Georgia Board OKs Teen’s Use of Fin for Swim Competitions

The Georgia High School Assn. has approved a 14-year-old’s use of a prosthetic swim fin for competitive use. The device had been banned from a league after complaints that it helped him swim faster.

Hunter Scott of Roswell has a birth defect that kept his left leg from growing to full size. It ends just above the knee.

After the coach of an opposing team questioned the use of the flipper in June, the DeKalb-Atlanta Swim and Diving league ruled it violated guidelines that prohibit athletes from using artificial devices in competition.

But the state association, which governs high school athletics, reaffirmed an earlier decision to let Hunter compete with the specially designed fin if he makes the swim team at his school, Woodward Academy.

The swim league’s 10 board members resigned after Hunter’s father threatened to sue. The lawsuit was never filed.

Hunter said his improvement came from weightlifting and growth, not from using the flipper.