2015 Vancouver Deaflympics Winter Games
Following the spectacular 2010 Winter Paralympics and Olympic games, Vancouver will be once again hosting athletes from across the world when the Deaflympics come to Canada in 2015.
The 18th Winter Deaflympics will be held in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada, on February 6th, 2015 until February 14th, 2015. Athletes and spectators will be arriving from all over the world to see and participate in this internationally recognized city to celebrate the Deaflympics.
On 4 September 2009, the delegates of the 42nd ICSD Congress voted unanimously to award Vancouver, Canada, the right to host the 18th Winter Deaflympics.
The Vancouver Deaflympics will use the venues that were constructed for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Originally founded in 1924, the Deaflympics were originally known as “The Silent Games”, and were first hosted in Paris, Italy. The Games provide much needed support for deaf athletes to compete in world-wide sporting events with the hearing direction that they need to compete.
The Winter and Summer Deaflympics happen every four years, and unlike the Olympics and Paralympics, take place in odd-numbered years. The Games are organized by a federation of deaf athletes and officials, recognized by the International Olympic Committee and which flies its flag alongside the Deaflympics.
The first Winter Deaflympic Games were held in Seefeld, Austria, in 1949 which included 34 athletes from 5 nations. In 2007, the 16th Winter Deaflympics in Salt Lake City, United States, 298 athletes from 23 countries participated.
The five winter sports events include alpine skiing, cross country skiing, curling, ice hockey, snowboarding.
Vancouver will be the second Canadian city to host the Deaflympics, and will be the second country to host all three Olympic Games: Paralympics, Olympics and the Deaflympics. America’s Salt Lake City was the first.
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