Deaflympics open in spectacular style


http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/arch...003452921/print
























STARS COME OUT: A-mei, Patina Lin and Jet Lee appeared in the opening ceremony of the 21st Games, and even the first lady put in an appearance

By Jenny W. Hsu
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Sep 06, 2009, Page 1

The night sky over Taipei was transformed into a kaleidoscope of glistening colors last night as a firework display shimmered and wowed more than 16,000 spectators packed into the new Taipei Municipal Stadium for the opening ceremony of the 21st Deaflympic Games.

The 12-act show was ushered in with three loud bangs as white fireworks shot from the parameter of the stadium. Renowned theater director Stanley Lai (賴聲川) spent two years and a NT$600 million (US$18.3 million) budget to organize the two-hour spectacle.

This is the first Deaflympics to be held in Asia since the competition started in 1924. A record-breaking number — more than 4,000 — athletes and staffers from 91 countries will be competing in 20 events that include soccer, swimming, wrestling, table tennis and orienteering, to be held in Taipei City, Taipei County and Hsinchu County until Sept. 15.

An ensemble of 80 drummers from U-Theatre kicked off the evening, followed by an artistic performance entitled The Song of the Ocean and Field, featuring top model Patina Lin (林嘉琦) as the Goddess Matsu, who in sign language bestowed blessings upon the audience and the Games’ participants.

Themed around Taiwan’s landscape and ecology, performers then brought in giant butterflies, lilies and water droplets to symbolize the natural beauty of Taiwan.

The audience burst into applause and cheers when pop diva A-mei (阿妹), of Puyuma origin, flew across in white wings, belting out the Games’ theme song, Dreams.

The Games are being held a month after Typhoon Morakot hit the south early last month, killing at least 600 people and completely obliterating several Aboriginal villages. To pay attribute to the victims and relief workers, a short prayer was offered by Chinese martial arts star Jet Li (李連杰), who recited the words with four rescue workers who saved all 137 people in Jiamu Village (佳暮), Pingtung County.

At one point in the show, first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) made an appearance in which she appeared on stage, embracing a child while being surrounded by Aboriginal dancers.

One of the highlights of the evening — the procession of athletes — was led by the team from Algeria. The Chinese delegation, as with the Kaoshiung World Games in July, boycotted the opening ceremony and are also expected to be a no-show for the closing ceremony.

The Chinese national flag was carried by a lone staffer.

The decibels shot through the roof when the 202-member Taiwan delegation entered the arena. The crowd immediately rose to its feet and screamed for the home team, who entered last.

Chen Hui-ya (陳慧亞), 23, an accountant working in Taipei, said watching the show made her feel “so proud of my city” and said she hoped all the athletes would go back home and tell wonderful tales of what they had experienced in Taipei.

Major traffic controls were imposed around the stadium to block off non-game related vehicles, and every member of the audience, including the media, had to pass multiple security checkpoints.

The show was attended by many pan-blue politicians, the only opposition present being a small number of independence activists who were handing out literature at the entrances to the stadium.

Meanwhile, Taipei City’s Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday that a total of 14 municipal attractions would offer free admission or discounts to Deaflympics athletes.

Seven of the 14 cultural and recreational attractions in Taipei, including the National History Museum, National Taiwan Science Education Center and Taipei Museum of Contemporary Arts would offer free admission to Deaflympics athletes, guests from the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf and Games volunteers, the department said.

Other locations, including the National Palace Museum, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Taipei 228 Memorial Hall and Taipei Fine Arts Museum would offer discounts, it said.

Athletes or guests will just need to show their Deaflympics pass.

Closing ceremony of Deaflympics will be a huge banquet

By Vasilije Gallak on Sep 8, 2009 in Featured, Sports News

Taipei – Taiwan plans to let the 21st summer Deaflympics close with a huge open-air banquet with athletes and spectators eating Taiwan delicacies, the organizer said Tuesday.

Stan Lai, a playwright and theatre director who is in charge of designing the Deaflympics’ opening and closing ceremonies, said he plans to turn the September 15 closing ceremony into a feast.

One reason is that according to Deaflympics’ rules, the final game of the football event must be played at the main stadium, which will leave the organizer only two hours to prepare for the closing ceremony at the Taipei Stadium.

The other reason is that he wants the athletes to leave Taiwan with a full stomach and a lasting memory of the world-famous Taiwan food.

“So far, no sports events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee have closed with a big banquet. So I thought: Why not? Maybe we could try,” he told a news conference.

According to Lai’s plan, the nearly 3,000 athletes from 80 countries and regions will sit down at 300 tables under a starry sky to enjoy delicacies like beef noodle, steamed dumplings, oyster omelet and iced mango desert.

The 15,000 spectators won’t be left out. “We will give each of them a lunch box with good food in it,” Lai said.

While the eating and drinking is going on, there will be performances including opera, drum beating, lion dance, ending with singing and dancing by Hong Kong pop star Aron Kwok.

The Deaflympics opened at the Taipei Stadium Saturday evening, with 3,000 athletes from 80 countries and regions participating.

Previously called World Games for the Deaf, the competition was first launched in 1924 in Paris, and is held every four years.

To qualify for the games, athletes must have a hearing loss of at least 55 decibels in their “better ear.” Hearing aids, cochlear implants and the like are banned in competition, to keep all athletes on the same level. (dpa)

Taiwan Public Television sign language news. I bet you've never seen this before!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHMt04hhD_U...feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB2XjDgih6E

I watched some segments of it from PhoenixTV, it looked nice.

deaflympics? didnt taiwan just host the other olympics thing as well? im surprise they are willing to put so much money into hosting these things during recession.

I think the planning and bidding was before recession.
Anyways it is good to have them, and it brings intangible benefits.

Didn't China spend $44 billion on the Olympics? You're in no position to criticize.

that was last year LOL. im not criticizing, it was an observation.

Haha, yeah. $44 billion was overboard even perhaps by PRC standards. But oh well.



But - see - Taiwan did not spend much on the Deaflympics or the World Games. IIRC, the opening ceremony for the World Games was just $4 million.

Deaflympics an Opportunity for Athletes to Break Sound Barrier

By Thibault Worth

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-09-10-voa57.cfm

Taipei
10 September 2009

Thousands of deaf athletes are in Taiwan for the 21st summer Deaflympics. Athletes and organizers say the games are an opportunity for the deaf to showcase their abilities.

As the Ukrainian woman's basketball team squares off against Chinese Taipei, the game sounds like any other. Shoes squeak against the floor. Referees whistle when fouls were made. A bullhorn sounds indicating timeouts. But because the players are deaf, backboard-mounted lights also flash to insure the players know what is going on.

Maryna Liferova is the sign language interpreter for the Ukrainian team. After the game, she says the players have no trouble communicating with referees, or each other, on the court.

Translating for point guard Anastasiya Danilova and forward Natalia Dulida, Liferova says they understand everything. They know the techniques, the rules and the tactics of the game. They also know the gestures.

Nearly 4,000 athletes have come from more than 80 countries to take part in the games this year. That is 300 more than during the last summer Deaflympics in Melbourne in 2005. There are 20 sports this year, three more than were played four years ago. The games are sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee.

To ensure good communication with the competitors, officials and referees must also be deaf. Special equipment has been installed so that Olympians can rely on sight to know when to go and when to stop.

"For athletics, track and field and for swimming, there's kind of like a traffic light. A red light means get into position. Yellow light means ready. Green is go. And for example, in taekwondo or judo, when the referee calls a foul, all the lights will start shining," said Emile Sheng, the chief executive of the Taipei Deaflympics organizing committee.

Despite the adaptations, deaf athletes do face additional hurdles. In much of the world, there are not enough coaches who can communicate in sign language. Japanese table tennis coach, Shinji Sato, says he often writes instructions on a board. But he says his players are no less capable than players who hear.

He says they are also athletes, regardless of whether they can hear or not. They consider themselves athletes here to participate in the games.

And just as at the regular Olympics, communication among participants from different countries can be an issue at the games. Sign languages vary from country to country, and many are not well known internationally.

But the athletes are able to overcome language barriers. Many use a sort of internationalized sign language that communicates ideas and needs. That helps as the athletes meet deaf people from other countries; something advocates say is an important part of the experience of the games.

Liferova says it is very interesting to talk to everyone here. Sign language, she says, helps them communicate in all parts of the world.

Despite extensive training, few deaf athletes make a name for themselves outside of deaf sporting competition. An exception is Terence Parkin, a deaf swimmer from South Africa. Parkin took home a silver medal in the 200-meter breast stroke at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Considered a hero in the deaf community, Parkin is competing in road cycling at the Taipei Deaflympics.

Banquet: