INSIDE THIS ISSUE

• USADSF President's Quarterly Report - Winter 2006

• Reunion of US Team Athletes and Staff POSTPONED

• CURLING: Apply for 2007 US Curling Team

• GOLF: US Deaf Golf Association's Website on Par with the Best

• TEAM HANDBALL: Message from President Jacobs

• VOLLEYBALL: Head Coach Positions Available

• YOUTH: Pan American Games for Deaf Youth Is Coming This Summer!

• Participation Criteria Expanded to Include Selection Procedures for Coaches and Athletes of US Teams

• Around the Sport World

• Upcoming Events

USADSF President's Quarterly Report - Winter 2006

I have been on the job as your president since last November. We had the first Executive Board meeting in Los Angeles last month. I have caught up reading to better understand the actions of USADSF made during my being "out of the picture" from January 1998 to early November 2005. I "heard" loudly from the delegates at the Frederick House of Delegates meeting that they wanted to see the increasing empowerment for the NSOs. All in all, I have been reflecting alot on the future direction of USADSF, especially for the next two years.

I have noticed a number of positive improvements in the USADSF when I came back to the USADSF scene after the eight-year absence. From my standpoint, I found the selection processes of coaches and athletes for international competitions such as Deaflympics vastly improved. The USADSF website is definitely a great addition since my last tour of duty as USADSF President, 1991-1997. The past talk of how important a quadrennial plan for USADSF in partnership with the NSOs has gradually evolved to the actual implementation of such a four-year plan.

There is one gigantic loss to the USADSF during my absence. It is obvious to all of us, not just me, that when the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) chose a different direction by declaring that the Deaflympics is not part of the USOC focus anymore, the USADSF was hit very hard. From 1989 to 1997, I spent countless hours working with the USOC as I strongly believed that the help and support from USOC would make a big difference to the USADSF in the promotion of deaf sports in the United States. We must continually express our deep gratitude to the CSD for carrying us out during the difficult time. Without the CSD, the USADSF would probably break down into many pieces--one thing for sure: no national office.

For the two-year presidential term from November 2005 to November 2007, my top two priorities are: 1) to rebuild the relationship with the USOC, and 2) to empower the NSOs as dictated at the House of Delegates in Frederick last November. There will be a number of international events on the USA soil this and next years. It is important that we turn out to be a good host to the World Championship on Deaf Cycling in San Francisco Bay Area, Pan American Deaf Youth Games in Washington, DC, and Winter Deaflympics in Salt Lake City.

I welcome supporters and volunteers to become involved in the USADSF. There are many programs out there that would love your participation. Any help you may provide to the USADSF will, I am sure, be greatly appreciated by our deaf athletes. Come abroad and have fun with us for the good of deaf American athletes.

Lawrence Fleischer, President

Reunion of US Team Athletes and Staff POSTPONED

USADSF's significant responsibilities for the next 10 months, such as being host of Pan American Deaf Youth Games this August and Winter Deaflympics next February, plus its preparation of the US Winter Deaflympic Team, have put a strain on schedules, budgets and resources allocated for other activities, such as the reunion of US Team athletes and staff at the 2007 Winter Deaflympics. In consultation with the Executive Board, co-chairs Bobbie Beth Scoggins and John Knetzger have agreed to postpone the reunion to a later date.

This postponement ensures that the Winter Deaflympics on American soil will receive all of the immediate attention and resources it deserves. The reunion requires a separate budget, a dedicated group of volunteers and additional time needed to search for "lost" members of US Teams. President Larry Fleischer's idea of expanding the reunion format from an evening-only social gathering into a full-day range of activities is gaining support, and an announcement will be made in the future as soon as details are ironed out.

For those of you who were members of US Teams and first learned of the reunion by reading this eNewsletter, please send an email to D. Cole Zulauf, Assistant to the USADSF Executive Board at with the following information:

• Name and maiden name
• Current mailing and email addresses
• Which Deaflympics did you compete in? And which sport(s)?
• Did you earn any medals?

You are also strongly encouraged to contact any of your fellow teammates with whom you have kept in touch throughout the years to submit their data as well. USADSF maintains a database of athletes and staff members and highly values accuracy of data by checking with various sources, including athletes themselves. An online database is under development and will be posted online. US Team members that have not been located will be flagged as "lost" in the database.

USADSF apologizes for any inconvenience this announcement may cause. Nonetheless, the organization is committed to the idea of hosting the reunion as a unique and memorable event.

Apply for 2007 US Curling Team

Have you seen a person energetically sweeping the ice in front of a slow-moving stone with a broom before it hits another stone and comes to a stop? That game is called curling, which will be introduced into the 2007 Winter Deaflympics program in Salt Lake City. Curling is a demonstration sport, which means that medals will not be given out. Per regulations of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD, formerly CISS), a demonstration sport becomes a medal sport if it meets certain criteria, such as having had a World Championships at least once or an international competition among a minimum of eight nations within the past three years.

Interested men and women are encouraged to fill out an application form for the US Curling Team NOW! The form is available here. The application deadline is April 20, 2006.

To learn more about the game of curling, visit this excellent and interactive website: http://www.curlingbasics.com. The USA Curling Association also has a basic introduction to curling at http://www.usacurl.org/basics/main.html.

(Posted on March 24, 2006)
This is a flyer announcing a clinic to be held on Saturday, April 15, 2006 from noon until 3:00PM at Dakota Curling Club in Burnsville, Minnesota.

US Deaf Golf Association's Website on Par with the Best

Check out this much-improved website of our National Sport Organization in the sport of golf: http://www.usdeafgolf.org! It has all of the basics of an ideal NSO website:

• Who we are and what we do
• How to contact us
• Messages from the leaders
• Events (both past and future)
• Youth programs
• Photo galleries
• Rules of sport
• News and media
• Advertising - supporters and sponsors
• Links to other relevant organizations, including the parent organization USA Deaf Sports Federation
• Consistent and obvious Internet address format: "US" or "USA" followed by "deaf" and name of sport and ending with an ".org"

According to the website, the golf organization was renamed, secured the new usdeafgolf.org Internet address and appointed a professional golfer as its part-time executive director within the past few months. With all of these ingredients in place, US Deaf Golf Association is certainly hitting a beautiful drive down the middle of the fairway!

Note: The US Deaf Cycling Association also renamed its website address: http://www.usdeafcycling.org. A list of all sports currently affiliated with USA Deaf Sports Federation can be found at http://www.usdeafsports.org/sports.html.

TEAM HANDBALL: Head Coach Position Available

Mr. Richard Jacobs, president of USA Deaf Team Handball Association, issued a statement on March 2 to current and former USDTH members that the four board positions are available: President, Vice President, Logistics Coordinator and Team Development Coordinator. He felt that the organization has matured and is ready for the next generation of leaders. Interested candidates are to contact Ms. Kellie McComas at .

The USDTH has announced an opening for a Head Coach position on the USA National Men's Team Handball Team. Read the coach position announcement >>

VOLLEYBALL: Head Coach Positions Available

The volleyball committee is pleased to announce openings for Head Coach positions on the USA National Men's and Women's Deaf Volleyball Teams, starting in spring 2006. The coaches’ term will continue until the conclusion of 2009 Deaflympics in Taipei, Taiwan, in September 2009, provided that the coaches have successfully met certain pre-Deaflympic requirements. Read the coach position announcement >>

Pan American Games for Deaf Youth Is Coming This Summer!

Participation Criteria Expanded to Include Selection Procedures for Coaches and Athletes of US Teams

Accessible under the "Athletes" menu, the Participation Criteria was expanded to include selection procedures for US Teams. Each sport's selection criteria are posted to provide prospective coaches and athletes with information on qualifications and benchmark levels. More...

AROUND THE SPORT WORLD

Athletics: Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN-5) issued a statement congratulating Patrick Southern of Carmel, Indiana for his outstanding performance in the men’s pole vaulting competition at the 2005 Summer Deaflympics in Melbourne, Australia.

Tennis: The tennis committee is planning a 2006 USA Deaf Tennis Championships at the Farmington Farms Tennis Club in Farmington, Connecticut on July 14-16.

USOC: A hearing panel at the United States Olympic Committee has recommended that the US Team Handball Federation's membership with USOC be terminated and that its recognition as the national governing body for team handball be revoked because the organization was unable to resolve the grievances of its members. A series of documents related to this case can be found at this site.

Interesting Tidbit: Salt Lake City, Utah is the first host city ever to host all three: Olympics (2002), Paralympics (2002) and Deaflympics (2007). A press conference was held on March 1 in Salt Lake City and can be viewed on DeaflympicsTV.