International Olympic Committee's Approval for DEAFLYMPICS

SILVER SPRING, MD - The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee met in Lausanne, Switzerland on Wednesday, the 16th of May and voted to approve the request from CISS for a change of name from Deaf World Games to Deaflympics.

On the 17th of May, CISS Secretariat was informed of the decision by a faxed letter from IOC President, H.E. Juan Antonio Samaranch.

About CISS
CISS is an international governing body for deaf sports, with nearly 80 nation members and is led by an executive committee of 8 Deaf persons. Mr. John M. Lovett, of Melbourne, Australia, is President, with Dr. Donalda K. Ammons, of Washington, D.C. USA, as Secretary General. The CISS headquarters are in Silver Spring, Maryland.

About Deaflympic Games
The 19th Games, a major quadrennial Olympic-equivalent event for the Deaf, will take place in Rome, Italy from July 22 to August 1, 2001. Approximately 4,500 deaf athletes from at least 70 countries will compete in fifteen sports.

The Deaflympic Games, under the auspices of the Comité International des Sports des Sourds (International Committee of Deaf Sports - CISS) were first competed in Paris in 1924, making it the oldest among the disabled sports organizations. It also receives official recognition and patronage from the International Olympic Committee.

CISS is an international governing body for deaf sports, with nearly 80 nation members and is led by an executive committee of 8 Deaf persons. Mr. John M. Lovett, of Melbourne, Australia, is President, with Dr. Donalda K. Ammons, of Washington, D.C. USA, as Secretary General. The CISS headquarters are in Silver Spring, Maryland.

By Secretariat