Video clips to help sport coaches and leaders learn basic, sports related British Sign Language (BSL) to support children with hearing loss have been launched.
The clips have been created by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) in partnership with several of the UK’s leading sports organisations, including England Athletics and England Netball.
Featuring key sport words and phrases that have been signed in British Sign Language (BSL), the short films are designed to help coaches communicate with deaf children during training sessions.
The BSL video clips are split into popular sporting activities, such as football, swimming, cricket, athletics, tennis and netball, as well as general sport. See them here
They aim to show, how through taking simple steps, coaches can address some of the communication challenges that many deaf children face, for instance missing out on what a coach says or not being able to hear a whistle blow.
Hayley Jarvis, Head of Inclusive Activities at NDCS, said: “Deafness is not a barrier to taking part in sport. By following simple steps like learning basic BSL signs, leaders and coaches can create a welcoming, deaf-friendly atmosphere in their club. We hope all sport clubs will have a go at learning the key signs and help create equal opportunities for deaf children to enjoy sport.”
To find out more about becoming a deaf-friendly sports club or to access activities in your area, visit www.ndcs.org.uk/me2 or call the NDCS Freephone Helpline on 0808 800 8880.
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Andy. Not him, me.
October 30, 2013
In my ‘umble opinion what holds deaf athletes back is the difficulty of imparting information while they are training.
If you have ever watched hearing people training, in a variety of sports… the coach is talking to them while they are actually doing their stuff. Rowers and cyclists have a coach with a megaphone yelling at them. Shooting instructors stand behind the student and give guidance from there. Runners generally do circuit training with a coach bawling at them. Boxers have their trainers giving advice and so on.
The whole point of all this is to >improve technique<. It can't be overstated how vital this is. If you want to be a winner this is how it's done. Except for deaf people it mostly isn't possible. So anything at all that helps to bridge that gap I am sure will improve performance and generally move deaf sport into a higher class.