Deaflympics

Deaflympics Games

Comité International des Sports des Sourds
Deaflympics Logo
Motto	PER LUDOS AEQUALITAS (Equality through sport)
First event	1924 in Paris, France – 1924 Summer Deaflympics[1]
Occur every	4 years
Last event	2017 in Samsun, Turkey – 2017 Summer Deaflympics (Summer) 2019 in Province of Sondrio, Italy – 2019 Winter Deaflympics (Winter)
Next event	1-15 May 2022 in Caxias do Sul, Brazil – 2021 Summer Deaflympics (Summer) 2023 in Quebec City, Canada – (Winter)
Purpose	Provision of opportunities for deaf persons to participate in elite sports
Website	www.deaflympics.com www.ciss.org

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The Deaflympics also known as Deaflympiad (previously called World Games for the Deaf, and International Games for the Deaf) are an International Olympic Committee (IOC)-sanctioned event at which deaf athletes compete at an elite level. Unlike the athletes in other IOC-sanctioned events (the Olympics, the Paralympics, and the Special Olympics), the Deaflympians cannot be guided by sounds (e.g., the starter's guns, bullhorn commands or referee whistles).^[2] The games have been organized by the Comité International des Sports des Sourds (CISS, "The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf") since the first event in 1924.

History[]

The Deaflympics are held every four years, and are the longest running multi-sport event excluding the Olympics themselves.^[3] The first games, held in Paris in 1924, were also the first ever international sporting event for athletes with a disability.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[2]

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).^[5]

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.^[5] 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 21 cities in 17 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 were held in Samsun, Turkey in 2017. The Winter Deaflympic Games have been hosted by 16 cities in 11 countries. The last winter games were held in Sondrio, Italy in 2019.

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.^[6][7] The International Committee of Deaf Sports filed a criminal complaint against the Slovak Deaflympics Organizing Committee and its President, Mr. Jaromír Ruda.^[8] 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.^[8] 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".^[9] 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".^[10] Currently, the Slovak Deaflympic Committee and the Slovakia Association of Deaf Sportsmen Unions have been suspended.^[11] 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.^[12]

The host cities and NOCs for all past and scheduled games are as follows:^[4][13]

List of Summer Deaflympics hosts[]

Games	Year	Host	Opened by	Dates	Nations	Competitors			Sports	Events	Top Nation
						Total	Men	Women
1	1924	Paris, France	Gaston Doumergue	10–17 August	9	148	147	1	6	31
2	1928	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Wilhelmina of the Netherlands	18–26 August	10	212	198	14	5	38
3	1931	Nuremberg, Germany		19–23 August	14	316	288	28	6	43
4	1935	London, Great Britain		17–24 August	12	221	178	43	5	41
5	1939	Stockholm, Sweden		24–27 August	13	250	208	42	6	43
6	1949	Copenhagen, Denmark		12–16 August	14	391	342	49	7	51
7	1953	Brussels, Belgium		15–19 August	16	473	432	41	7	57
8	1957	Milan, Italy		25–30 August	25	635	565	70	9	69
9	1961	Helsinki, Finland		6–10 August	24	613	503	110	10	94
10	1965	Washington, D.C., United States	Lyndon B. Johnson	27 June – 3 July	27	687	575	112	9	85
11	1969	Belgrade, Yugoslavia		9–16 August	33	1,189	964	225	12	105
12	1973	Malmö, Sweden		21–28 August	31	1,116	893	223	11	97
13	1977	Bucharest, Romania	Nicolae Ceauşescu	17–27 July	32	1,150	913	237	11	106
14	1981	Cologne, West Germany		23 July – 1 August	32	1,198	893	305	11	110
15	1985	Los Angeles, United States	Ronald Reagan	10–20 August	29	995	745	250	11	96
16	1989	Christchurch, New Zealand	David Cargill	7–17 January	30	955	726	229	12	120
17	1993	Sofia, Bulgaria	Zhelyu Zhelev	24 July – 2 August	52	1,679	1,295	384	12	126
18	1997	Copenhagen, Denmark	John M. Lovett	13–26 July	65	2,028	1,496	534	14	140
19	2001	Rome, Italy	Carlo Azeglio Ciampi	22 July – 1 August	67	2,208	1,562	646	14	143
20	2005	Melbourne, Australia	Marigold Southey	5–16 January	63	2,038	1,402	636	14	147
21	2009	Taipei, Chinese Taipei 1	Ma Ying-jeou	5–15 September	80	2,670	1,714	779	17	177
22	2013	Sofia, Bulgaria	Rosen Plevneliev	26 July – 4 August	83	2,711	1,792	919	16	203
23	2017	Samsun, Turkey	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	18–30 July	97	2,856	1,897	959	18	219
24	2022	Caxias do Sul, Brazil
	2025	Tokyo, Japan		TBA

¹ The Republic of China (Taiwan) is recognised as Chinese Taipei by CISS and the majority of international organisations it participates in due to political considerations and Cross-Strait relations with the People's Republic of China.

List of Winter Deaflympics hosts[]

Games	Year	Host	Opened by	Dates	Nations	Competitors			Sports	Events	Top Nation
						Total	Men	Women
1	1949	Seefeld, Austria		26–30 February	5	33	33	0	2	5	Switzerland
2	1953	Oslo, Norway		20–24 February	6	44	42	2	4	9
3	1955	Oberammergau, West Germany		10–13 February	8	59	54	5	4	11
4	1959	Montana-Vermala, Switzerland		27–31 January	10	42			3	14
5	1963	Åre, Sweden		12–16 March	9	60			2	13
6	1967	Berchtesgaden, West Germany		20–25 February	12	89			2	11
7	1971	Adelboden, Switzerland		25–30 February	13	145			2	11	Switzerland
8	1975	Lake Placid, United States		2–8 February	13	136			4	12
9	1979	Méribel, France		21–27 January	14	180			3	12
10	1983	Madonna di Campiglio, Italy		13–23 January	15	147			3	17
11	1987	Oslo, Norway		7–14 February	15	169			3	18
12	1991	Banff, Canada		2–9 March	16	175			5	18
13	1995	Ylläs, Finland		14–19 March	18	260			4	15
14	1999	Davos, Switzerland		6–14 March	18	273			5	17
15	2003	Sundsvall, Sweden		26 February – 9 March	21	259			4	23
16	2007	Salt Lake City, United States		1–10 February	23	302			5	26
17	2011	Vysoké Tatry, Slovakia		16–28 February	Cancelled
18	2015	Khanty-Mansiysk and Magnitogorsk, Russia		28 March – 5 April	27	344			5	31
19	2019	Sondrio Province, Italy		12–21 December	34	461			6	36	Russia
	2023	Quebec City, Canada		TBA
	2027	-, -		TBA

All-time medal table[]

Sports[]

Summer Deaflympics[]

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

hideSport (Discipline)	Body	24	28	31	35	39	49	53	57	61	65	69	73	77	81	85	89	93	97	01	05	09	13	17	21
Current summer sports
Aquatics – Swimming		7	10	11	10	11	14	18	14	14	15	17	17	26	26	34	31	34	32	38	38	38	38	40
Athletics		17	20	23	23	23	24	26	32	32	33	34	34	35	30	32	36	40	40	43	42	43	44	43
Badminton																5	5	6	6	6	6	6	5	6
Basketball							1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Bowling																			10	10	10	10	8	12
Cycling – Mountain																							2	2
Cycling – Road		3	3	1	1	1	1	1	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	7	8
Football		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2
Golf																								2
Handball												2	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1
Judo																						10	17	17
Karate																						5	15	18
Orienteering																				6	6	5	8	9
Shooting		1		1		2	3	3	4	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	8	7	7	6	6	10	11	12
Table Tennis										5	5	7	7	5	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
Taekwondo																						8	13	13
Tennis		2	2	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Volleyball – Beach																					2	2	2	2
Volleyball – Indoor												2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Wrestling – Freestyle										8	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	10	8	8	7	7	7	8
Wrestling – Greco-Roman										8	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	10	8	8	7	7	7	8
Discontinued summer sports
Aquatics – Diving		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1		1	1
Aquatics – Water Polo							1		1	1				1	1	1		1	1	1	1	1
Gymnastics – Artistic			2						2	13	12	12
Demonstration summer sports
Gymnastics – Artistic		•
Gymnastics – Rhythmic		•
Total		31	38	43	45	47	51	57	69	94	85	105	97	106	110	96	120	126	140	143	147	177	203	219

Winter Deaflympics[]

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

Sport (Discipline)	Body	49	53	55	59	63	67	71	75	79	83	87	91	95	99	03	07	15	19
Current winter sports
Chess																			4	4
Curling																	2	2	2	2
Futsal																				2
Ice hockey													1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Skiing – Alpine		3	4	6	10	8	6	6	6	6	8	8	6	8	8	8	10	10	10	10
Skiing – Snowboarding																6	5	10	10	10
Skiing – Nordic – Cross-Country		2	3	3	3	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	8	8	9	8	9	9
Discontinued winter sports
Skiing – Nordic – Nordic Combined			1	1
Skiing – Nordic – Ski jumping			1	1	1
Speed skating											3	4	5
Demonstration winter sports
Curling																	•
Ice hockey									•
Skiing – Snowboarding															•
Speed skating									•
Total		5	9	11	14	13	11	11	12	12	17	18	18	15	17	23	27	31	36	38

See also[]

• Disabled sports

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Comité International des Sports des Sourds official website