Miss-Delectable
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Great Falls Tribune - www.greatfallstribune.com - Great Falls, MT
Spectators won't hear a lot of cheering when the teams take the court for the final rounds of the basketball tournament at the Mustang Center in Great Falls today, but the players will have the fans' full attention and support.
At the NorthWest Association of the Deaf Basketball Tournament, fans show their enthusiasm with waving hands and flurries of sign language instead of clapping and shouting.
For the first time in the 55-year history of the NWADB, Montana is home to this year's regional tournament. Teams from Montana, Washington, Utah and California are at the Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind to compete for a spot in the national championship tournament. The competition, for players ages 18 and older, began Friday and concludes today.
The top two teams will move on to the national tournament in Florida. Big Sky Recreation for the Deaf, the lone Montana team at the regional tournament, had its hopes for one of those spots dashed early — the squad lost to a team from Seattle on Friday evening.
Big Sky will play for third place at noon today.
The players weren't moping after Friday's loss. Many of them graduated from MSDB and have since moved elsewhere, so the tournament was a chance to see old friends and classmates.
More importantly, it's a rare opportunity to test their basketball skills against top deaf teams from across the region. The distance team members are willing to travel to take part in the tournament is an indication of its importance. Every year since the Big Sky team formed seven years ago, players have made the drive to the tournament, regardless of location.
Fans are willing to travel, too. The deaf have their own close-knit culture, many fans said, and of the roughly 500 deaf people in the state of Montana, at least 100 were at the tournament Friday.
Rolph Foster, a deaf man from Joplin, doesn't have family on the team. He made the trip because he loves to watch basketball, especially deaf basketball. Kathy Allen, a deaf woman from Missoula, came for the tournament, too. She said she often travels much farther for sporting events featuring deaf athletes.
For the most part, basketball is the same for deaf people as for those who can hear. Many of Big Sky's players live in Great Falls, and play in the city league against athletes who aren't deaf.
But there are a few differences. For deaf players, whistles don't do much good. Referees hold up their hands to call for a break in the action, but players often keep going for a few seconds before they notice the call.
"You have to work a little bit harder," said referee Lloyd Keels. "That's the major thing — to communicate to both the players and (the other referee)."
Without being able to hear each other yell, teammates have less ability to communicate with each other during the action. Additionally, anything they tell each other is obvious to the other team.
"Everyone can hear our communication," Darrell Shular, a member of Big Sky, said through an interpreter. "It's a little bit frustrating — there are no secrets."
It takes a moment longer for deaf players to set up a play or make adjustments on the fly.
Other than those subtle differences, the game's the same. The deaf athletes fight for the ball as aggressively, contest the referees' calls as indignantly and drive to the hoop with the same intensity as any other player.
Though they love their sport, players said they don't need basketball to teach them that they can do anything anyone else can do — they already know that.
Spectators won't hear a lot of cheering when the teams take the court for the final rounds of the basketball tournament at the Mustang Center in Great Falls today, but the players will have the fans' full attention and support.
At the NorthWest Association of the Deaf Basketball Tournament, fans show their enthusiasm with waving hands and flurries of sign language instead of clapping and shouting.
For the first time in the 55-year history of the NWADB, Montana is home to this year's regional tournament. Teams from Montana, Washington, Utah and California are at the Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind to compete for a spot in the national championship tournament. The competition, for players ages 18 and older, began Friday and concludes today.
The top two teams will move on to the national tournament in Florida. Big Sky Recreation for the Deaf, the lone Montana team at the regional tournament, had its hopes for one of those spots dashed early — the squad lost to a team from Seattle on Friday evening.
Big Sky will play for third place at noon today.
The players weren't moping after Friday's loss. Many of them graduated from MSDB and have since moved elsewhere, so the tournament was a chance to see old friends and classmates.
More importantly, it's a rare opportunity to test their basketball skills against top deaf teams from across the region. The distance team members are willing to travel to take part in the tournament is an indication of its importance. Every year since the Big Sky team formed seven years ago, players have made the drive to the tournament, regardless of location.
Fans are willing to travel, too. The deaf have their own close-knit culture, many fans said, and of the roughly 500 deaf people in the state of Montana, at least 100 were at the tournament Friday.
Rolph Foster, a deaf man from Joplin, doesn't have family on the team. He made the trip because he loves to watch basketball, especially deaf basketball. Kathy Allen, a deaf woman from Missoula, came for the tournament, too. She said she often travels much farther for sporting events featuring deaf athletes.
For the most part, basketball is the same for deaf people as for those who can hear. Many of Big Sky's players live in Great Falls, and play in the city league against athletes who aren't deaf.
But there are a few differences. For deaf players, whistles don't do much good. Referees hold up their hands to call for a break in the action, but players often keep going for a few seconds before they notice the call.
"You have to work a little bit harder," said referee Lloyd Keels. "That's the major thing — to communicate to both the players and (the other referee)."
Without being able to hear each other yell, teammates have less ability to communicate with each other during the action. Additionally, anything they tell each other is obvious to the other team.
"Everyone can hear our communication," Darrell Shular, a member of Big Sky, said through an interpreter. "It's a little bit frustrating — there are no secrets."
It takes a moment longer for deaf players to set up a play or make adjustments on the fly.
Other than those subtle differences, the game's the same. The deaf athletes fight for the ball as aggressively, contest the referees' calls as indignantly and drive to the hoop with the same intensity as any other player.
Though they love their sport, players said they don't need basketball to teach them that they can do anything anyone else can do — they already know that.