Swimming & Water Polo
Most of us, Technical Directors, just returned from Taiwan after a busy and productive week of meetings and inspections. As various sport reports show, some sporting venues were disappointing. Although much work needs to be done, I look forward to the 2009 Taipei Summer Deaflympics in September.
Hsinchu County Swimming Plaza is the official pool for both Swimming and Water Polo events. Unfortunately, the construction of the new pool in Taipei is delayed due to local courts.
The Hsinchu pool is far, 80km and a 75-minute bus ride from Taipei Grand Hotel. However, the Plaza is clean and modern, indoors with a 10-lane 50m competition pool and an 8-lane 25m training pool. The Plaza has large common resting rooms and there are local restaurants within walking distance. You can see pictures of the facility via www.hcswim.com.tw
Swimming
T2009 – 47 countries have sent their preliminary entries for Swimming events. This is over 40% increase from M2005 with 33 countries. There are also a balanced number of female and male swimmers entered. The future of swimming looks bright with many new and young swimmers. T2009 Swimming Regulations, Qualification Times, and the Schedule of Events have been updated and will post on the web site soon.
Congratulations to Natalia Deeva of Belarus who won the ICSD 2007 Sportswoman of the Year honor. Two other female swimmers, Anna Polivanchuk of Sweden and Ganna Lytvynenko of Ukraine finished in the top ten rankings. Volodymyr Natalchuk of Ukraine finished second in the 2007 Sportsman rankings. Well done swimmers.
Future Swimming Competitions
2010 EDSO Swimming Championships - Estonia
2011 World Deaf Swimming Championships - Portugal
2012 open for any international competition
2013 Summer Deaflympics - Greece
Water Polo
T2009 - Five teams are officially entered for Water Polo. The teams are Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, and United States. Thanks goes to Hungary for re-entering and saving the sport from cancellation. T2009 Water Polo Regulations have been updated and will post on the web site soon. The draw of teams and Schedule of Matches can be found via www.2009deaflympics.org/en/press/event/20081010_a.htm
With the small number of teams, Water Polo as a sport is in jeopardy. We must encourage growth and promote the sport in new countries. ICSD strongly encourages a country to host a World Deaf Water Polo Championship within the next few years. The future of Water Polo is in our hands. Let's please work together and aim for more teams for the 2013 Summer Deaflympics.
Number of Water Polo teams in past Summer Deaflympics
1949 Denmark
1957 Italy
1961 Finland
1977 Romania
1981 Germany
1985 United States
1989 New Zealand
1993 Bulgaria
1997 Denmark
2001 Italy
2005 Australia
2009 Taiwan2 teams
3 teams
5 teams
5 teams
5 teams
7 teams
4 teams (CANCELLED)
5 teams
5 teams
6 teams
5 teams
5 teams
Future Water Polo Competitions
2010 EDSO Water Polo Championships, Ireland
2011 World Deaf Water Polo Championships, where? – ICSD is still requesting nations to bid and host this event.
2012 Open for any international competition
2013 Summer Deaflympics, Greece? – depend on number of teams and World Championships
We all meet again in 11 months. Train hard and well. Show your best in Taiwan!
Aquatically yours,
Reed GERSHWIND
ICSD Technical Director - Swimming & Water Polo