Athletes who need to raise £500,000 to be able to compete in the Tokyo Deaflympics next year have taken their appeal to the streets of Great Britain in partnership with Ocean Outdoor.
Marking one year to go to the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics, athletes and organisers including UK Deaf Sport CEO Chris Ratcliffe, chairman Nick Brookes, GB deaf footballer Lucindha Lawson and Fiona Brookes, England women’s golfer and Deaflympian, gathered in London’s Leicester Square to launch their public fundraiser.
Unlike Olympians and Paralympians, deaf athletes receive no government or National Lottery funding to cover their training and travel costs, putting their chances of participating at risk. Great Britain is one of the founder members of the Deaflympics and has been competing in the Games for 100 years (since 1924), earning 249 medals so far.
Appearing in eight cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Southampton, the outdoor advertising space to support their appeal has been donated by Ocean Outdoor.
Represented by UK Deaf Sport, DeaflympicsGB needs to secure £25,000 within the next 10 days to reserve athlete accommodation at the Tokyo Games, with £500,000 required overall to ensure the 115 strong squad can compete in Japan.
England Deaf Futsal Player Kimahrie Lee said: “I have played football and futsal, both at club level and also with England and GB, something which I am proud to have achieved.
“These achievements come at personal sacrifice – I have had to juggle my personal, work and family commitments to train, travel to matches, attend training camps and participate in championships. I am proud – it has been really hard.
“I don’t know if I can continue much longer if I don’t have access to funding or high-level coaching, nutrient support and performance advice – all which are not cheap and not accessible for me.
“I know I can achieve more with funding, and I know this will be same for others who I know – and have not yet been able to achieve playing at same level of me, particularly as they are not as fortunate as me, financially, to be able to train and attend matches.”
GB Deaf Swimmer Nathan Young added: “For the last 10 years I have trained 20+ hours a week, attended university and worked – all the while having to fund all my training and competition costs, relying heavily on my parents and those who kindly donate. I have put a potential role in the audiology profession on hold to continue to represent my country and inspire as many deaf children as I can. All because l am deaf.
“GB deaf athletes’ potential is limited because of the sacrifice made to training due to having to fundraise. The mental impact of knowing that these athletes are funded and supported to the highest level and most importantly their country treat them fairly and equally, is irreversible and so wrong.”
UK Deaf Sport is lobbying the government to end discrimination against elite deaf athletes by funding and supporting them as they do Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
Chris Ratcliffe, chief executive of UK Deaf Sport, said: “We are excited about the GB Team competing in the next Deaflympics which take place in Tokyo in November 2025. However, we are mindful of the pressure that our team faces in having to raise a total of £500,000 of funding from voluntary sources.
“This adds huge pressure on our DeaflympicsGB athletes and further distracts them from their training and preparation to perform at their very best. We hope this fundraising campaign will enable us to support our athletes as best as we can.”
Building on its long term association with the Olympic movement, Ocean announced its official partnership with UK Deaf Sport and DeaflympicsGB earlier this year.
Ocean’s head of content and sponsorship Kevin Henry said: “This campaign forms part of our mission to give elite deaf athletes both the support and recognition they deserve.”
The Deaflympics is one of the four Olympic events recognised by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and UK Deaf Sport is the recognised International Federation for Deaf Sport in the UK.
This affiliation aligns with Ocean’s existing long term partnerships with Team GB, ParalympicsGB and Special Olympics GB.
