The games are built on 80 years of tradition. Organised since 1924 by the Comité International des Sports des Sourds, CISS (Now International Deaflympic Committee, IDC), the first Summer Deaflympics were held in Paris. Winter Deaflympics were added in 1949. The Summer and Winter Deaflympics are sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). They are the elite multi-sport event for deaf athletes and are a parallel to the Olympic Games, hence the name. And, like the Olympics, they take place every 4 years with the winter games in between.
 Great Britain was a founder member of the World Games for the Deaf, which were renamed the Deaflympics. Nowadays both Summer and Winter Deaflympic Games are the pinnacle for international competitions for Deaf world class athletes. Athletes must meet strict qualifying standards in order to compete. To be eligible athletes must have a proven hearing loss of 55dB, in the better ear. For more on eligibility click here.
An audiogram can be downloaded here. This should be sent to UK Deaf Sport who then register athletes with IDC.
|
