Deaf News: Cyclists to carry Deaflympic Flame across Europe ahead of Sofia 2013

A bicycle flame relay will be launched this Sunday (30^th June) in Paris to raise awareness of deaf sports and the lack of safe cycle lanes for deaf cyclists ahead of next month’s Deaflympics.

The flame relay will start at the venue of the first international deaf sports competition in 1924, one month ahead of the start of the Deaflympic Games in Bulgaria.

Cyclists will carry the flame in miner’s lamps to Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital city, in time for the opening ceremony on Friday 26 July.

According to the organisers, the flame relay will celebrate the ‘proud traditions of strength and self-sufficiency that deaf competitions have provided the deaf community.’

The Sofia 2013 organising committee hope the arrival of the Deaflympic flame at the opening ceremony will inspire deaf athletes on the eve of their biggest competitions.

International Committee of Sports for the Deaf president Craig Crowley said: “For the first time ever, a flame relay will link the home of the first Deaflympics in Paris to the host city. On the sports field as on the roads, deafness has all too often been overlooked.

“This flame relay allows us to celebrate our 89 years of presence as an international sports movement, while also raising awareness of deaf cyclists as road users. I very much look forward to seeing the flame along the way and to greeting it in Sofia.”

By Paul Harrison. Paul is a freelance journalist, currently living and working in London. When not at his desk writing or tweeting, he can be found at a coffee shop or Loftus Road/The Stoop/Celtic Park (delete as applicable) mumbling insults at the referee or sloppy passing. Follow him on Twitter as @paulbharrison