Report from Sports Director

Dear sport-fans and supporters,

We have good news for you all:

Concerning the sports calendar – I think we are making a  great progress. National Deaf Sports Federations from all over the world have been working hard in hosting and organizing many different World Championships. We, International Committee of Sports for the Deaf, are very pleased. This is very good for our sportsmen and sportswomen and this prepares them for the Deaflympics. Our Calendar of Events show:

In 2006 we have 3 world championships to participate:

• World Deaf Cycling Championships, San Francisco, USA
        18 – 24 June 2006
• World Deaf Golf Championships, Edmonton, Canada     
        16 - 21 July 2006
• World Deaf Orienteering Championships, Veszprem, Hungary
        12 – 20 August 2006

In 2007 we have 6 world championships and the 16th Winter Deaflympics to participate:

• 16th Winter Deaflympic Games, Salt Lake City, USA
        1 – 10 February
• World Deaf Basketball Championships, Guangzhou, China
        22 – 30 June
• Dresse and Maere – Tennis Cup, Munich, Germany 
        21 – 28 July
• World Deaf Swimming Championships, Taipei, Chinese Taipei
        11 – 17 August
• World Deaf Badminton Championships, Muelheim/Ruhr, Germany
        28 September – 7 October
• World Deaf Bowling Championships, Singapore
        6 – 13 October
• World Deaf Futsal Championships, Sofia, Bulgaria
        18 – 26 November

In 2008 there are even 8 world championships to participate:
6 world championships as you can see here,

• World Deaf Martial Arts
• Table Tennis
• Football
• Wrestling
• Athletics
• Golf

There are only 2 world championships missing in the list: 1. Beach Volleyball and 2. Volleyball. If you are interested, you can contact the headquarters at info@ciss.org then we can discuss the possibilities along with the Technical Directors.

For more information about agenda, schedules and timetables, please view the Calendar of Events at www.deaflympics.com

We are also happy to announce our new Technical Director for Karate, Mr. Francoise Khalef from France. I wish to thank Mr. Francoise Khalef and Federation Sportive des Suords de France ( FSSF ) for their support!

I am still working on finding Technical Directors for judo and taekwondo. It is not an easy task. We welcome nominations. Please contact me at willmerdinger@ciss.org or at the headquarters at info@ciss.org

We have found a Technical Director for football, but we have to wait for the official announcement from the Deaf Sports Federation. We will officially announce shortly.

With sporty greetings,

Josef Willmerdinger
ICSD Sports Director