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700 competitors on Coast for Deaf Games
MORE than 700 competitors have converged on the Gold Coast for the fifteenth Australian Deaf Games.
The week-long festival of sport has also attracted a further 500 visitors who will be following the action of the 11 sports across the Coast.
The Games kicked off last night with the opening ceremony at the Runaway Bay Sports Super Centre and will run through until a unique closing ceremony by Federal Sports Minister Kate Ellis on January 10 at the Big Brother Studio, Dreamworld.
According to Deaf Sports Australia president Brent Phillips, the Games are a major sporting event within the deaf community, with their origins going back as far as the 1890s.
"The Games give everyone the opportunity to meet, socialise, and make new friends, while the State rivalry, in a sporting sense, remains great," said Phillips.
"The Games also give deaf and hard of hearing people the opportunity to be exposed to national competition and promote the development of athletes, coaches and officials."
The swimming section of the Games will be held at the Super Centre on Sunday, but will be preceded by a forum tomorrow involving the former head of British swimming Bill Sweetenham and Gold Coast Titans football manager Scott Sattler.
Swim meet co-ordinator Tiana van Burck, who is also the president of Gold Coast Swimming, said the quality of the field was quite high.
"According to their times, if some of these people were competing at regional meets here they would most likely win a medal," she said.
Phillips said the Games were also a vital platform in selecting a national team to send to international events, including the Summer Deaflympic Games to be held in Taiwan in September next year.
The 11 sports contested at the Games are athletics, beach volleyball, darts, eightball, golf, lawn bowls, netball, squash, swimming, tennis and tenpin bowling.
Phillips said the event, the first time it has been held in a regional centre, offered many benefits to the area.
"The benefits to the Gold Coast community will be immeasurable in terms of deaf awareness, cultural awareness and acceptance, and the presence of Auslan (Australian Sign Language)," he said.
"Given the timing of the Games, the majority of participants and visitors arrived on the Gold Coast before December 31 and many will also stay on after the Games for their holidays.
"This will result in at least 1000 people staying on the Gold Coast for at least 10 nights."
MORE than 700 competitors have converged on the Gold Coast for the fifteenth Australian Deaf Games.
The week-long festival of sport has also attracted a further 500 visitors who will be following the action of the 11 sports across the Coast.
The Games kicked off last night with the opening ceremony at the Runaway Bay Sports Super Centre and will run through until a unique closing ceremony by Federal Sports Minister Kate Ellis on January 10 at the Big Brother Studio, Dreamworld.
According to Deaf Sports Australia president Brent Phillips, the Games are a major sporting event within the deaf community, with their origins going back as far as the 1890s.
"The Games give everyone the opportunity to meet, socialise, and make new friends, while the State rivalry, in a sporting sense, remains great," said Phillips.
"The Games also give deaf and hard of hearing people the opportunity to be exposed to national competition and promote the development of athletes, coaches and officials."
The swimming section of the Games will be held at the Super Centre on Sunday, but will be preceded by a forum tomorrow involving the former head of British swimming Bill Sweetenham and Gold Coast Titans football manager Scott Sattler.
Swim meet co-ordinator Tiana van Burck, who is also the president of Gold Coast Swimming, said the quality of the field was quite high.
"According to their times, if some of these people were competing at regional meets here they would most likely win a medal," she said.
Phillips said the Games were also a vital platform in selecting a national team to send to international events, including the Summer Deaflympic Games to be held in Taiwan in September next year.
The 11 sports contested at the Games are athletics, beach volleyball, darts, eightball, golf, lawn bowls, netball, squash, swimming, tennis and tenpin bowling.
Phillips said the event, the first time it has been held in a regional centre, offered many benefits to the area.
"The benefits to the Gold Coast community will be immeasurable in terms of deaf awareness, cultural awareness and acceptance, and the presence of Auslan (Australian Sign Language)," he said.
"Given the timing of the Games, the majority of participants and visitors arrived on the Gold Coast before December 31 and many will also stay on after the Games for their holidays.
"This will result in at least 1000 people staying on the Gold Coast for at least 10 nights."