(Excerpted from the USADSF website, with thanks!)

In an email sent January 30 to all federation countries, ICSD President Craig Crowley stated that a final decision on the 2013 Summer Deaflympics would be made no later than May 2012.

"The economic crisis is felt in Hungary like many other places in Europe and around the world," said Crowley in his email. "ICSD remains confident we can make a good economic case for hosting the Deaflympics. We continue to work with our Hungarian friends and their government on a solution for the budget."

Crowley stated that ICSD has assured that a final answer will be given from Budapest by the end of February, and "if Budapest fails to secure a budget, ICSD expects to have a final answer on the 2013 Deaflympics by the end of May," added Crowley in the email.

Two days earlier, The German Deaf Sports Association sent an open letter to ICSD urging the Committee to cancel the 2013 Summer Deaflympics for the sake of all the international deaf and hard of hearing athletes.

"It goes without saying that the German Deaf Sports Association would prefer the Summer-Deaflympics 2013 to be held as scheduled," said the Association in its letter. "However, we want to avoid at all costs that our athletes prepare for a major sports event that has to be cancelled at short notice because the organisers cannot secure financing again. Another disaster like the cancellation of the Winter-Deaflympics 2011 must not happen."

"We are aware of the fact, that this would be no compensation for cancelled Deaflympics. But we would like you to keep in mind that insufficient Deaflympics or a cancellation at short notice would do more damage to deaf sports than a long range decision to declare the games as not feasible and cancel them," added the Association.

To read the letter from ISCD click here

To read the open letter from Germany click here