Rebecca Foster, coach and assistant team manager at the forthcoming Deaflympics in Taipei in August, is organising a charity dinner and auction in a bid to raise £3,000.
The evening will take place on 12 June 2009 at Outwood Grange College in the Conference Theatre at 7pm. Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for children or students. All ticket sales and auction amounts will go directly to the Deaflympics.
The summer and winter Deaflympics are among the world’s fastest growing sports events. More than 3,200 deaf athletes and officials from 67 nations participated in the 20th Summer Deaflympics in Melbourne, Australia, in January 2005. Over 600 athletes and officials participated in the 16th Winter Deaflympics in Salt Lake City, United States in February 2007.
The games are built on 80 years of tradition. Organised since 1924 by the Comité International des Sports des Sourds, CISS (The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf), the first Summer Deaflympics were held in Paris. Winter Deaflympics were added in 1949. The Summer and Winter Deaflympics are sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee, IOC.