In Drôme, the Camille Muffat swimming pool in Portes-lès-Valence is the first in the department to obtain the “Tourism and Disability” label. A distinction which rewards establishments which best welcome disabled people. With this sports equipment, nothing has been left to chance when it comes to inclusiveness.
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In Portes-lès-Valence, the Camille Muffat swimming pool is a recent facility. It was inaugurated three years ago and has just been labeled “Tourism and Disability”. From the start, it was designed with the idea of being accessible to different disabilities.
This Saturday, November 23, the elected officials of the Agglomeration unveiled in front of the establishment the label that the equipment has just obtained. This is the first time that a sports establishment has obtained this label in Drôme.
Next to the elevator reserved for people with reduced mobility, two boxes are intended to accommodate guide dogs for the blind. In the 500 m² changing rooms, markings on the floor allow visually impaired people to orient themselves, Braille inscriptions appear on the doors, the changing rooms have ramps and wider seats. In this swimming pool, access is made easier for the greatest number of people.
The staff is also trained, notably in the use of a new launching device. A state-of-the-art machine, motorized and much more manageable. It is an articulated arm equipped with a chair that allows you to put the person in or out of the water effortlessly. Much simpler than the accessories used so far. “Previously, it was an old machine with a crank. It was very heavy and very complicated. This new system has completely changed our lives”explains Patrice Chapelle, lifeguard.
Handicap: a launching device, more manageable and more suitable in this Drôme swimming pool.
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© France tv
In the pools, this dad, who accompanies his daughter with a mental disability, greatly appreciates the improvements in accessibility. Previously, her child was afraid of the space between land and water. In the basin, the edge has been redesigned: the ground and the water are now at the same level. The pleasure of swimming returns, without anxiety. “We can all have fun, stay in the water a little. It's nice here. And sometimes she doesn't want to get out of the pool“, confirms the father.
The first Tourism & Handicap-certified swimming pool in Drôme: the redesigned coping
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© France tv
For Adem Benchelloug, deputy in charge of sports at Valence Romans Agglo, the development of this swimming pool “isn’t just about an elevator.” It’s a sum of small adjustments that have been carefully thought through. The fruit of the political will of the city.
“This is important for the 54 municipalities that make up our agglomeration. The goal is that all the facilities that will be renovated or built must be inclusive and accessible,” explain Adem Benchelloug. “The goal is to provide the same level of service to the entire population, disabled or not,” concluded the deputy.
Only around twenty swimming pools in France have received the Tourism and Handicap label. The Camille Muffat swimming pool in Porte-lès-Valence is the first in Drôme. This distinction is an asset, a vector of attractiveness for disabled audiences. Cherry on the cap, the establishment also offers a free rate for accompanying persons people with disabilities.
