2019 Winter Deaflympics

19th Winter Deaflympics
Official logo
Host cityProvince of Sondrio
 Italy
MottoWe Need a Chance
Nations34
Athletes485 (362 men and 123 women)
Events36 in 6 sports
Opening12 December 2019
Closing21 December 2019
Opened byMarco Scaramellini
Winter
Summer
The relief map of Italy

The 2019 Winter Deaflympics (Italian: 2019 Olimpiadi invernali per non udenti), officially known as the 19th Winter Deaflympics or XIX Winter Deaflympics (Italian: 19° Olimpiadi invernali per sordi), was the 19th edition of the Winter Deaflympics, and took place between the 12–21 December in Sondrio Province in Northern Italy.[1] The opening ceremony was held in Sondrio on 12 December and curling competition began a day prior to the start of the Winter Deaflympics.[2] Sporting events apart from curling commenced on 13 December.[3][4]

36 events took place in 6 sports: alpine skiing, chess, cross-country skiing, curling, ice hockey, and snowboarding.[5] Initially 32 sporting events were slated to be held but three more events were added to the competition by the organisers due to the inclusion of chess, which was a surprise move.[6] Chess made its debut at the 2019 Winter Deaflympics.[7][8]

The 19th Deaflympics were the second time Italy hosted the event, previously hosting the 1983 games in Madonna di Campiglio.[9] The Deaflympics was organised by the Federazione Sport Sordi Italia, the national deaf sports federation in Italy, affiliated with the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf.[10]

  1. ^ "Arrivano le Winter Deaflympics, le olimpiadi silenziose | Notizie dal cuore delle Alpi". Retrieved 2019-12-09.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ admin. "In a few hours the opening ceremony will take place in Sondrio – 19 Winter Deaflympics". Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  3. ^ admin. "Curling photo day 2 – 12 December – 19 Winter Deaflympics". Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  4. ^ "Deaflympics 2019, l'inaugurazione a Sondrio FOTO". Giornale di Sondrio (in Italian). 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  5. ^ Simmonds, Jason. "Prince Edward Islander looking to win gold medal in ice hockey at Winter Deaflympics | SaltWire". www.saltwire.com. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  6. ^ "Winter Deaflympics set to start in Sondrio despite controversial build-up". www.insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  7. ^ "19th Winter Deaflympics". deaflympics.com. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  8. ^ "2019 Winter Deaflympics". CDSA. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  9. ^ "Winter deaflympics games in dicembre in Valchiavenna e Valtellina". Askanews (in Italian). 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  10. ^ "Italy Declares Candidature for the 2019 Winter Deaflympics". www.deaflympics.com. Retrieved 2019-01-01.