A History of the Australian Deaf Games

A History of the Australian Deaf Games

Ai-Media is a proud sponsor and the official captions provider for the Australia Deaf Games 2016. The Australian Deaf games will commence on the 9th of January 2016 in Adelaide. As it starts to draw closer, let us have a look at it’s history and see how it has become a major event in Deaf sports.

The Australian Deaf Games is one of the oldest ongoing deaf sporting events in the world. The origins of interstate Deaf sport competitions can be traced back to 1895 when the Victorian Deaf cricket team traveled to South Australia for a friendly Deaf cricket match. The first ‘Deaf Sports Carnivals’ were held as early as 1911 and continued regularly until the Games in it’s current format started in Sydney in 1964/1965. Since then, the Games have been held every three to four years with the 15th and most recent Games being held on the Gold Coast in January 2008.

Deaf tennis has a long and proud history in Australia, dating back to 1921. The following photo is the combined teams photo from the National Deaf Sports carnival in 1933. Image credits: Deaf Tennis Australia

The Australian Deaf Games cities and dates are as follows:

1964/65 Sydney
1967/68 Melbourne
1979/71 Perth
1973/74 Brisbane
1976/77 Adelaide
1979/80 Sydney
1982/83 Melbourne
1985/86 Perth
1987/88 Brisbane
1991/92 Hobart
1993/94 Adelaide
1996/97 Canberra
2001 Perth
2003 Sydney
2008 Gold Coast
2012 Geelong
2016 Adelaide

We wish all the competitors good luck and all the best.