50 YEARS AND STILL AFLOAT !
CARDIFF CHAMELEONS - 1959 to 2009
Back in 1958 our Founder Member, the late Mrs. Joyce Robinson, answered an advertisement in the local press for the post of voluntary secretary to the Society for Mentally Handicapped Children [now Cardiff MENCAP]. It was still the ‘dark ages’ for the mentally handicapped; still a time of denial, of doubt, of guilt and uncertainty for the parents. Because they had so little chance to try, parents did not know what their children could accomplish. It is very true to say that because the hopes and expectations of the experts were so low, parents were left with very little hope themselves for their mentally handicapped children.
Joyce found herself in a prime position to help some of these children and also the parents. She asked herself if it would be possible to teach them to swim. Joyce arranged to meet some of the parents and put her ideas forward. She booked an hour at a local swimming pool - no one arrived. These months were disheartening for Joyce. However, months turned into a year and new members were beginning to creep in. During these crucial years of teaching her pupils to swim, Joyce had not only gained the confidence of the parents, but she had also shown the experts as well that the mentally handicapped can be taught skills unknown to them before; the ‘lines of communication’ are there after all and it is just a matter of ‘tapping in to those lines’ in the right place.
The time had now arrived to put the swimming club very firmly ‘on the map, and Joyce it was time to give a name to the club. Joyce had noticed that her pupils had adapted quite well to the water, despite the many sceptics - they were like the chameleon who changes its colour to suit its surroundings - so had her swimmers adapted themselves suitably to their new environment in the pool. The Cardiff Chameleons Swimming Club was founded in 1959 - the first swimming club in the country specifically for mentally handicapped.
Joyce’s talents were many and she promptly designed her own swimming badge. The badge reads ‘CHAMS’ for short. Strange as it may seem she found that reading this backwards gave her a version of the Society for Mentally Handicapped Children. Joyce used the ‘A’ in her design as a ladder - a ladder to success - topping it with a star. By 1962 membership had increased to 30 pupils. The club organised its first Club Gala in 1963 and to this day the Club Gala is held annually. By January 1964, the swimming club became financially self-supporting. Joyce’s endeavours were justly honoured when she was awarded an M.B.E. in 1989.
The next target - a pool of our own! After a period of some 10 years the swimming club had raised a considerable sum [£14,000] towards the cost of the pool [£21,000] and Joyce was delighted to hear that the Ely Hospital were prepared to meet the remainder of the costs. The opening of the Chameleons Swimming Pool in 1973 represented another milestone in Joyce’s determined efforts to help her cause.
A quotation Joyce has used springs to mind - ‘You can eat an elephant if you take one bit at a time !’
The club held three sessions weekly at Ely Pool until it was closed in May 1996, due to its age and hospital re-organisation. We are currently campaigning for a replacement Hydrotherapy Pool to be sited in Cardiff.
The Chameleons has gone from strength to strength. At present we have over 60 young people and adults on roll and there are two opportunities each week to participate in swim sessions. Although primarily a swimming club, in recent years the club has extended its activities to include athletics, cycling, green bowls, etc. The club is affiliated to MENCAP, Welsh Sports Association for People with Learning Disabilities and SPECIAL OLYMPICS - this enables club members to participate in a great variety of sporting events, regionally, nationally and internationally. Indeed, the CARDIFF CHAMELEONS were the first group in Great Britain to register with Special Olympics in 1979.
2009 will be the Golden Anniversary of the Chameleons and we have planned several celebrations.
Another busy year!
Elaine Daw
April 2009
