Rugby wheelchair athlete and basketball coach, Chris Harvey, and his paralympic wife, Tiffiney Perry, love nothing more than to soothe tired muscles in their spa.

But getting in and out of their spa and swimming pool can be tricky given the couple are both in wheelchairs. So they recently bought an Autolift i-swim 2 mobile pool lift for their Hamilton home. Supplied by Cubro, its good looks and ease of use has made this one of the world’s most popular portable pool lifts.

Chris is a big believer in accessibility – not disability – so how a piece of equipment looks is just as important as how it functions.

“There’s always a ‘disabled look’ to everything and I just don’t like that,” he explains. “I like things to be discreet. That’s why I’ve got an i-swim 2 now rather than a great big hoist beside our pool. You can put it away too so it’s not on show permanently.”

Chris first saw the i-swim 2 at the Disability Expo in Hamilton about two years ago. “I researched it on the internet, found it was available through Cubro and decided that’s what I needed. As I’m aging, I can’t get in and out of the spa or pool like I used to. Now I’ve got the i-swim 2, I can easily get into both whenever I want.”

The ergonomically designed hoist can be operated independently by the person being lifted or by an attendant or lifeguard. It’s made from aluminium and stainless steel, and can lift a maximum weight of 136kg.

“The best features are the automatic hand controller and ability to lower into the pool and then get up again. It’s height adjustable and has electric hydraulic rams and it also swivels which is a bonus! It's way more convenient… previously I just didn’t bother swimming. Now I can get into the pool when it’s really hot without any fuss and I don’t have to rely on anyone, that’s the main thing.”

Rugby wheelchair athlete and basketball coach, Chris Harvey, and his paralympic wife, Tiffiney Perry, love nothing more than to soothe tired muscles in their spa.

But getting in and out of their spa and swimming pool can be tricky given the couple are both in wheelchairs. So they recently bought an Autolift i-swim 2 mobile pool lift for their Hamilton home. Supplied by Cubro, its good looks and ease of use has made this one of the world’s most popular portable pool lifts.

Chris is a big believer in accessibility – not disability – so how a piece of equipment looks is just as important as how it functions.

“There’s always a ‘disabled look’ to everything and I just don’t like that,” he explains. “I like things to be discreet. That’s why I’ve got an i-swim 2 now rather than a great big hoist beside our pool. You can put it away too so it’s not on show permanently.”

Chris first saw the i-swim 2 at the Disability Expo in Hamilton about two years ago. “I researched it on the internet, found it was available through Cubro and decided that’s what I needed. As I’m aging, I can’t get in and out of the spa or pool like I used to. Now I’ve got the i-swim 2, I can easily get into both whenever I want.”

The ergonomically designed hoist can be operated independently by the person being lifted or by an attendant or lifeguard. It’s made from aluminium and stainless steel, and can lift a maximum weight of 136kg.

“The best features are the automatic hand controller and ability to lower into the pool and then get up again. It’s height adjustable and has electric hydraulic rams and it also swivels which is a bonus! It's way more convenient… previously I just didn’t bother swimming. Now I can get into the pool when it’s really hot without any fuss and I don’t have to rely on anyone, that’s the main thing.”

Back in 2005 Chris made his own DIY pool lift out of leftover house materials and a custom-made stainless steel ‘L shape’ arm which he used to manually lower himself in. But the new i-swim lift has blown his old system out of the water.

“The controls are easy to use and it’s very quiet. You can’t even hear it really. It has a portable battery so you can take it out and charge it. It does 50 lifts before it needs recharging so you get quite a lot of use out of it.”

Once the i-swim 2 lift is positioned correctly beside the pool or spa, a brake is applied and the patented anti-tip stabilising system is deployed by pushing a button on the hand-held control. Users can then lower themselves in the water when they’re ready and back out again without any assistance.

Chris and Tiffiney, who have both represented New Zealand in paralympic sports and been heavily involved in Parafed Waikato, were impressed at the service provided by Cubro Solutions Specialist and NZROT, Sophie Lister.

“She’s very approachable and informative and willing to go that extra mile to make sure we were set up. She came in and sorted it all out, made sure it all worked. She can also have a joke with you and those are the people you need around.”

Chris and Tiffiney have always been active people. Chris was an early pioneer of wheelchair rugby following a car accident in 1986 where he broke two vertebrae in his neck. While Tiffiney represented New Zealand at the Athens Paralympics in 2004 in wheelchair tennis following a water skiing accident in her early 20s.

“Over the years of sport, and as you age, things get a bit gnarly! Creaks and groans, so to speak. So to be able to hop into the spa together a few times a week is pretty great.”

To find out more about our range of pool hoists, please get in touch with our team.

Cubro case studies are based on actual testimonials provided by real customers and users of our solutions. In some testimonials to protect the identity of the users, we have changed a name and used a stock photo. Our case studies describe our past work with customers and users, and detail solutions that have improved their quality of life. As each individual user has a unique set of needs and requirements, the content in these case studies should not be used as a substitute for professional advice from a registered clinician.