Deaflympics

History

The Deaflympics are held every four years, and are the longest running multi-sport event excluding the Olympics themselves. The first games, held in Paris in 1924, were also the first ever international sporting event for athletes with a disability. The event has been held every four years since, apart from a break for World War II, and an additional event, the Deaflympic Winter Games, was added in 1949. The games began as a small gathering of 148 athletes from nine European nations competing in the International Silent Games in Paris, France, in 1924; now, they have grown into a global movement.

Officially, the games were originally called the "International Games for the Deaf" from 1924 to 1965, but were sometimes also referred to as the "International Silent Games". From 1966 to 1999 they were called the "World Games for the Deaf", and occasionally referred to as the "World Silent Games". From 2001, the games have been known by their current name Deaflympics (often mistakenly called the Deaf Olympics).

To qualify for the games, athletes must have a hearing loss of at least 55 db in their "better ear". Hearing aids, cochlear implants and the like are not allowed to be used in competition, to place all athletes on the same level. Other examples of ways the games vary from hearing competitions are the manner in which they are officiated. To address the issue of Deaflympians not being able to be guided by sounds, certain sports use alternative methods of commencing the game. For example, the football referees wave a flag instead of blowing a whistle; on the track, races are started by using a light, instead of a starter pistol. It is also customary for spectators not to cheer or clap, but rather to wave – usually with both hands.

Host nations and cities

To date, the Summer Deaflympic Games have been hosted by 36 cities in 21 countries, but by cities outside Europe on only five occasions (Washington D.C. 1965, Los Angeles 1985 , Christchurch 1989, Melbourne 2005 and Taipei 2009). The last summer games was held in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2013, and the next scheduled summer games will be in Sansum, Turkey in 2017. The last winter games were held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russian Federation in 2015.

The 2011 Winter Games scheduled to be held in Vysoké Tatry, Slovakia were cancelled due to the lack of readiness by the organizing committee to host the games. The International Committee of Deaf Sports filed a criminal complaint against the Slovak Deaflympics Organizing Committee and its President, Mr. Jaromír Ruda. The criminal complaint demands reimbursement of the funds that were transferred to the Slovak Deaflympics Organizing Committee from national deaf sports federations, to cover hotel accommodations and other Deaflympics-related expenses. According to the Slovak newspaper, SME, "Jaromír Ruda, head of the Slovak Organising Committee, [is] a champion of promises and someone who is accused of a 1.6 million Euro Deaflympics-related fraud". In a letter to the United States Deaflympians, International Committee of Sports for the Deaf ICSD President Craig Crowley expressed "his deep apologies for the cancellation of the 17th Winter Deaflympics". Currently, the Slovak Deaflympic Committee and the Slovakia Association of Deaf Sportsmen Unions have been suspended. In 2013 the Special Criminal Court in Banská Bystrica sentenced Ruda to a prison term of 14 and a half years for defrauding €1.6 million that should have been used for Winter Deaflympics.

The host cities and NOCs for all past and scheduled games are as follows:

Summer Deaflympics

The following sports have been contested in a Summer Deaflympic Games programme:

These sports are organised by the CISS but haven't appeared in the Deaflympics:

Winter Deaflympics

The following sports have been contested in a Winter Deaflympic Games programme: