See: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/oly...icle4091987.ece

I think it's appalling that the Government is refusing to give such a small amount of money to enable deaf athletes to go to Taipei for the 2009 Deaflympics, especially when you consider all the other things the Government wastes its money on.

For comparison, in Melbourne in 2005, the cost of winning a medal was £1,400 per deaf athlete, against £1.6m per athlete in the 2004 Olympics and Paralympics.

Lets hope n i shall have fingers crossed n hope Britain has a team out in Taipei in 2009

UK Deaf Sport volunteers including me, are working very hard to make sure we are heard and raise awareness of the need for funding toward Deaf sport, not only for the Taipei 2009, for long term including training so on.

Im sure u will keep us all up to date in near future

Course, will do!

Look fwd to hearing great news Mr Hay

tut disappointment by gov...

I have been selected by DUKA to go to Turkey for the World Athletic Championships, and luckily I have managed to get funding from my employer.

However its annoying when hearing and paralympic athletes can focus on training and dont have the worry.

Yet deaf athletes from a wide range of sports get ignored - however if we was selected to the olympics it would be a different thing, so whats so different!

Annoying

petitions - http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/GBDeaflympics/

The Times did a follow-up story: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/oly...icle4333045.ece

Apparently £150,000 of donations from members of the public will allow UKDS to send a team, but only a skeleton team; they need £500,000 to send a full-strength team.

The more people that hear about it, then more will donate.

Things must be in a very dire state when Deaf sportspeople write to see hear and ask them to beg the RNID for help ! This is like asking a cannibal if you taste nice........ are they not aware the RNID is the anti-thesis of deaf culture ? why hold out a begging bowl to them ? one would have thought the BDA.... have Deaf sports no pride ? The issue is Olympic and Sports bodies in the UK no longer recognising deaf sports in terms of an individual Olympics any more. However NOW is the time to lobby for proper access to the main event, including the coaching and everything else, if they won't let the deaflympics have money, then demand your rights where it counts surely ? Deaflympics is no longer supported, if you want to compete, you now have to campaign for that access, which they cannot deny if deaf opt to compete against hearing instead, the DDA and every other law (Including the Olympic ones), which recognise that right of ALL cultures to compete, can be used to make a court case against UK sports...... It was always on the cards some government or other would feel "Do you want access or not ?" so force the point.... You have to take them on. The petition currently mooted is I am afraid a waste of time, not one put forward by the deaf community in 5 years has ever got anywhere, we don't have the clout. If 2 million motorists were fobbed off, then how will a few hundred deaf or 1,000 make an impression ? Game on lads, you have to fight them direct now... how bad do you want it ?