Deaf Sports New Zealand (DSNZ) formerly known as the Deaf Amateur Sports Association of New Zealand is the national governing body of Deaf Sports in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The organisation was established in 1963 as a result of an historical New Zealand Deaf Societies Convention Conference in 1963. It is also affiliated with the

Comite International des Sports des Sourds Propargite (IUPAC name 2-(4-tert-butylphenoxy)cyclohexyl prop-2-yne-1-sulfonate, trade names Mitex, Omite and Comite) is a pesticide used to kill mites (an acaricide). Symptoms of excessive exposure are eye and skin irritation, and possibly sensit ...

(CISS).

History

The New Zealand Deaf Amateur Sports Association (now called as Deaf Sports New Zealand) was formed in 1963 following an historical June 1963 Conference of New Zealand Deaf Societies held in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. The meeting was attended by delegates from

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. On 2 June 1963, the delegates unanimously agreed that a national council or a board must be established to deal with the sport activities for the deaf people in the nation. After the successful 1963 Deaf Societies meeting which was held in Wellington, a national sporting body called The New Zealand Deaf Amateur Sports Association (NZDASA) was built. The New Zealand Deaf Sports Association changed its name as Deaf Sports Federation of New Zealand (DFSNZ) in 2001. In the year 2014, the organisation was renamed as Deaf Sports New Zealand.

Activities

The Federation had to confront new challenges just after its formation in 1963 especially when it found difficulties to finance the New Zealand team to participate at the

1965 Summer Deaflympics The 1965 Summer Deaflympics, officially known as the 10th Summer Deaflympics, is an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from June 27 to July 3, 1965, in Washington D.C., United States. This is the first Deaflympics to be hosted ou ...

which was held in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

An indoor bowls tournament, festival of dancing were conducted by the Federation to raise funds along with other functions. The national Deaf Sports Federation took the responsibility to send the deaf sportspeople representing New Zealand at the Deaflympics since 1965.

References

Deaf sports organizations 1963 establishments in New Zealand Sports governing bodies in New Zealand Parasports in New Zealand Sports organizations established in 1963 Disability organisations based in New Zealand Deaf culture in New Zealand {{NewZealand-sport-stub