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International Olympic Committee’s approval for "DEAFLYMPICS"

By CISS
17 May 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - MESSAGE FROM CISS:

CISS - SILVER SPRING, MD - 17 May 2001 - The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee met in Lausanne, Switzerland on Wednesday, the 16th of May 2001 and voted to approve the request from CISS for a change of name from Deaf World Games to Deaflympics.

On the 17th of May, CISS Secretariat was informed of the decision by a faxed letter from IOC President, H.E. Juan Antonio Samaranch.

Fax Message from Juan Antonio Samaranch (President of IOC) to CISS:

I N T E R N A T I O N A L    O L Y M P I C    C O M M I T T E E Sent by fax John M. LOVETT President International Committee of Sports of the Deaf 814 Thayer Ave. Suite #350 US - Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA Lausanne, 17 May 2001 Ref.no 10342/2001/GMF/ema Re: Change of name Dear Mr. Lovett,         Thank you for your letter dated 9th March 2001, the content of which has been duly noted.         It is my pleasure to inform you that, during its meeting held on 16th May 2001 in Lausanne, the IOC Executive Board decided to accept that the name of the CISS major event be changed from 'Deaf World Games' to 'Deaflympics'. Your sincerely,

About CISS
CISS is an international governing body for deaf sports, with nearly 80 nation members and is led by an executive committee of 8 Deaf persons. Mr. John M. Lovett, of Melbourne, Australia, is President, with Dr. Donalda K. Ammons, of Washington, D.C. USA, as Secretary General. The CISS headquarters are in Silver Spring, Maryland.

About Deaflympic Games
The 19th Games, a major quadrennial Olympic-equivalent event for the Deaf, will take place in Rome, Italy from July 22 to August 1, 2001. Approximately 4,500 deaf athletes from at least 70 countries will compete in fifteen sports.

The Deaflympic Games, under the auspices of the Comité International des Sports des Sourds (International Committee of Deaf Sports - CISS) were first competed in Paris in 1924, making it the oldest among the disabled sports organizations. It also receives official recognition and patronage from the International Olympic Committee.