USADSF eNewsletter - November 17, 2005

USA Deaf Sports Federation is a non-profit sport organization serving the deaf and hard of hearing. For information about USADSF, visit http://www.usdeafsports.org or send an e-mail to .

The two-day 2005 House of Delegates concluded last Saturday the 5th of November on the campus of Maryland School for the Deaf in Frederick. The tree foliage was turning color, and the weather was fantastic - sunny all weekend. The Federation and delegates are grateful for the wonderful hospitality of the MSD staff and its students. Members of the outgoing Executive Board had an opportunity to speak to an assembly of high school students for about one hour about their Deaflympic and leadership experiences. The highlights of the weekend are presented here.

In addition to publishing this free eNewsletter, USADSF offers a subscription-based monthly newspaper, the SIGNews. The Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD) publishes SIGNews, and sports is among a wide range of categories covered. For subscription information, please visit the SIGNews website. CSD has been a strong partner and supporter of USADSF, and both organizations strongly believe that a well-informed community of readers will expand the opportunities for the deaf and hard of hearing in sports as well as in other areas of interest.

Two athletes were inducted into the 2005 USADSF Hall of Fame. The inductees are Steve Blehm (basketball) and Connie Johnston (track and field). Summaries on their athletic achievements will be posted to the Hall of Fame page.

A project is underway to expand the Hall of Fame section by linking each inductee to a page containing a scanned "portrait" photo and a text summary.

Tamara Foronda of Lake Elsinore, California was selected as USADSF Sportwoman of the Year. She was Volleyball Player of the Year in Capital Athletics Conference at Gallaudet University and won a bronze medal with teammate Sarah Parker in women's beach volleyball at the 2005 Deaflympics. Foronda was awarded WIDEX's Athlete of the 2005 Deaflympics for Fair Play and Sportsmanship. She plans to graduate with a major in Deaf Education in spring 2006. The past year must have been a busy and memorable one for her!

The USADSF Sportsman of the Year went to Jeff Pollock of Salt Lake City, Utah. Pollock's speciality was alpine and snowboarding. He qualified for the USA Snowboard Association's Nationals by winning four silver medals in the Open class in the four regional races this past year. With a silver in Parallel Slalom in Davos and bronze in Giant Slalom in Sundsvall, the Federation looks forward to his participation in the 2007 Deaflympics!

To read more about their accomplishments, please visit the Athletes of Year page.

At the NSO Council on Saturday morning, twelve reports on highlights of the year and plans for the next year were shared by representatives of National Sport Organizations. Nominations for the position of Vice President of NSO Affairs were held. President Bobbie Beth Scoggins announced the winners of the 2005 USADSF Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year. Dr. Donalda Ammons, president of the DEAFLYMPICS, joined the council at the end and briefed the representatives on the success of the 2005 Deaflympics, future host sites, and a few other DEAFLYMPICS tidbits.

After a lunch break for pizza, the House of Delegates commenced with a review of past minutes and committee reports. Chairs of both 2007 Deaflympics and 2006 Pan American Youth Games organizing committees reported on their progress. The Budget committee chair followed with an update on the financial status of the Federation. Two bylaws proposals related to changes in Games Preparation Committee were presented by the Governance committee and approved by the delegates.

Two resolutions were unanimously approved by the delegates to recognize chair Dwight Benedict and his 2007 Deaflympics committee for making fantastic strides in organizing the event and also to recognize Sorenson VRS, CSD, and Gallaudet University for their outstanding and generous support of the 2007 Winter Deaflympics.

As was the case almost every year, the proposal to reduce membership fees were brought to the floor. After several amendments, the proposal was referred to the Budget committee for further study.

The awardees for the Federation's four awards were announced. The fourth and last award, the Art Kruger Award, was presented to Bobbie Beth Scoggins by the remaining members of the outgoing Executive Board. She was recognized for her years of dedication to the organization and was also presented with a presidential gavel. The names of the awardees can be viewed here.

Elections were held at the end of the meeting, and a transitional meeting of incoming and outgoing members of the Executive Board was held the next morning.

The House of Delegates weekend began with an introduction to orienteering given by Joseph Ward and Billy Allaband. On a sunny and cool Friday morning, the participants learned the basic fundamentals of orienteering – a combination of navigational skills and speed – by competing in a 10-point course on campus grounds. Orienteering is a medal sport in the Summer Deaflympics, and one of the main objectives of the orienteering group is to promote the sport among the deaf and hard of hearing in the United States.

The Sports page on the USADSF website has contact information for the orienteering committee, so if you are interested in orienteering, get in touch with the orienteering experts now!

Dr. Stephen F. Weiner of Gallaudet University was invited to share his knowledge and experience on communications and expectations. He presented an overview of various issues facing the Federation and led a group discussion on synergy and legacy of the Federation and its family of national sport organizations. In an all-afternoon session, topics too numerous to list here were covered. In brief, the participants reviewed the history of the Federation, then known as AAAD, its reasons for existence, the challenges brought forth by inevitable generational changes, and the vision of where everyone wants to go as far as deaf sports are concerned.

One central topic revolved around coalition building to overcome differences and achieve common goals among various groups having diverse objectives and levels of resources - "synergy". Ideas to strengthen the organization, share experiences with new members, and mentor future leaders and volunteers were explored. In fact, the Federation and its affiliated sports are all run by volunteers with assistance provided by CSD through the Home Office. The discussions ended with attendees having a greater appreciation for each other 's strengths and abilities.

To transit from NSO Council in the morning to House of Delegates in the afternoon, lunch was provided and made possible by a generous donation from Sorenson Communications, which is a provider of industry-leading communication offerings including the Sorenson Video Relay Service (VRS), Sorenson IP Relay (siprelay), and Sorenson videophones. Sorenson is one of the proud sponsors of the US Team competing in the 2007 Winter Deaflympics in Salt Lake City. The delegates did not have to figure out where to go out to grab a bite to eat and deal with the lunch hour traffic, but were grateful to stay in for delicious carry-out pizza, soda, bottled water and chips.

Elections were held at the end of the House of Delegates meeting to select candidates to serve on the Executive Board for the next four years. Approved by delegates last year, the launch of the staggered-term provision limits three positions to two years, which will then revert back to four years after the 2007 elections. The new officers are:

President - Larry Fleischer (2005-2007)
Vice President of Member Services - John Knetzger (2005-2009)
Vice President of Financial Affairs - Robert Steele (2005-2007)
Vice President of International Affairs - Jack Lamberton (2005-2009)
Vice President of NSO Affairs - Jeffrey Salit (2005-2007)

Fleischer was president of USADSF's predecessor AAAD from 1993-1997 and has served as president of PANAMDES. The Federation expresses its gratitude to Bobbie Beth Scoggins and Herman Fuechtmann for their eight years of volunteer services to the organization as President and Vice President of Financial Affairs, respectively. The Federation are glad to have both of them continue to contribute in other areas. Scoggins is co-chairing the 2007 Deaflympian Reunion committee, and Fuechtmann has participated in a PANAMDES seminar in Buenos Aires, Argentina with Lamberton on November 18-20, 2005.

Golf: (July 21-24) Kevin Hall, a 22-year-old from Cincinnati, made his PGA Tour debut at Brown Deer Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He shot a 68-74 and missed the cut by four strokes at the US Bank Championship. The course is the same one where Tiger Woods turned professional at what was then known as the Greater Milwaukee Open in September 1996, finishing 60th. A 2004 Big Ten golf champion at Ohio State, Hall is currently competing in PGA Tour's qualifying tournament ("q-school").

Soccer: (December 15-18) The USA Deaf Soccer Association (USADSA) is hosting a women's soccer training camp at Santa Barbara Community College in California. Under head coach John Sisterson, the national team won the gold medal at the 2005 Deaflympics in Melbourne, Australia.

Volleyball: (June) The weeklong 2005 B & B’s High Potential Deaf Volleyball Camp took place at Indiana School for the Deaf during the last week of June. Brian Bippus and Lynn Ray Boren (currently head coach of Gallaudet University's women volleyball) taught the school-age girls to become better players. The camp awards winners were: Most Accurate Server - Brittany Frank; Best Pepper Players - Amanda Biskupiak & Micaela Paulone; Drill Master - Malibu Barron; 2 on 2 Champions - Malibu Barron & Amanda Oritz; 4 on 4 Champions - Amanda Biskupiak, Nukeitra Hayes, Stephanie Velazquez, Dia Xiong; "Attitude is Everything" - Chelsea Bruha & Rachel Steingieser; Most Improved Camper - April Bottoms; Most Outstanding Camper - Micaela Paulone; "Believe and Achieve" Award - Amanda Biskupiak.