MULTIPLE disciplines, more than 1000 athletes and officials and up to $3 million in economic benefit to Albury-Wodonga.
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The 2018 Australian Deaf Games is a major undertaking years in the planning.
A sports day on Friday at Albury’s Lauren Jackson Sports Centre will mark one year to go until the event begins next summer.
The draft schedule outlines an opening ceremony at Albury Entertainment Centre on Saturday, January 20, with the closing ceremony to take place at The Cube Wodonga a week later.
In between comes six days of competition at venues both sides of the Border.
Organising committee chairman Alex Jones said the games would allow Border people to engage with their sports on a different level.
“Instead of whistles and starting pistols, referee calls and teammates’ voices, deaf sports rely heavily on signals, lights, touch and, of course, some pretty strong sign language at times,” he said.
“Even though the format is slightly different, the athletes are still fiercely competitive and some are looking to qualify for teams to represent Australia at international level so they don’t leave anything on the field, court or in the pool.”
Among the planned sports are athletics, basketball, swimming, tennis, touch football, tenpin bowling, beach volleyball, indoor and outdoor cricket, netball, darts, eight-ball, futsal, golf, lawn bowls, soccer, rugby sevens and table tennis.
The Australian Deaf Games began in Sydney in 1964, with Albury-Wodonga announced as the 2018 host at the end of the most recent games in Adelaide last year.
Wodonga mayor Anna Speedie said the event would comprise more than sport.
“Having our communities engaging with deaf and hearing impaired people is such a wonderful opportunity for us to gain a greater understanding of their needs on a really broad level,” she said,
“I truly believe that this event will leave not just an impact on our sporting fraternity, but be of benefit to our entire community over years to come.”
Albury mayor Kevin Mack hoped as many people as possible would help make the games a success.
“Whether that’s putting up your hand to volunteer, making your business ‘deaf friendly’ or at the very least having big smiles on faces to welcome the athletes and supporters,” he said.
Albury councillor and chairman of the Sports Albury advisory committee Henk van de Ven encouraged Albury-Wodonga sporting groups to form working parties to plan for the games.
“We urge our best referees, umpires, scorers, anyone involved in sporting administration locally, to get involved,” he said.
“We need not only good practitioners, but people who have great personalities and communication skills.”
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