Suggestions for improvement as 2009 Games ends

by Joshua Weinstock on September 15, 2009

The 2009 Taipei Deaflympics appeared to be a wildly successful one, with people pouring out lavish praises during the closing ceremony Wednesday evening at Taipei Stadium.

Then again, nothing is perfect, and there’s always room for improvement. Some athletes already are looking ahead to the 2013 Athens Games, offering suggestions about how to improve various facets of the Games.

Apparently, based on athletes’ responses to queries, plenty of adjustments can be made.

Some of the problems encountered are beyond the USA Deaf Sports Federation’s Deaflympics committee’s control. However, other things can be done to make the athletes feel more motivated to participate in upcoming Deaflympics.

The opening ceremony was one of the major highlights of the Deaflympics, especially the parade of participating countries. First impressions are everything, and this year, some thought the Americans didn’t make a lasting one apparel-wise.

“We shouldn’t have to wear long sleeves, khaki pants and flip-flops for the opening ceremonies.” bowler Patty Brothag thought. “Something cooler, maybe capri pants for the ladies and cargo shorts for the men, would be better.”

For the past three Deaflympics, beach volleyball player Laurie Achin has had bad luck with clothes.

“I always get the wrong size [clothing], it’s not that big of a deal, but it would be great if we got our clothes in advance.” Achin said.

Tae Kwon Do coach Daniel Briones added that the athletes should receive more clothing because the committee “asked us to wear USA clothing everyday and only gave us a few.”

“Am I supposed to wash them every other day?” he added.

Soccer player Angel Ortiz saw several countries’ athletes waving their flags in the opening ceremonies, and said he was disappointed the U.S. did not have flags.

“The athletes should receive flags to represent our country better. Also, it would be nice to have American flag pins just like the other countries do.” Ortiz said.

Athletes receive a number of pins to exchange with those from other countries, a long-standing Deaflympics tradition.

The athletes should be able to “design their own pins,” Brothag added, “or at least have more variety instead of the two [that were provided] and give us more pins.”

However, there’s more to the Deaflympics than the clothing and accessories.

One of the most-talked topics was about money, or the lack thereof.

“It would be great to find more sponsors, especially ones that will have enough money to support athletes, so we don’t have to pay our way to go,” volleyball player Amanda Krieger said.

Funding would help greatly with the recruitment of elite athletes, some said.

Basketball player Dan Kelly said he knows “funding will spread the word and everyone will want to play for USA, then we will become a powerhouse once again.”

“Also, I’ll try to damage Michael Phelps’ hearing,” Kelly said with a chuckle.

One key to success for an Olympic host is venues. Taipei’s venue locations weren’t the best, and players and fans often grumbled about distant taxi rides and accessibility.

Water polo player Scott Madsen would like to see venues in a single location, within walking distance.

“I want to be able to play my game one minute and see another game the next minute,” he said.

Bowlers Cheyenne Rogers and Jerilyn Keller both agreed that training venues should be held at the location of the competition.

“I don’t like when we prepare for the [bowling] lanes at Chia-Yi and come to Taipei and find out the lanes are different. Our training went to waste,” Keller said.

Rogers also said she thought the players or fans shouldn’t take taxis to the venues and pay for it out of their pockets.

“Guaranteed buses or paid taxis for the team would be great,” she said.

However, a major plus was that admission to the venues was free.

Another issue soccer player Jason Panerra thought needed improvement was training room hours.

“The trainers are great, but their open hours [7 to 8 in the mornings and evenings] aren’t. I think they should expand two to three hours,” Panerra said. “After a game at 3 p.m., I don’t want to wait until 7 p.m. to get treatment at the hotel.”

Suggestions are always profitable. If you want the 2013 Deaflympics to be more successful than the 2009 Games, express your thoughts to the committee so that future USA Deaflympic athletes can benefit from various feedback and input.

Suggestions for improvement as 2009 Games ends

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