for more information.

Athlete Eligibility:

In addition to BC Games General Rules, the sport-specific eligibility requirements noted in this technical package are in effect for the 2026 BC Winter Games.

Athletes may only attend two BC Games to compete in Swimming-Para.

Competitors must be registered with Swim BC.

Para swimmers who have been selected to the Canada Games or any Swimming Canada team will be ineligible.

Para swimmers who have held an SR1, SR2, SR Injury, SR2 Injury, C1, or Development card (as defined by Sport Canada's Athlete Assistance Program) at any time are NOT eligible to compete in the BC Summer Games.

Para swimmers who have competed for any nation at any Pan American Games, Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games, FISU Games, Pan Pacific Championships, Senior World Aquatic Championships, Paralympic Games, IPC Swimming World Championships, Special Olympics World Games, or Para Pan American Games are NOT eligible to compete in the BC Summer Games.

Athletes must hold at least a Level 2 designation. They will be ranked by the Provincial Advisor based on their highest SC Canadian Paralympic Points achieved between September 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026. The Provincial Advisor may exercise discretion to relax the minimum time standard when necessary.

Coaching Eligibility:

Note that the role of head coaches and assistant coaches at the BC Games includes travelling to and from the Games with the team/zone, residing with the team/zone in BC Games accommodation, and acting in a supervisory capacity throughout the Games. 
See BC Games General Rules for information about the roles of the head coach and assistant coach.

The head coach must be NCCP Fundamentals Coach certified.

Assistant coaches must be NCCP Fundamentals Coach trained. Adult supervisors are required to have completed Safe Sport Training.

BC Games General Rules dictate the level of coach certification required for head coaches and assistant coaches unless otherwise stated in this Technical Package – click here for details.  A minimum of Safe Sport Training is required for all adult supervisors – more information can be found here.

Events Categories:

Para-swimmer events will be mixed gender and multi-class. Winners will be determined by using the respective male and female Swimming Canada points calculator.

50 Free, 100 Free, 200/400 Free, 50/100 Back, 50/100 Breast, 50/100 Fly, and 150/200 IM, with distances for each class corresponding to the distances outlined in the time standards.

Strokes/events where distances are split by class (e.g. 50/100 Back) will be scored against each other for one set of medallists form each pair of events.

Swimmers can enter up to a maximum of 6 events (as per Swim BC Technical Rules).

All current Swimming Canada Technical Rules will be in effect at the Games.

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Equipment:

Competition uniforms/suits must meet World Aquatics rules.

Zone Selections and Registration Deadline:

Please refer to the BC Games General Rules for the registration deadline set by the BC Games Society. The BC Games deadline is in effect unless an earlier date is set by the Provincial Sport Organization is specified in this technical package.  See BC Games General Rules for registration procedures.

The top 8 scoring para-swimmers will be selected. The highest total score of 3 of the BC Games events will be used. (50-100 Free, 50/100 Back, 50/100 Breast, 50/100 Fly, 150-200 IM). Only one Freestyle event will be used.

Swim BC states that all zone selections must be completed by June 14, 2026 (or earlier) and that all entries must be submitted to the Provincial Advisor through REMS using the Hy-tek Meet Management system by July 7, 2026.

Accommodation and Transportation:

Also see BC Games General Rules for further details about accommodation and transportation.

Accommodation Requirements:
All athletes, coaches, and adult supervisors participating in the BC Games are required to stay in designated BC Games accommodation. This ensures a consistent Games experience for all participants, including access to meals, transportation, and supervision.

Officials are not required to stay in BC Games accommodation, unless they are under the age of 19 as of the first day of the Games. Officials should contact their Provincial Sport Organization (PSO) for further information on accommodation arrangements.

Exemptions for athletes or coaches to stay outside of BC Games accommodation may be granted for legitimate medical reasons. However, these exemptions are regulated and must be approved in advance to ensure the integrity of the accommodation model. Contact your Provincial Advisor for further information.

Transportation Requirements:
All athletes, coaches, and adult supervisors, except for those residing within close proximity to the host community, are expected to use BC Games transportation services from their designated pick-up point, which may include bus or air travel. This transportation is provided at no additional cost to participants. Participants residing within close proximity to the host community are responsible for their own travel to the Games, a process known as Immediate Vicinity Travel.

Participants may request to opt out of BC Games transportation (a process known as Own Travel) with approval from the Provincial Advisor. However, sport-specific travel requirements may override this option. Participants traveling under either Immediate Vicinity Travel or Own Travel do so at their own expense and liability. The full athlete fee still applies regardless of the travel method chosen.

All participants on BC Games transportation services must adhere to the BC Games Society’s Team Travel Policy which requires them to travel at their own expense and liability to a designated zone pick-up point and be under the supervision of a coach or adult supervisor from their sport.

Medals:

Medals will be awarded within the parameters of the BC Games Society Medals Rule.

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Fees:

See the BC Games General Rules for current BC Games registration fees.  Note that fees are assessed for athletes only (coaches, adult supervisors, and officials do not pay this fee).  Sports may assess additional fees to cover training, uniforms, qualification event(s), etc.  Please contact your Provincial Advisor or the PSO for more details. Fees are collected by the sport and paid to the BC Games Society upon invoice after the Games.

The BC Games athlete fee for the 2026 BC Summer Games is $175.00 and helps offset some Games operating expenses such as participant transportation, accommodation, and food services. Swim BC charges athletes a supplementary fee of $125.00 which is used to supply zone kits and honorariums. The total athlete fee to compete in Swimming-Para at the 2026 BC Summer Games is $300.00 and is collected by Swim BC.

Additional fees may be charged by individual zone teams to support pre-Games training opportunities and/or zone apparel kits, at the discretion of the Zone Rep or head coach.