Daredevil twins 'loving every minute' of Derby charity swims

Two medal-winning twins have joined exclusive water park sessions in Derby.

Emilia and Katie, aged 10, have been taking part at Moorways Sports Village and Water Park in Derby.

The swims are organised by Derby-based charity me&dee, which gifts families with special memories when they are needed most.

Emilia and Katie won a haul of 17 medals in the 2023 World Dwarf Games in Germany, excelling in football, basketball, javelin and swimming.

Now the sporty pair have been joining the water park events with other disabled children.

"The girls are loving every minute of the sessions", said their mother Jenny.

"me&dee sessions were a brilliant way for the daredevil duo to enjoy themselves, which they could not do in ordinary swimming sessions."

Emilia and Katie were diagnosed with achondroplasia, the most common type of dwarfism after birth.

They were born eight weeks early, after being delivered by their father at home on the bathroom floor in Loughborough.

Due to their height, the girls are often unable to go on slides in ordinary sessions at other leisure centres and water parks.

"They're very good swimmers, but water park height restrictions are 1.2 metres, and they're 1.15 metres tall", said Jenny.

"They also feel self-conscious in their swimming costumes because it accentuates their short limbs, but when they're with me&dee, they don't mind.

"That's the problem with dwarfism, because they often can't do something that their friends can do just because of their size."

Emilia said the sessions made the children feel "the same as everyone else".

"The sessions have been really nice for me because there are the slides that we usually wouldn't be allowed to go on. It just feels like we're not different and it feels as if we're a part of everyone and the same as everyone else," she added.

Katie said: "I like that you can do the sessions with other people who have disabilities, because they can enjoy it as much as we can, and that's what makes me happy about doing the sessions."

Founder of the charity, Maria Hanson MBE, said: "Watching these children splash away in the water, go down the slides, free from any embarrassment or stress, while their parents get to watch them, is probably one of the most moving experiences we have seen in me&dee's 17-year history."

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