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Deaflympics

International sports event for deaf people


Summary

International sports event for deaf people

FieldValue
native_nameComité International des Sports des Sourds
nameDeaflympics Games
imageDeaflympics logo.svg
image_upright0.9
captionDeaflympics logo
mottoPer Ludos Aequalitas (Equality Through Sport)
formationin Paris, France – 1924 Summer Deaflympics
recurrence4 years
last2023 Winter Deaflympics in Erzurum, Turkey
2025 Summer Deaflympics in Tokyo, Japan
next2027 Winter Deaflympics in Innsbruck, Austria
2029 Summer Deaflympics in Athens, Greece
purposeTo provide opportunities for deaf persons to participate in elite sports
website

2025 Summer Deaflympics in Tokyo, Japan 2029 Summer Deaflympics in Athens, Greece

The Deaflympics, also known as Deaflympiad (previously called World Games for the Deaf, and International Games for the Deaf) are a periodic series of multi-sport events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 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), athletes cannot be guided by sounds (such as starting pistols, bullhorn commands or referee whistles). 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 in history after the Olympics. The first games, held in Paris in 1924, were 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 with both hands, the Deaf form of applause.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) banned athletes from Russia and Belarus from that year's Deaflympics in Caxias do Sul, Brazil.

Host nations and cities

The Summer Deaflympic Games have been hosted by 24 cities in 20 countries, but by cities outside Europe on only seven occasions (Washington, D.C. 1965, Los Angeles in 1985, Christchurch in 1989, Melbourne in 2005, Taipei in 2009, Caxias do Sul in 2022, and Tokyo in 2025 – the most recently held event). The Winter Deaflympic Games have been hosted by 17 cities in 12 countries. The last winter Games were held in Erzurum, Turkey in 2023.

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 years for defrauding €1.6 million that should have been used for Winter Deaflympics.

The host cities and National Deaf Sports Associations for all past and scheduled games are as follows:

List of Summer Deaflympics hosts

GamesYearHostOpened byDatesNationsCompetitorsSportsEventsTop-rankedTotalMenWomen
11924France Paris, FranceGaston Doumergue10–17 August91481471631FRA
21928Netherlands Amsterdam, NetherlandsWilhelmina of the Netherlands18–26 August1021219814538GBR
31931Germany Nuremberg, GermanyPaul von Hindenburg19–23 August1431628828643GER
41935Great_Britain London, Great BritainGeorge V17–24 August1222117843541GBR
51939Sweden Stockholm, SwedenGustaf V24–27 August1325020842643GBR
61949Denmark Copenhagen, DenmarkFrederik IX of Denmark12–16 August1439134249751GBR
71953Belgium Brussels, BelgiumBaudouin of Belgium15–19 August1647343241757GER
81957Italy Milan, ItalyGiovanni Gronchi25–30 August2563556570969URS
91961Finland Helsinki, FinlandUrho Kekkonen6–10 August246135031101094URS
101965USA Washington, D.C., United StatesLyndon B. Johnson27 June – 3 July27687575112985URS
111969YUG Belgrade, YugoslaviaJosip Broz Tito9–16 August33118996422512105URS
121973SWE Malmö, SwedenGustaf VI Adolf21–28 August3111168932231197USA
131977ROM Bucharest, RomaniaNicolae Ceauşescu17–27 July32115091323711106USA
141981FRG Cologne, West GermanyHelmut Schmidt23 July – 1 August32119889330511110USA
151985USA Los Angeles, United StatesRonald Reagan10–20 August299957452501196USA
161989NZL Christchurch, New ZealandDavid Lange7–17 January3095572622912120USA
171993BUL Sofia, BulgariaZhelyu Zhelev24 July – 2 August521,6791,29538412126USA
181997DEN Copenhagen, DenmarkJohn M. Lovett13–26 July652,0281,49653414140USA
192001ITA Rome, ItalyCarlo Azeglio Ciampi22 July – 1 August672,2081,56264614143USA
202005AUS Melbourne, AustraliaMarigold Southey5–16 January632,0381,40263614147UKR
212009[[File:Flag_of_Chinese_Taipei_for_Deaf.png22pxborder]] Taipei, Chinese TaipeiMa Ying-jeou5–15 September802,6701,71477917177RUS
222013BUL Sofia, BulgariaRosen Plevneliev26 July – 4 August832,7111,79291916203RUS
232017TUR Samsun, TurkeyRecep Tayyip Erdoğan18–30 July972,8561,89795918219RUS
242022BRA Caxias do Sul, BrazilMichelle Bolsonaro1–15 May 2022712,4121,64776518219UKR
252025JPN Tokyo, JapanÁdám Kósa15–26 November792,9111,8781,03318209UKR
262029GRE Athens, GreeceFuture event

1 ROCThe Republic of China (Taiwan) is recognised as Chinese Taipei by the 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.

2 The marathon was held 4 days before the opening ceremony in Füssen, Germany on 21 July 2013.

3 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer Deaflympics that were to be held in December 2021 were postponed until May 2022, and due to the small number of venues within the host city, the bowling events were transferred to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and were held between 20 and 30 October 2022.

List of Winter Deaflympics hosts

GamesYearHostOpened byDatesNationsCompetitorsSportsEventsTop-rankedTotalMenWomen
11949Austria Seefeld, Austria26–30 February53333025[[File:Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg23px]] Switzerland
21953Norway Oslo, Norway20–24 February64442249NOR
31955Germany Oberammergau, West Germany10–13 February859545411NOR
41959[[File:Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg23px]] Montana-Vermala, Switzerland27–31 January1042314NOR
51963Sweden Åre, Sweden12–16 March960213AUT
61967Germany Berchtesgaden, West Germany20–25 February1289211NOR
71971[[File:Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg23px]] Adelboden, Switzerland25–30 February13145211[[File:Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg23px]] Switzerland
81975USA Lake Placid, United States2–8 February13136412CAN
91979France Méribel, France21–27 January14180312URS
101983ITA Madonna di Campiglio, Italy13–23 January15147317URS
111987NOR Oslo, Norway7–14 February15169318NOR
121991CAN Banff, Canada2–9 March16175518URS
131995FIN Ylläs, Finland14–19 March18260415RUS
141999[[File:Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg23px]] Davos, Switzerland6–14 March18273517RUS
152003SWE Sundsvall, Sweden26 February – 9 March21259423RUS
162007USA Salt Lake City, United States1–10 February23302526RUS
172011SVK Vysoké Tatry, Slovakia16–28 FebruaryCancelled
182015RUS Khanty-Mansiysk and Magnitogorsk, RussiaVitaly Mutko28 March – 5 April27344531RUS
192019ITA Sondrio Province, ItalyMarco Scaramellini12–21 December34493736RUS
202023TUR Erzurum, TurkeyMustafa Çiftçi2–12 March 202436534314220634UKR
212027Austria Innsbruck, AustriaFuture event15-24 JanuaryFuture event

Youth Games

1st Summer Youth Deaf Games was held in 2024 in Brazil with 17 nations in 4 sports (28 events).

All-time medal table

Summer Deaflympics

An all-time Summer Deaflympics from 1924 Summer Deaflympics to 2025 Summer Deaflympics, is tabulated below. The table is simply the consequence of the sum of the medal tables of the various editions of the Summer Deaflympics.

Winter Deaflympics

An all-time Winter Deaflympics from 1949 Winter Deaflympics to 2023 Winter Deaflympics, is tabulated below. The table is simply the consequence of the sum of the medal tables of the various editions of the Winter Deaflympics.

Combined

RankNationSummerWinterCombined[[File:Gold medal olympic.svg20pxlink=]][[File:Silver medal olympic.svg20pxlink=]][[File:Bronze medal olympic.svg20pxlink=]]Total[[File:Gold medal olympic.svg20pxlink=]][[File:Silver medal olympic.svg20pxlink=]][[File:Bronze medal olympic.svg20pxlink=]]Total[[File:Gold medal olympic.svg20pxlink=]][[File:Silver medal olympic.svg20pxlink=]][[File:Bronze medal olympic.svg20pxlink=]]TotalTotal
1United States3933283751096212934844143574091180
2Russia237206223666534042135290246265801
3Ukraine19821519961114191346212234212658
4Soviet Union17312410840524262171197150129476
5Italy10010312432722141652122117140379
6West Germany1211211203620000121121120362
7Iran1139111131510011148192316
8Japan958583263866201039189283
9South Korea9086812570235908884262
10France78951002731117154389112115316
11Norway32282585483640124806465209
12Great Britain72889925922267490101265
13Germany591021032641319306272121133326
14Finland50524714921212062717367211
15Sweden6584632122151027679973239
16China5850661741081129685877203
17Hungary5255471540123525649157
18Australia45293310764111513334118
19Poland44819822355111498699234
20Canada324138111188834504946145
21Denmark4740541410000474054141
22Turkey4251801730011425181174
23Czech Republic2012154718963338212180
24Belarus3748241090000374824109
25South Africa35171062000035171062
26Netherlands33352997000033352997
27Chinese Taipei3148501290000314850129
28Switzerland916164120292473294540114
29India269215600002692156
30Austria268162326277625323592
31Yugoslavia24132158011224142260
32Kenya21202566000021202566
33Ireland16151142000016151142
34Bulgaria1543511090000154351109
35Belgium15294185000015294185
36Lithuania15223067010115233068
37Venezuela14132754000014132754
38Cuba146123200001461232
39Estonia128153500001281535
40Kazakhstan7826411012882743
41Croatia76316114687722
42Greece711133100007111331
43Slovakia555152507710522
44East Germany78823000078823
45Portugal74617000074617
46Romania6914290000691429
47Latvia57416100167417
48New Zealand56718000056718
49Slovenia2237223744614
50Malaysia3114180000311418
51Czechoslovakia37919000037919
52Mexico333900003339
53Puerto Rico301400003014
54Mongolia2614220000261422
55Spain15713100125714
56Singapore211400002114
57Argentina14510000014510
58Brazil1113150112121417
59Colombia122500001225
60Algeria113500001135
61Dominican Republic110200001102
Ecuador110200001102
63Israel003310011034
64Macau101200001012
Thailand101200001012
United Arab Emirates101200001012
67Chile100100001001
68Kyrgyzstan02911000002911
69Georgia021300000213
Nigeria021300000213
71Armenia0110110000011011
72Serbia013400110145
73Indonesia013400000134
74Moldova011200000112
75Iceland010100000101
76Uzbekistan004400000044
77Saudi Arabia003300000033
78Cyprus001100000011
Egypt001100000011
Hong Kong001100000011
Turkmenistan001100000011
249624982709770334934734410402845284530538743

Sports

Summer Deaflympics

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

Sport (Discipline)Body24283135394953576165697377818589939701050913172125Current summer sportsDiscontinued summer sportsDemonstration summer sportsTotal313843454751576994851059710611096120126140143147177203219219209
Aquatics – Swimming7101110111418141415171726263431343238383838404542
Athletics17202323232426323233343435303236404043424344434543
Badminton55666665666
BasketballDIBF11111111222222222222
Bowling1010101081277
Cycling – Mountain2224
Cycling – Road3311111333333444444447888
Football1111111111111111112222222
Golf223
Handball211121112111121
Judo1017171616
Karate515181614
Orienteering66589109
Shooting1123343334444877661011121313
Table Tennis55775777777777777
Taekwondo813131111
Tennis2255555555555555555555555
Volleyball – Beach222222
Volleyball – Indoor222222222222222
Wrestling – Freestyle88810101010101088777886
Wrestling – Greco-Roman88810101010101088777886
Aquatics – Diving1111111111
Aquatics – Water Polo11111111111
Gymnastics – Artistic22131212
Gymnastics – Artistic
Gymnastics – Rhythmic

Winter Deaflympics

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

Sport (Discipline)Body49535559636771757983879195990307151923Current winter sportsDiscontinued winter sportsDemonstration winter sportsTotal591114131111121217181815172327313634
Chess45
Curling2223
Futsal2
Ice hockey1111111
Skiing – Alpine346108666688688810101010
Skiing – Snowboarding6510106
Skiing – Nordic – Cross-country2333555666666889898
Skiing – Nordic – Nordic combined11
Skiing – Nordic – Ski jumping111
Speed skating345
Curling
Ice hockey
Skiing – Snowboarding
Speed skating

References

References

  1. "[http://www.deaflympics.com/icsd.asp?constitution Constitution]". {{Webarchive. link. (25 October 2016 . ''International Committee of Sports for the Deaf''. Retrieved 9 August 2016.)
  2. [http://www.deaflympics.com/news/ International Committee of Sports for the Deaf – News] {{webarchive. link. (23 September 2015 . Deaflympics.com. Retrieved 17 October 2011.)
  3. [http://www.disabled-world.com/sports/deaflympics/ What are the Deaflympics?]. Disabled World. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  4. [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Future+Directions+of+the+Deaflympics.-a078030429 Future Directions of the Deaflympics] {{Webarchive. link. (13 October 2012 . Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 17 October 2011.)
  5. [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Historical+overview+of+the+Paralympics,+Special+Olympics,+and...-a0114366604 Historical overview of the Paralympics, Special Olympics, and Deaflympics] {{Webarchive. link. (13 October 2012 . Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 17 October 2011.)
  6. (12 March 2022). "Russia excluded from Deaflympics after plea from Ukraine".
  7. [http://www.healthyhearing.com/releases/47715-deaf-athletes-winter-deaflympics-cancelled Winter Olympics: 2011 Winter Deaflympics Cancelled] {{webarchive. link. (25 January 2013. Healthyhearing.com (17 February 2011). Retrieved 17 October 2011.)
  8. link. (15 February 2011. Deaflympics.com (13 February 2011). Retrieved 17 October 2011.)
  9. [http://www.deafsportsmag.com/2011/02/icsd-pursuing-legal-action-following-failure-of-17th-winter-deaflympics/#more-970 ICSD Pursuing Legal Action Following Failure of 17th Winter Deaflympics] {{Webarchive. link. (24 April 2011 . Deaf Sports Mag. Retrieved 17 October 2011.)
  10. [http://globalvoices.org/2011/02/11/slovakia-deaflympics-2011-controversy/ Slovakia: Deaflympics 2011 Controversy · Global Voices]. Globalvoices.org. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  11. [http://www.usdeaflympics.org/articles/article/2011/feb/17/letter-icsd-usa-athletes/ 2011 US Deaflympics – Article. Letter from ICSD to USA athletes] {{webarchive. link. (9 November 2011. Usdeaflympics.org (17 February 2011). Retrieved 17 October 2011.)
  12. link. (18 February 2011. Deaflympics.com (14 February 2011). Retrieved 17 October 2011.)
  13. [http://www.webnoviny.sk/english-news/deaflympics-committee-head-sentenced-to/359823-clanok.html Deaflympics Committee Head Sentenced to Thirteen Years – English News]. Webnoviny.sk. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  14. [http://www.deaflympics.com/games/ International Committee of Sports for the Deaf – Games]. Deaflympics.com. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  15. "Sofia 2013 22nd Deaflympics Marathon Details". CISS.
  16. "Deaflympics 2021 in Bowling". CISS.
  17. "World Deaf Youth Games 2024".
  18. https://www.deaflympics.com/world-deaf-youth-games-in-2024
  19. "Sao Paolo 2024 - World Deaf Youth Games 2024".
  20. "Deaflympics". deaflympics.com.
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