Our Target Groups
Inclusion and diversity in all fields of education, training, youth and sport.
The main target groups in this project are: Physical Education Teachers, Interpreters, Deaf Students, thus SportSign can be complementary with the DEAF_WRESTLE project.
DEAF_WRESTLE Project is expected to affect the following target groups:
Greco – Roman Wrestling professionals, Greco – Roman Wrestling D/Deaf athletes, all sports professionals and athletes, the d/Deaf community, Society/Stakeholders
Expected impact of deaf_wrestle outside the organisations and individuals directly participating in the project, at local, regional, national and/or European level
General Questions
Sport brings together all aspects of a diverse society and thereby contributes not only to the development of the individual, but also encourages respect for others. This leads to a greater understanding and the establishment of a more just and inclusive society.
D/Deaf people participate in sport events and competitions for the d/Deaf such as the Deaflympics, but they have the chance to compete in a mainstream setting, too. Nevertheless, some sports are more deaf-friendly than the others, and they often have to work harder and overcome a number of obstacles that are virtually unknown to the hearing people, for example misinterpretation in coach’s verbal directions and not doing what they were told. These kinds of obstacles make them feel embarrassed and eventually, they decide to quit on sports.
Amongst the sports, that d/Deaf or hard of hearing people could engage with, is Greco- Roman Wrestling, which is a sport that can enhance their physical and mental health. Likewise, they can wrestle against hearing athletes in mainstream sport competitions, but there are still many barriers to overcome, such as miscommunication due to language mismatch. The significance of the language burden is also emphasised by the CRPD: “Sign language is inseparable from d/Deaf people’s human rights. Without sign language, d/Deaf people are not equal.” In conclusion, many initiatives should be taken to advocate d/Deaf people’s social integration in Greco – Roman Wrestling as well as in all sports.
