UK Deaf Sport’s vision is Every Deaf Person Active and Inspired by Sport and Physical Activity. We want more deaf people to participate In sport throughout their lives and more deaf athletes to perform on the world stage.

There is a widely held misconception that deaf people compete in the Paralympics, but they don’t unless they have another recognised impairment. Elite deaf athletes compete in the Deaflympics – one of the four International Olympic Committee sanctioned events alongside the Olympics, Paralympics and Special Olympics. The next winter Deaflympics is in Turkey in 2024 and summer Deaflympics is in Tokyo in 2025. The Deaflympics is 100 years old in 2024. 

UK Deaf Sport are responsible for the selection and management of the Deaflympics Team. Despite the fact that there are 12 million people in the UK with some form of deafness, one in six people, there is currently no funding for elite deaf athletes or for talent pathways. They must raise their own funding for every aspect of their training, equipment and competition unlike other disabled athletes who are supported with hundreds of millions of pounds of funding. 

At a time of increasing recognition in Government policy of the importance of tackling inequalities and inclusivity in sport and the low sport and physical activity participation rate in those who are deaf, UK Deaf Sport feel the time is right to readdress this funding anomaly so that we are able to create strong and successful deaf athlete pathways that mirror their Olympic and Paralympic peers.  Ones which in turn are able to inspire the deaf community to engage in sport and activity. 

UK Deaf Sport are requesting Government fund deaf sport and the DeaflympicsGB Team.