Dear Sports Enthusiasts,
SADSF received the following questions from the community through DTV, a Deaf Television program in South Africa. Herein below, in red, we submit our official response to the questions put to us.
BURNING QUESTIONS - SPORT:
SA Deaf Sport is alive and going strong. South African Deaf Sports Federation (SADSF), a national controlling body of sport for the Deaf in SA, has since 2001 been working under Disability Sport South Africa (DISSA) which did all its fund-raising activities. This explains why it appeared SADSF is no longer in existence. DISSA has since disbanded and SADSF is now working on its own again. SADSF held SA Deaf Games in Bloemfontein in 2006 and paid for the provinces’ transport and accommodation. SADSF has furthermore established provincial structures to assist in sport development in the provinces. In addition, SADSF has set up a national office to deal with administrative issues related to Deaf sport in the country. The office is situated in Witbank, Mpumalanga. SA is one of the few countries that continue to send its various teams to international Deaf sport championships and even assisted SA Deaf Squash financially and otherwise in hosting the World Deaf Squash Championships in Cape Town in October 2007. Currently SADSF is preparing to send its men and women national teams to the World Deaf football championships scheduled for Patra, Greece in July 2008, the athletics team to World Deaf Athletics Championships scheduled for Izmir, Turkey in August 2008 and the Golf team to the World Deaf Golf Championships scheduled for Perth, Australia in September 2008. For more information on SADSF and its program, visit www.sadsf.org.za or email sadsf@absamail.co.za or maxajwe@vodamail.co.za
SADSF is currently working with school sport leaders to incorporate school sport in SADSF. Currently school sport has its own organization focusing on school sport which causes confusion amongst Deaf sport fanatic and interested observers and even sponsors. This will however be a thing of the past as SADSF and school sport are working hand in hand in ensuring that all Deaf sport activities fall under one structure, SADSF. School Sport Commission will be established to oversee school sport programs. This commission will be made up of educators of schools for the Deaf and will report directly to SADSF. This process will happen before the end of this year. SADSF will then lobby Sport and Recreation SA (SRSA) to ensure that schools for the Deaf also benefit from the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG). This process will happen when the School Sport Commission is up and running. Apart from that, SADSF will involve Lovelife in an attempt to assist children avid being involved in wrong activities. The late Honourable Steve Tshwete, once said: “A child in sport is a child out of court”. We totally agree.
It is not clear whether this is a reference to clubs, provinces or national codes, but for clubs, it is advisable that requests for sporting gear be referred to their respective Provincial Deaf Sport Federation who will then put these in their yearly budgets for SADSF to assist by applying for funds for these needs. List of contact persons for all provincial structures can be found in the SADSF website www.sadsf.org.za
SADSF has, in the past, trained Deaf sport leaders in sport administration, coaching and officiating. These were done under DISSA in their Talent Identification and Development (TID) program. SADSF can continue to carry on these initiatives should people come forward with the request. At the moment, provinces have not indicated the need for these trainings, but we remain committed to ensuring that people receive trainings. Again these training needs should be referred to provincial Deaf sport structures which then will include them in their yearly budgets for SADSF to apply for funds on their behalf.
This problem is not only affecting Deaf sport, but sport in general. Again, School Sport Commission, once up and running, will be in a better position to address these needs.
Government is playing a very important role in promoting sport for the disabled in particular and Deaf sport in general. SADSF is continually receiving funding from Sport and Recreation SA (SRSA) on a yearly basis for various activities an attempt to assist in the promotion of sport for the Deaf. SRSA engage SADSF in all its sport activities and we are regularly invited to all their planning meetings, workshops etc where issues pertaining to sport are discussed and addressed.
Yes, Deaf people can make a living through sport. However, this should be done in an inclusive setting where Deaf athletes compete against hearing athletes. For example, Terence Parkin, a well-known former Deaf swimmer made a living through Swimming, Andrew du Plooy, a well-known first Deaf professional soccer player made a living by playing for the now defunct Mother City FC that used to play in the Premier Soccer League, Moses Lepheane, a well-known Deaf road runner, makes a living through competing in road running.
SADSF is currently planning to engage Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the 2010 World Cup with a view to including Deaf in its volunteer programs.
Deaf people are represented in sport by virtue of sitting in various sport bodies in the country and being involved in SRSA planning meetings, workshops, conferences etc. Furthermore, SADSF sits in the Disability Sport Commission (DSC) of South African Sport Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), the supreme body of sport in South Africa. Besides, most of the National Federations (NFs), notably; Swimming SA (SSA), Athletics South Africa (ASA), SA Table Tennis Board (SATTB), Cricket South Africa (CSA), Squash South Africa, SA Golf and Badminton SA have inclusion programs where Deaf athletes are taking part.
Yes, it is necessary. It may be hard for some people to understand that Deaf people want to promote their own sports movement because it stands in contrast to the majority’s policy of integration. Deaf sports are important in Deaf life on physical, social and mental levels. Sign Language give Deaf athletes increased empowerment and they do not have communication problems in Deaf sports. Integration can weaken individual empowerment due to inadequate social communication with hearing athletes. A sign language interpreter is a necessary prerequisite in mainstream sport, but an interpreter cannot dissolve all communication barriers.
In team sport and some individual events, hearing loss can be limiting. However, these restrictions disappear in Deaf games. If Deaf athletes were to compete in mainstream games, numerous sign language interpreters would be necessary to bridge communication barriers, otherwise the Deaf athlete would be completely separated from the hearing athletes. The very purpose of the games – to bring athletes together – would be lost. Among hearing athletes Deaf athletes are almost always excluded, invisible and unserved. Among themselves, however, they have no limits. (Sources: Siv Fosshaug, ICSD Executive Committee Member at Large and Gerald Jordan, past President, ICSD)
Refer those letters to SADSF and we will see how we can assist them. Fax the letters to: SADSF Administrator at: 013 656 4038.