A talented deaf swimmer is celebrating after JCB funded a device which gives her an equal chance of success in contests against hearing competitors
Bethany Gamble, aged 11, had to rely on watching fellow swimmers move as her signal that a race had started at Newcastle Staffs Swimming Club. Now JCB has stepped in to fund a £500 strobe light at the Club which flashes on her starting block the moment a klaxon sounds for a race to begin.
Bethany’s mother Amy Gamble, of Stone, who works at JCB’s World HQ in Rocester, said:
Bethany loves swimming and as well as being a member of member Newcastle Staffs Swimming Club, she also is also a member of GB Deaf Swimming Club, competing in local, regional, and national galas.
Amy Gamble | Bethany's Mother
“Unfortunately, many clubs don’t have a strobe light which can be attached to a specific starting block and Bethany would have to wait for others to move to know when the race starts. The strobe light now means she can compete fairly without having to wait or rely on others to know when to start. It gives her the independence she needs to enjoy the sport she loves.”
Bethany, a pupil of Newcastle-under-Lyme School, was born with severe to profound bilateral hearing loss, and one day hopes to swim at the Deaflympics - the International Olympic games for the deaf.
In October 2022, Bethany joined Newcastle Staffs Swimming Club, which trains at Newcastle-under-Lyme School and Jubilee 2 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and she now regularly competes in local, regional, and national swimming competitions.
The club, which was founded in 1908, is a competitive swimming club with a performance programme to train the next generation of elite swimmers. To find out more or request a trial contact membershipsecretary.nssc@gmail.com.