By Matthew Easley
April 29, 2008
The Deaflympics
Deaf athletes from around the world have obstacles they must
overcome daily when competing against their hearing counterparts.
These athletes face barriers that range from communication with
their fellow athletes to reacting to starting pistols. The
Deaflympics has become a sporting venue where elite level athletes
who are deaf or hard of hearing can compete against their peers in
the deaf community. At the Deaflympics, athletes do not have the
obstacles to overcome that they have in standard athletic
competitions. They are also able to communicate and develop
relationships with their fellow athletes.
The Deaflympics have been in existence since 1924 and are the
“second-oldest multi-sport and cultural event in the world” (Jarvik
2005). The first session, held in Paris, was originally called the
International Games for the Deaf. There were 145 athletes that
competed in the first games. In the 2005 summer games in Melbourne,
over 3000 athletes took part in the Deaflympics. In 1966 the games
were renamed as the World Games for the Deaf and finally called the
Deaflympics in 2000. The winter Deaflympics were created in 1949 and
held in Austria. The next summer games will be held in 2009 followed
by the winter games in 2011.
“To be a Deaf snowboarder in a race with hearing competitors is, in
a single word, lonely” (Jarvik 2007). In the Deaflympics competitors
can develop a feeling of camaraderie with each other that does not
generally develop with hearing athletes. Although different
countries have different signed languages, this is only a minimal
barrier to interaction compared to communicating with the hearing (Jarvik
2007). Many hearing athletes perceive writing to each other to
communicate with the deaf as not worth the effort and time
consuming. This contributes to the difficulty and limitation of
interaction between the hearing and deaf. Friendships are not
developed as easily as between the athletes during normal
competition. Having the Deaflympics provides the deaf athletes with
an arena for socialization and competition. There are some modern
technologies beginning to assist with the interaction between the
deaf and hearing. Many competing athletes carry around T-mobile
sidekicks or other texting phones to type back and forth to one
another (Capps 2006).
Many sporting events have technical issues with deaf athletes that
may limit their performance. Nearly every sport has audible cues and
signals to manage the game or event. This is an obvious deficit for
deaf athletes in standard competition with their hearing
counterparts. Starter pistols for running events and whistles during
an ice hockey game are among many obstacles that can present
difficulties for deaf athletes. During the Deaflympics, these
problems can be easily overcome with the use of flashing lights,
flags and hand signals (Jarvik 2005). This allows the deaf athletes
competing to do so without suffering any loss of performance due to
audible cues. These adjustments create a level playing field and
competitive environment for the athletes involved.
All together, the Deaflympics create a very social environment ideal
for friendly competition. They bring together the elite deaf
athletes of the world to compete on an international stage
representing their home countries. Communication is not as big of an
obstacle, bringing fellow athletes together. The Deaflympics allow
these athletes to perform to their fullest potential among their
peers.
Works Cited
Capps, Reilly. Telluride Daily Planet. “U.S. Deaflympic Team
Chosen”. Telluride, CO. Mar 20, 2006. Telluridegateway.com. 26 Apr,
2008. http://www.telluridegateway.com/articles/2006/03/20/news/news02.txt
Jarvik, Elaine. Deseret Morning News "Deaf World Games in Utah".
Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Jan 31, 2007. FindArticles.com. 26
Apr. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20070131/ai_n17163169
Jarvik, Elaine. Deseret Morning News "Utah to host Deaflympics".
Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Feb 18, 2005. FindArticles.com. 26
Apr. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20050218/ai_n9727663