ICSD President's Update - September 2014

I have so much to share.

A few weeks ago, I was asked to participate in the IOC’s Working Group - Olympic Games 2020, which was held at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne; Switzerland. The IOC President Mr. Thomas Bach invited me to be part of such a Working Group. As the President of the ICSD I was naturally thrilled to take part at the meeting.

History was made because it was the first time that I represented the Deaf Sports there. The ICSD is now getting the recognition it so rightly deserves. This has raised the profile of the ICSD especially when many hearing people do not know about the existence of the Deaf Sports. Now that my being invited to participate. The profile of the ICSD has been acknowledged since many were unaware of the Deaf Sports movement beforehand. I was very pleased with the outcome of the meeting but much work needs to be done ahead.

During the Working Group sessions numerous high-ranking officials representing their countries as well as many from different International Sport Federations attended the meeting, and those who have worked for the IOC many years were also part of the Working Group. Also included were the Sports Directors and several note-takers. The moderator of the Working Group was Mr. Sam Ramsamy, an IOC Vice-President from South Africa and his co-moderator was Mr. Christophe Dubi. Mr. Dubi is an extremely intelligent person who had observed the activities of the Deaf Sports in the past and he was also involved in the Paralympics and Special Olympics. Also included in the Working Group was Sir Philip Craven, the IPC President and President of Special Olympics.

During the meeting one high-ranking official brought up the issue of the Deaf Sports by stating that there is an ongoing problem and suggested that the Deaf Sports should be included in the Paralympic Games. There was a lot of discussion and many were of the opinion that the Deaf Sports should be included in the Paralympic Games program. This has infuriated me a great deal and I requested if I could speak out on behalf of the Deaf Sports. I was given the opportunity to educate the present about the history of Deaf Sports movement and that the representatives took the time to understand it. My presentation was a long one. Sir Philip Craven, the IPC President, was genuinely interested in knowing in depth about the Deaf Sports. The co-moderator, Mr. Dubi asked the Group whether the Deaf Sports should be included in the IPC after understanding the differences between the Deaflympics and Paralympics. Sir Craven stated that the IPC is now recognizing and supporting the Deaflympics therefore it has to be separated from the Paralympics. This was after I provided a lengthy presentation defining the differences between the two. At this point, the ICSD is now getting the support from the IPC. The President of Special Olympics - a woman - also supported the separation of the Paralympics and the Deaflympics. I had mentioned that merging the two was not a favorable idea since the needs of both are opposite. That is the Deaflympics have their own unique accommodation culture, language and identity while the Paralympics have their own unique accommodation culture and needs. To include both would be disastrous.

It is a well known fact that the IPC and the IOC had signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) thus making the Paralympic a success. The IOC and the ICSD need to have a similar MOU as well. The MOU will raise the standards of the Deaflympics and we therefore can have an equal footing along with the Paralympics and the Olympics. With such a MOU, various International Sports Federations will recognize the Deaflympics and be in a position to support the ICSD. Without it, the Deaflympics will not succeed as we do always desire. The Deaf Sports is now getting significantly big and it has thousands of well-trained Deaf athletes.

During the Working Group session, I inquired whether anyone had ever attended or observed the Deaflympics in the past. Not one had raised his/her hand. As a President, I suggested that we invite two or three persons from the IOC Executive Board to attend and see with their own eyes the Deaflympics in action in order to gain better understanding and be more aware of our Deaf Sports world. Having such a first hand observation and understanding it will allow them to present their report to the Working Group Session. We do have thousands of Deaf athletes from numerous countries who are engaged in various sports activities. With the upcoming Winter Deaflympics in Khanty-Mansiysk Russia in 2015 and Summer Deaflympics in Turkey in 2017, we expect between 80-90 countries participating at these two different Games. If many IOC Executive Board members attend the Deaflympics, the more they will be aware of us. This will allow the Deaf Sports in different countries and the ICSD to succeed, which will undoubtedly raise the profile of the Deaflympics and Deaf athletes.

During the Gala Dinner, my team and I have mingled among the International Sports Federation representatives by getting acquianted with them as well by introducing my team members and myself to them. Some of the representatives recognized the hard and valuable work the ICSD has been doing and it will continue to be doing for its Deaf athletes and we were praised for it. During the socializing, Mr. Thomas Bach requested that I be introduced to the United Nations Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-Moon. I was very honored to meet him and had shared with him about the future of the Deaf Sport and our social needs. It was very important for the ICSD to be out in the public by raising the awareness that there are Deaf athletics competing in variety of sports including the Deaflympics. I was also honored to have the opportunity to have a photo audience session along with the General-Secretary. I believe strongly that if we all work together with the IOC, then there the Deaf Sports will no doubt make a significant progress. The motto of moving onwards and upwards without slipping backwards depends on the hard work and I truly believe and hope the ICSD will succeed.

I had an opportunity to visit Gallaudet University in Washington DC for its 150th Jubilee Anniversary event which was held this past July. There was lot of deaf people at the event. During my short visit there, I had the opportunity to meet with the many well-known people by discussing various issues. After having visited Gallaudet University, I flew up North to the state of Michigan. There the World Deaf Golf Championship (WDGC) 2014 took place in Traverse City.The Organizing Committee, golfers from various national teams were thrilled to meet the ICSD President at the WDGC. This also allowed us to discuss many topics pertaining to Deaf Golf. As a President and very interested observer, I had the chance to attend their Congress. Needless to say, the Organizing Committee arranged and executed the event very well. They also had the new elections, open discussions including concerns about the future of Deaf Golf.They had inquired whether it is possible to include Deaf Golf into the Deaflympics or not. I thought this may be a possibility but this subject first must be brought forward to the upcoming ICSD Congress for discussion and approval.

Recently, I flew to the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia - there was held the World Judo Championship. Mr Marius Vizer, the President of the International Judo Federation (IJF) had invited me to attend the Championship. We discussed the future of Deaf Martial Arts (including Judo). We both reviewed the proposal draft and it requires further modification and so on before we can officially sign the MOU. We will meet again in November in Paris to officially sign the MOU - the agreement between the International Judo Federation and ICSD. The reason for signing the MOU is important as this will allow both organizations to support and expand Deaf athletes in the sport of Judo. The IJF would be in a position to provide their team that has the expertise, training and guidance. By signing the MOU, we would be able to work together for the betterment of Deaf Judo in the future.

Okay, now that I have given reports highlighting my working trips and the upcoming trip to Turkey. The European Deaf Sports Association (EDSO) Congress is taking place and there I am planning to meet with many EDSO officialls and Congress delegates to discuss the ICSD and exchanging thoughts. I shall report the outcome after the Congress in the next video message.

Again, as the President, I wish to have a better future for the Deaf Sports. See you then. Thank you for watching.