Golovanov Receives Compensation

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Our Christmas Day inbox included a message from Russian Deaflympic wrestler Eugene Golovanov thanking us for highlighting the issues over the RSDC submitting a falsified audiogram in his name.

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We can confirm by his message that we received this morning, that the sum of 100,000 rubbles was deposited into his bank account on 19th December, this was unknown to us as we promoted the story on 21st December – so we are pleased to see that Eugene has been compensated for moral damages.

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It is not known to either Eugene or ourselves, if this deposit was made in the knowledge that we were going to go public with the story or if it was a happy coincidence.

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Golovanov said “I hope that after this publication, I would not (be) interfere with participation in the Championship of Russia on March 23-25, 2015.”

ICSD Executive Officials Guilty of Falsifying Audiograms

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How many Deaf athletes are guilty of falsifying their audiograms?

The BBC recently stated that a German TV documentary claims that 99% of Russian athletes are guilty of doping. You can find a link to this report at the end of this post.

The TV documentary is another investigation about Russian officials systematically accepting payments from athletes to supply banned substances and cover up tests. Not surprisingly, the Russian Athletic Federation (RAF) says the allegations are ‘lies’. The IAAF and WADA say they are investigating; hopefully they will be thorough.

Now, we mention this because in Deaf sport, it is the audiograms which are sacrosanct – falsifying an audiogram is as serious as it gets, just as ‘doping’ gives athletes an advantage, submitting a false audiogram to pretend that you are Deaf enough to compete in Deaf sport and the Deaflympics is cheating.

Does Audiogram cheating occur in Deaf sport? At the Deaflympics there are WADA anti-doping tests and random Audiogram testing to catch out the cheats. This happens at every Deaflympics, and it is a good thing, because it shows that the ICSD are vigilant about audiograms and the Deaflympic Movement values the inviolability of the Olympic Code as we compete under the banner of the ICSD and IOC.

More often than not in doping and audiogram checks, it is athletes who are caught out and banned, but occasionally coaches and officials are too. But what about a member of a National Olympic Committee or indeed a high –level member of staff at the IOC, what would happen if they cheated by falsifying information, would they be given a ban? Yes, indeed, we expect they would, just as IOC members are stripped of their membership for accepting bribes etc.

Unfortunately, most unfortunately, this type of cheating and cover up is occurring right now at the highest levels of the ICSD. I have read information that the Russian Deaf Sports Confederation (RDSC) was found guilty of falsifying audiograms. I have seen legal Moscow Court documents, supplied by a Russian Deaflympic wrestler Eugene Golovanov, showing that the RDSC have been ordered to pay compensation to him as the court ruled that the RDSC falsified his audiogram in order to discredit him. As well as making compensation payments, the RDSC were also ordered by the court to issue a public statement vindicating the wrestler. The falsification of the audiogram took place in 2011.

RDSC immediately appealed against the decision, which they eventually lost in early 2014. According to my correspondence with Mr Golovanov he has still not received the compensation and he continues to meet resistance form the RDSC to allow him to compete.

Dmitry Rebrov is the man who submitted the false audiogram in 2011 and “strongly urged” ICSD administrators to check the details. After the RDSC had been taken to court, they continued to keep Mr Rebrov in office as they defied the court order and lodged their appeal.

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Photo: Dimitry Rebrov, who submitted a falsified audiogram to the ICSD in 2011.

 Following his appointment as President of ICSD in 2013, Mr Rukhledev personally appointed Rebrov as interim CEO of ICSD and then recently, he was awarded the job permanently and presumably, with the approval of the ICSD Executive. Today, the Deaflympic Movement is lead by its Chief Executive who has been caught behaving in the most malicious way imaginable. This situation of leadership and management is untenable, as Rebrov and the RDSC have still not compensated Eugene Golovanov and shielded this scandal from public knowledge until now.

The problem highlighted by this case, is that National Federations who are trying to win medals are also responsible for the audiograms of their athletes. This is a clear conflict of interest and vulnerable to abuse as we have seen with the RDSC.

ICSD should consider setting up an anti-doping AND audiogram commission to ensure checks are taking place independently and impartial in respective member countries – with what we know already about the Russians, there is doubt that they would push for this to happen.

BBC Report “Russian Doping claims: 99% of athletes guilty, German TV alleges.”  http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/30324812

Deaf Judoka wins British Championship Medals

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We just want to congratulate Michele Boyle who is Profoundly Deaf and competes for Edinburgh Dynamic Judo who has just won the British Junior Womens title in the over 78Kg category.

Boyle

Michelle went on to compete in the Senior competition the following day and came away with a bronze

2014 has been an impressive year for Boyle as she also took Bronze at the Lithuania Junior European Cup following on from a successful international year at cadet level in 2013.

British Judo rate Michelle as a talent to watch out for in the future in the heavyweight categories.

Read more on the UK Deaf Sport website  and British Judo website

Deaf lose up to seven years of life.

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The BBC News website today has reported that obese people are at risk of losing up to eight years of life. Many would not find that surprising, even non-scientist could tell you that being obese is a serious health risk and potentially people could shorten their life-spans. You can read more on this report at the end of this post.

What I think people will find more surprising is that people aged 20-40 years old today have a 50% likelihood of losing seven years of life because they will develop a significant hearing loss in the remainder of their lifetimes and that untreated hearing loss will put them at risk to depression, anxiety, social isolation, chronic health conditions (diabetes, acute kidney disease and chronic heart disease) and mental health leading to a loss of seven years of life.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) study Global Burden on Disease (2000) calculated that adult-onset hearing loss was, at the time, the world’s second leading cause of Years Lost to Disability.

17% of the adult population in the US, 30% of 60-70 year olds and 50% of those over age of 75, have a significant hearing loss. Between 9% and 22% of this group also have a dual sensory disability of severe sight and hearing loss. It is the worlds third most prevalent chronic health condition facing older adults and in the UK, it is expected to be in the top ten disease burdens, above cataracts and diabetes, by 2031.

Western nations are facing an ageing population in 2010-2030 as the baby boomers reach the age of 65. Currently, only 20% of Americans with a hearing loss and 1 in 3 in the UK seek help, leaving a total of 32.8 million people with no support to manage life with their hearing loss.

You can read more about this impending epidemic and find out what the Deaflympic Movement and Deaf sport should do to alleviate this impending health and economic crisis in Same Spirit Different Team.

“Obese lose up to eight years of life”, James Gallagher, Health Editor, BBC News website.

A Tribute to Professor Margaret Talbot OBE PhD, FRSA

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Today at 7:55am, Deaf sport lost one of its greatest supporters, Professor Margaret Talbot.

Margaret Talbot

I am greatly indebted to Margaret, as I, like countless others, can count her as one of my loyal friends and a great professional mentor. She never wanted anything in return, always happy to share her thoughts and offer insight when things were going well or falling apart. I treated her counsel with care because her time and support was something special and valuable, not to be abused.

I first met Margaret when I was 19 years old, working at Friends for Young Deaf people in the early 1980s, she took a great interest in our sport and development work with young deaf and hearing people – at that time, we were pioneering Deaf people’s involvement in the CCPR Community Sports Leaders Award and it was through her inspiration as CEO of the Association of Physical Education UK that contributed towards my decision to get into PE teaching.

Later, when she was CEO at the Central Council for Physical Recreation, she encouraged me to speak publicly at meetings and conferences about Deaf sport and challenge her peers and political decision makers to think about how National Governing Bodies of sport and education could be more inclusive and equitable.

When I came to write “Same Spirit Different Team – The Politicisation of the Deaflympics.” Margaret was there to offer guidance, even offering the time to read drafts and suggest changes. It did not matter that she held high office in the world of sport and acted as consultant to the United Nations, she never forgot those of us at the chalk-face, in the classrooms, on the sports fields; we were her equals, no matter what.

I hold a deep sense of gratitude to Professor Talbot and cherish every word she wrote in her Foreword for my book. Those of us, who had the privilege to know her, will remember her as someone who knew how to challenge ignorance and bigotry in a way that allowed people not to lose face, a rare talent indeed.

Happy Travels my Friend.

A lot, too late ? 4 quick tips for promoting the Deaflympics from now onwards.

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I have been very impressed with the marketing branding of the 15th Winter Deaflympics. The medal designs are stunning. The mascot is a cuddly woolly mammoth, nice stuff very eye catching indeed.

15th Winter medals

There is even a two page spread inside in-flight magazines on Russian airlines.

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I just cannot helped feeling frustrated that this is all a little bit too late in the day.

So, what do we learn from this ?

1)  Information must be promoted aggressively and continuously as soon as the games have been confirmed. ( I did my part to help as soon as I could on the 17th January ) I could have done more with ICSD help (See 3, below)

wide angle of 15 deaflympics stand

2)   Do not limit the promotion to the host country only, everything has been limited to internal promotion within Russia. They have set up some excellent activities, that have included the non-deaf community etc. This is essential but it is not going to help change the international mindset about the Deaflympics which are a global event. 15 winter mascot

3)   ICSD -should be supporting the hosts of its games by preparing promotional packs that are sent to each of the National Deaf Sports Federations around the globe so that they can help raise the profile of the event in each of the 100+ nations who are members of the Deaflympic movement. It also helps teams with their own sponsorship efforts of they can show something tangible.

model of winter deaflympics

4) Do not start messing about with the name, the Russians keep calling it the Surdolympics – there is no such thing…..

Now, what is the mascot for Summer Deaflympics 2017, in Turkey….

Silent Assassin wins European Gold

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Rajeev Bagga and Mark Golds of England  beat Ronald Glaschke and Frank Schroder of Germany 21-18, 21-16 to win the 2014 European Senior Badminton Mens Doubles in the 45 year age group.

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The competition took place at the High Performance Centre, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal 21-27th September.

Since retiring from competing at the Deaflympics, Bagga has continued his form by representing England at Senior Age group level. He continues to be an inspiration for others and delivers weekly coaching sessions in Birmingham UK.

R Bagga Senior Euro 2014 2

Bagga was given the nickname ‘Silent Assassin’ when he competed for India on the international circuit and at the Commonwealth Games as a younger player. He was given the name because he was highly regarded and deadly on the court and because he is Deaf. Bagga explains more about what it feels like to compete at the highest level as a Deaf athlete here.

If you would like to book coaching seasons with Rajeev, contact him at rajeevbagga@gmail.com

 

An Independent Scotland and Deaf sport

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Scottish athletes like Lauren Peffers have a choice - will it be "Yes" or "No" ?

Scottish athletes like Lauren Peffers have a choice – will it be Team GB or Team Scotland ?

I have been asked a few times now to comment on what could happen to Deaf sport in Scotland after the Referendum next week.

This is how I understand the situation.

If Scotland votes No – things will remain as they are.

If Scotland votes Yes – then the White paper  says that:

  • Scotland will have its own Olympic and Paralympic teams.
  • Individual athletes like Lauren Peffers above will have the choice to compete in the Olympic/Paralympics for team GB or Scotland as long as they meet the citizenship criteria.

Lauren lives, works and trains in the North East of England, so she will not be voting on 18th September.

But what does this all mean for Deaflympic sports if people vote Yes ?

If the IOC accepts Scotland as a member of the IOC, then ICSD is likely to follow and give Scotland ICSD membership. History shows that the CISS and ICSD have followed decisions made by the IOC in respect of the Olympics and Deaflympics.

But will the Scottish government recognise a Scottish Deaflympic team on par with a Paralympic team?

This question has not yet been asked. From experience, for the past three Deaflympics (2005, 2009, 2013) Scottish politicians have showed their support to Scottish athletes within the GB Deaflympic team, but this does not necessarily mean they will provide equal support to the Deaflympic and Paralympic teams.

The Working Group on Scottish Sport (made up of prominent Scottish residents) recognises that they will have to budget for sport very carefully if the country chooses to go independent. They recommend that the Scottish government should seek a transfer of funding form UK Sport to sportscotland to meet the needs of Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

So far, UK Sport has declined to respond to questions from the Working Group on Scottish Sport.

Judging by the way things are at the moment in Ireland where athletes from Northern Ireland have the choice to either compete for GB or Ireland. There are no arrangements for UK sport funds to follow athletes who want to leave GB and compete for Ireland.

Funding for UK sport comes from the National Lottery. According to the Yes campaign, Scots will still be able to play National Lottery games and they will see a fair share of tickets sales to support good causes. But the Better Together says the opposite. Meanwhile Camelot, the company who operates the Lottery is remaining neutral in the debate so far.

An independent Scotland will need a new infrastructure to govern Scottish Olympic (NOC), Paralympic (NPC), Commonwealth Games teams for Scotland and the working party believes that Scotland has three options:

  1. Replicating the current UK system within Scotland by establishing separate and new bodies for NOC and NPC.
  2. Merging the NOC and NPC arrangements into one Scottish body
  3. Merging NOC, NPC and Commonwealth Games arrangements into one Scottish body.

The Working Group have reccommended option 3 because it is expected that there will only be approx. 300-400 elite Scottish athletes to support.

Again UK Sport has not responded to the Working Group.

Who knows what an independent Scottish government will do, perhaps it will embrace Deafness more than the UK government has done, perhaps they will listen AND respond effectively to the needs of Deaf people who live in Scotland. But it will not happen automatically, Deaf people in Scotland will have to campaign hard.

Scotland – It is up to you. Use your vote wisely. Good Luck.

The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur.

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Don Charisma's avatarDon Charisma

«The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur.»

— Vince Lombardi

DonCharisma.com-logo-4Charisma quotes are sponsored by DonCharisma.com – you dream it we built it … because – “anything is possible with Charisma”

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Why researching Deaf sport is necessary.

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The other day I was intrigued to learn via the BBC that Dr Michael Kearney from the University of Melbourne has discovered why Koala bears hug trees.

They do this to regulate their body temperature and thermal imaging cameras have demonstrated that in hotter weather the Koalas moved to the lower, cooler parts of trees – and the closer they hug trees, the cooler they get. fascinating stuff.

Now, what on earth does this have to do with Deaf sport?

Photo by : Stephen K Johnson

Photo by : Stephen K Johnson

Up until this morning, everytime I have seen pictures of Koalas, they are seen climbing trees, because that’s what they do, it’s their habitat. For most people, it’s nothing remarkable to note.

But from now on, until my dying day, my perspective on these animals will be altered. Everytime I see a Koala hugging his tree I will understand. I will have greater empathy for them and will also perhaps be more concerned about deforestation and its impact on other tree dwellers etc

My perspective has changed because of some interesting research.

Deaf sport and the Deaflympics require in depth research in order for society to accept that for too long now it has misunderstood deafness in relation to sport.

Photo by: Sam Perkins

Photo by: Sam Perkins

When you see pictures of Deaflympic athletes in action – nothing is remarkable, nothing grabs your attention. But once research demonstrates the impact of deafness on sports performance, there will be greater empathy and a willingness to act and ensure that sport no longer excludes deaf people and keeps them on the margins.

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You can read more about how deafness affects sports performance in my new book, Same Spirit Different Team – educating one new reader at a time.

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