Nick Brookes: Chair of UK Deaf Sport:

As of the 25th November 2023, Nick Brookes is the new Chair of the UK Deaf Sport Board. Nick brings a wealth of experience in deaf sport having previously held the role of Deputy Chef de Mission for the Deaflympics GB team at the 2005 Deaflympics in Australia.

 

With the recently launched ‘Fair Play’ campaign, which aims to raise the status of Deaf athletes through sufficient Government funding, we look forward to seeing what Nick and his fellow board members will do to ensure an equal playing field for deaf sport.

We recently reached out to Nick, to learn more about his goals for the future of UK Deaf Sport:

  1. Hi Nick, first, please could you introduce yourself to the Signature readers:

I am Deaf and a chartered accountant with over 30 years of international business experience. I am honoured to be the new Chair of UK Deaf Sport where I can hopefully give back something to deaf sport, which has given me so many memorable experiences over the years.

  1. Can you please tell us a bit more about your passion for sport?

Sport has played a central part in my daily routine, and I still remain active having completed several Iron Man triathlons as well as participated in road biking events across Europe in recent years.  I find it a great way of getting away from the stresses of modern life, and it gives me time and space to think.

  1. UK Deaf Sport recently launched the ‘Fair Play’ campaign, can you tell us more about this and the importance of such a campaign?

Deafness is the only disability the Government does not support at the elite sport level. There is a common misconception that deaf athletes compete as part of the Paralympics when in reality, deafness is not included in any of the Paralympics classifications, and therefore deaf individuals cannot compete unless they have another Paralympic disability. Instead, deaf athletes compete at the Deaflympics which is recognised by the International Olympic Committee on the same footing as the Olympics and Paralympics. Despite the UK having one of the best-funded talent and performance sport support systems in the world, the current Government policy excludes deaf athletes from accessing this. Deaf athletes must support themselves and raise their own funding for every aspect of our training, equipment, and competition. This is unfair and we are asking the Government to end this discrimination.

Please help us with our campaign by signing the petition, it will take less than 1 minute of your time https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/650923

  1. How do you hope to ensure that the Deaflympics gain the most coverage and funding as possible?

It is not generally well-known that the Deaflympics is a separate event to the Paralympics. It will be 100 years old in 2024 with the next summer Deaflympics taking place in Tokyo 2025. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the same profile as the Paralympics, despite the number of athletes attending being similar. We need to do more to raise public awareness.

  1. What is the most important change that you would like to see for Deaf Sport?

Recent research has found that activity levels amongst deaf people across the UK are some of the worst across our society. As a result, they are not obtaining the physical and mental health benefits associated with sport and activity. This has to change, and we need to look into ways of encouraging more deaf people to participate in sport at all levels by improving the development pathways and provide inspiring role models.

  1. How can the UK Government play their part in helping Deaf Sport progress further?

UK Deaf Sport currently gets £1.2 million over 5 years from Sport England. Whilst we are grateful for this funding, it can only be used for supporting the deaf community to participate in sport and physical activity at grassroots level. This funding cannot be used to support elite deaf athletes for the Deaflympics GB Team. We are therefore asking the Government to invest £3 million into elite deaf sport over the next 4 years, which is just 0.5% of the current UK Sport budget. This would fund the development of deaf talent pathways, training, coaching and wider support for athletes and to send a strong, competitive Deaflympics GB Team to Tokyo in 2025. Deaf athletes as role models on the world stage will inspire the deaf community to engage in sport and activity.

  1. What advice would you give to Deaf young people are wanting to pursue sport?

Don’t let your Deafness hold you back from anything. Get out there and give anything a go, and if you need any help, please contact UK Deaf Sport for advice. We will be delighted to hear from you.

  1. Finally, do you have any goals that you would specifically like to achieve as Chair of the Board?

I have a rather long list, but without a doubt a key priority is to work in partnership with deaf people across the UK as well as the various deaf sporting organisations and national sport governing bodies to further opportunities at both the grassroots and elite level.

Here at Signature, we would like to thank Nick for sharing more about his role as Chair of the UK Deaf Sport Board. We hope that Nick is able to succeed with his aim to obtain Government funding for UK Deaf Sport. There needs to be an end to the discrimination towards deaf sportspersons. We look forward to seeing the progress that Nick and fellow board members can make.

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