between the need for recognition and the culture of difference, the fight of deaf athletes to be heard

“It’s simply fabulous. I’ve been organizing my life to live my dream for four years and here I am selected to represent my country for ‘our’ Olympics, it’s incredible!”. Antoine Collomb-Patton’s enthusiasm and smile are infectious. The Nordic skier is one of five athletes from the French delegation to have headed to Erzurum, in the north-east of Turkey. This is where the 20th edition of the Winter Deaflympics is being held, from Saturday March 2 to Tuesday March 12, an international competition bringing together the best deaf and hard of hearing athletes.

Like the Olympic Games, it alternates every two years between summer sports and winter sports. On the other hand, unlike the meticulous organization of the world’s largest sporting event, everything is much less structured.

The event continued despite a chaotic organization

For Antoine Collomb-Patton and his partners, the preparation was short, since they only learned at the beginning of winter that the Deaflympics would take place. “It was originally supposed to be held in Austria, then there was talk of a postponement to 2025, and finally we learned that it would be in Turkey at the beginning of March… It’s much more chaotic”confesses Christian Fémy, director of winter sports at the French Handisport Federation (FFH).

This is not the first time that the organization has been rushed at the last minute, or that the competition is simply canceled… one week before the opening, as in 2018. Added to this are other problems such as the absence of image production and therefore television rights, which complicates the attraction of partners and sponsors. This complicated media coverage prevents the Deaflympics from emerging from the shadows and the athletes become, according to Christian Fémy, “the victims of the structural weakness of the International Deaf Sports Committee [ICSD en anglais] and its governance”.

A heavy historical context

To better understand the position of this international federation for deaf and hard of hearing athletes, it is appropriate to take a slight step back in time, to 1880 and the International Congress for the Improvement of the Condition of the Deaf, held in Milan. Specialists note the preference for the oral teaching method for the deaf and sign language was marginalized for almost a century in French schools. An activist, Eugène Rubens-Alcais, then tried to make it survive through sport, by practicing it in gymnasiums. It was on his initiative that the first international Silent Games, the ancestor of the Deaflympics, were created in August 1924.

“This is where this conviction was born that, never again, they will let others decide for themexplains Jean Minier, the sports director of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF). They want to keep their destiny in hand with the organization of this event. They manage to maintain it as best they can, but it’s more and more complicated.”

“Open our borders to the Paralympic world”

Until March 1995, the ICSD was part of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), before deciding to leave. Deaf and hard of hearing athletes have, to date, never participated in the Paralympic Games despite connections between the two competitions. “There is a principle of reality which is that the Deaflympics [d’été] represent more than twenty sports, with nearly 3 000 athletes. It’s impossible to integrate everything into the Paralympic Gamesspecifies Jean Minier. On the other hand, for the organizers of the Deaflympics, it is unacceptable to be only partially integrated.”

“We must understand that it is also a bit of a world apart and we must respect the desire of the International Committee to create an event for the deaf, adds Christian Fémy. All the information is given in sign language, they find themselves in the same place, have the same problems… It’s important.”

However, on the athletes’ side, opinions lean more towards a rapprochement with the Paralympic world. “We would be recognized at the same level as other disabilities and I am fighting for that. We must try to change things and open our borders”, says multiple Deaflympics alpine skier Nicolas Sarremejane. Same story for Antoine Collomb-Patton: “I have been training since 2020 with the French Paralympic Nordic ski team. It would be a great step forward if we were integrated for the 2030 Games. It’s even my next dream! To be able to compete in such a competition at home, in my resort of La Clusaz, it would be magical…”

Still battles to fight

While waiting for the situation to evolve, deaf and hard of hearing athletes are often left to their own devices. Without an international circuit for winter sports, it is impossible to measure up to the competition. They take part in races with the able-bodied, while financing their own equipment and travel, despite some help from the federations.

Tool and mold maker technician, Antoine Collomb-Patton confirms that he does not make a living from his sport, far from it. The 27-year-old works full time, although he has managed to adjust his hours since last year thanks to a accommodating company. “I start work at 5 a.m. and, at 1 p.m., I continue with my training. The cross-country ski trails close at 4:30 p.m.-5 p.m., so I have no time to waste”he explains.

In the French disabled sports team since 2008, Nicolas Sarremejane is one of the rare elected officials to benefit from the status of high-level athlete, and therefore from some departmental and regional subsidies, after having fought to obtain it. But his fight does not stop only with him, far from it. “As the Deaflympics are not recognized as a high-level competition, as the International Deaf Sports Committee is not a member of the IPC, we do not have access to medal bonuses or financial aid. However, we must not forget that deafness is a sensory handicap like the blind. With a tennis player friend who is also hard of hearing, we sent a letter to the Minister of Sports more than a month ago. We will see if we can can restart all this.”