Knowledge
Tools

   Double-click on any word that you do not understand in the text to get its meaning from Cambridge Online Dictionaries. To see the Greek translation of the word, select the option "Greek" and then double-click on the word again. To return to the Cambridge Online Dictionaries select the option "English".
Select Greek translation or English meaning.

Deaflympics Facts

The first games, known as The Silent Games, in 1924, were the first games ever for athletes with a disability.

· In the most recent decade the number of athletes in the Summer Games have seen sharp increases

· In 1924 in Paris, France, 145 athletes from nine European nations took part. In 2001 in Rome, Italy, 2,405 athletes from 71 countries participated.

· Today, 94 national deaf sports federations are members of Deaflympics.

· The first Winter Games, held in Seefeld, Austria, in 1949, included 33 athletes from five nations. In 2003, the 15th Winter Games in Sundsvall, Sweden, 253 athletes from 22 countries participated.

  • The Deaflympic Games are among the world’s oldest and fastest growing sports events. They offer competition at the highest level. But they are also about building your skills, friendships, networks and pride in the world-wide deaf community.

  • The vision of founder Eugene Rubens-Alcais of France is that  the Deaflympics are held in the Olympic spirit, bringing athletes with disabilities together with other great athletes from around the world for friendly competition, networking and social and cultural interaction. The games are sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee, IOC. Yet, the Deaflympics are unique in the world of sports.
  • Unlike the athletes in all other International Olympic Committee sanctioned games, including the Olympics, the Paralympics and the Special Olympics, the Deaflympians cannot be guided by starter’s guns, bullhorn commands or referee whistles. Nor can the majority of the athletes experience the crucial sense of inclusion in other general games because they cannot just strike up a conversation or in other ways communicate instantly or in a practical manner with their fellow hearing athletes.
  • This is why the Deaflympic games have become so important to the world-wide deaf community and why they must and will continue to go on independently, while continuing their rapid growth. Increasingly, they also serve as a bridge between athletes brought up in the traditional schools for deaf children and the growing number of deaf athletes from mainstream educational institutions.
  • Unlike other games for athletes with disabilities, which are all directed by non-disabled officials, the Deaflympics are run by deaf people for deaf athletes.

Check that you understand what these words mean in this document Disability: an illness, injury or condition that makes it difficult for someone to do the things that other people do.
Decade: a period of ten years.
Competition: a contest.
Networking: making connections.
Interaction: the act or process of interacting, act together or towards others or with others.
Sanctioned: approved or recognised by an official organisation.
Crucial: extremely significant or important.
Mainstream educational institution: a school where the majority of students go to.

For further information visit:
Deafness