The Dwarf Athletic Association of America (DAAA) is an American athletic organization that sponsors and organizes athletic events for people with

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...

History

Founded in 1985, the DAAA's purpose is to develop, promote, and provide little people athletes with organized and quality

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

athletics in a supportive environment. DAAA holds the idea that there is a lack of sports opportunity for little people in America and they look to fill the void and provide an environment that rewards dwarf athletes by taking their potential seriously and giving them a realistic opportunity to succeed through hard work and dedication. The DAAA also believes that "the dream of honoring America in international competition should be as real for a dwarf athlete as it is for any other in the country."

Mission

According to its website, the DAAA's mission is: "To encourage people with dwarfism to participate in sports regardless of their level of skills." It is also to help dwarfs realize their true potential in life.

Sports and eligibility

The DAAA organizes and promotes dwarf athletics in a variety of sports for a variety of ages. They also sponsor clinics and development events around the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

List of amateur sports

The DAAA has athletes that compete in the following sports: *

Track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Boccia Boccia ( ) is a precision ball sport, similar to bocce, and related to bowls and pétanque. The name "boccia" is derived from the Latin word for "boss" – '. The sport is contested at local, national and international levels, by athletes ...

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

Table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

Weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...

Archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

Eligibility

Due to the

medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

nature of dwarfism, the DAAA has certain requirements that must be met for eligibility. These requirements include (but are not limited to): *Disproportionate dwarves (usually with

achondrodysplasia Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance whose primary feature is dwarfism. In those with the condition, the arms and legs are short, while the torso is typically of normal length. Those affected ha ...

who are less than (or equal to) five feet tall) and proportionate dwarves with a

height Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is). For example, "The height of that building is 50 m" or "The height of an airplane in-flight is abou ...

that is less than or equal to four feet ten inches are usually eligible to compete *All participants must meet a special medical clearance and file a current medical release form (except those participating in Boccia) *All athletes must also sign a "

Waiver A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. Regulatory agencies of state departments or the federal government may issue waivers to exempt companies from certain regulations. For example, a United St ...

and Release of Liability and Publicity Release" in order to participate

Events

In addition to the development of youth and adult dwarf athletes, the DAAA also organizes a number of local, regional, and national events to promote healthy competition among other little people.

National Dwarf Games

The National Dwarf Games is a yearly amateur competition organized by the DAAA (and local organizations) and only open to little people. Athletes are divided on the basis of age,

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

, and functional ability classifications. There are also events for ages 8–15, but these are meant to emphasize the achievement of personal best. Also, youth seven and under can participate in special (non-competitive) programs where everybody wins. In 2007, the National Dwarf Games were held in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington, in conjunction with the 2007 Little People of America conference.

World Dwarf Games

The World Dwarf Games are an international competition (similar to the

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

) that allows little people to compete at an international level. The games are held every four years at locations around the world. Athletes that have shown outstanding athleticism during the National Dwarf Games are chosen to participate in the World Dwarf Games. The World Dwarf Games were first held in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1993 and were hosted by the DCCC. During this inaugural games, the

International Dwarf Athletic Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * International (Kevin Michael album), ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * International (New Order album), ' ...

(

IDAF The International Defence and Aid Fund or IDAF (also the Defence Aid Fund for Southern Africa) was a fund created by John Collins during the 1956 Treason Trial in South Africa. After learning of those accused of treason for protesting against apart ...

) was conceived. Since then, the World Dwarf Games have been held every four years at cities around the world. * http://worlddwarfgames2017.org/event-history/ * 2013 medal table and results : http://www.2013worlddwarfgames.org/index.php/sports/sports-grid.html * 2013 World Dwarf Games consists of almost 400 athletes from 16 countries in 16 sports. * The 7th World Dwarf Games 2017 – University of Guelph, August 5 to 12, 2017 : http://worlddwarfgames2017.org/

2013 World Dwarf Games

2013 medal table

* excel version (word version have a few difference) * MIX - Mixed Country Teams

Participating nations

16 Country: * (33) * (5) * (1) * (25) * (1) * (2) * (4) * (81) * (1) * (16) * (14) * (3) * (1) * (1) * (1) * (204)

Sports

16 sports: * Athletics pictogram

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

Powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

(Recreation) *

Curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

(Kurling) * * Hockey pictogram

Floor hockey Floor hockey is a broad term for several indoor floor game codes which involve two teams using a stick and type of ball or disk. Disks are either open or closed but both designs are usually referred to as "pucks". These games are played either on ...

Flag football Flag football is a variant of American football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a Down (gridiron football), down. The sport has a ...

(Recreation) * Swimming pictogram

Bass fishing (Recreation) * Kurling is an modified form of the original curling game, adapted so that it can be played indoors on any smooth, flat surface, like a sports hall, instead of on ice. * http://www.2013worlddwarfgames.org/index.php/sports/sports-grid.html

2017 World Dwarf Games

2017 medal table

* http://worlddwarfgames2017.org/medal-count-by-country/

Affiliations

The DAAA maintains affiliations and relationships with the following organizations: *

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

*America's Athletes with Disabilities *United States Disabled Sports Team *International Dwarf Athletic Association *

Little People of America Little People of America (LPA) is a non-profit organization which provides support, resources, and information to individuals with dwarfism and their families. Founding LPA was founded in 1957 by actor Billy Barty when he informally called upon p ...

Billy Barty Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti, October 25, 1924 – December 23, 2000) was an American actor and activist. In adult life, he stood tall, due to cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism. Because of his short stature, he was often cast ...

Foundation *

Dwarf Sports Association UK The Dwarf Sports Association UK (DSAUK) aims to "make regular sporting opportunities accessible and enjoyable to ... everyone of restricted growth in the United Kingdom". The association was founded by Arthur Dean and fellow members of the Restri ...

In the media

The DAAA has been featured in a number of episodes on the American television series ''

Little People, Big World ''Little People, Big World'' is an American reality television series that premiered on March 4, 2006, and airs on TLC (TV network), TLC. The series chronicles the lives of the six-member Roloff family farm near Portland, Oregon. Many of the epi ...

'' on

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

. The show, centered around the dwarf members of the Roloff family, has included a number of episodes where members of the family have participated in events sponsored by the DAAA. Zach Roloff competes in soccer regularly, and in 2006, Amy competed in Bocce.

References

External links

The Official Website of the Dwarf Athletic Association of AmericaMobility International USA profile on the DAAA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dwarf Athletic Association Of America Parasports organizations in the United States Dwarf sports 1985 establishments in the United States Sports organizations established in 1985