British Orienteering are working with UK Deaf Sport to understand the demand for and potential of a Great Britain orienteering team entering the Deaflympics in 2021.

Orienteering is one of the 18 sports recognised for the summer Deaf Olympics which will be held in either Dubai or Los Angeles in 2021. The orienteering competitions will be conducted using International Orienteering Federation (IOF) rules and consists of the usual formats for men and women; Sprint, Middle, Long, Mixed Sprint Relay and Forest Relay.

We are seeking to determine the interest of members and others who may be eligible to represent Great Britain at the next Deaflympics in 2021.

To indicate your interest in competing for a Great Britain deaf orienteering team or volunteering to support the team, please complete the online survey by Sunday 29 April.

Click here to complete the survey.

Eligibility

For an athlete with an impairment to participate in international disability sport competitions such as the Deaflympics, they must first meet minimum eligibility criteria and be a member of an affiliated national association.

To be eligible to compete in the Deaflympics, athletes must have a hearing loss of at least 55 decibels in the better ear. Athletes are forbidden to use any kind of hearing amplifications during the competition to avoid taking an unfair advantage over those not using these devices.

At this stage we are unlikely to be able to provide any financial resource to support a team, however, we do feel that as a body committed to inclusiveness and diversity we should explore the options for assisting the identification of possible athletes before exploring the levels of support that we can offer.