Australia or Slovakia?

The delegates of each country will vote on the venue for the 2005 Summer Deaf World Games tomorrow, March 8. The two competing countries, Australia and Slovakia have been busy campaigning for everyone’s vote. Both countries have wonderful things to offer as well as some disadvantages. The CISS media team interviewed representatives from both groups:

Australia: Everyone thinks it will be too hot, but it is not too hot in Melbourne during the first two weeks in January. It is only 20°-30°c (75°-90°F). Melbourne is a big city with 3,200,000 residents. At first, we considered Sydney but decided that Melbourne would be a better place because we have excellent sports facilities. There are 8 sports venues under one roof (e.g. basketball, handball, and swimming). All the venues are already built. For 16 games, the Games have been in Europe and it is time for a change. Melbourne is a warm, friendly, and very safe environment. Many of the people who will be involved with the organizing committee have a lot of experience with different World Games, and this will make us better organizers. It will be organized by deaf people, but there will be some hearing people to help out. Some people feel it is too far from Europe, where most of the competiting countries are from. We realize that the cost of the flight is expensive but the cost of living in Melbourne is cheap. We have been able to find some willing sponsors to help those countries that have difficulty affording the travel expenses. Although we are nervous about tomorrow’s vote, we believe we have a 60% chance of winning.

Slovakia: We hope to build a sports center which will be about 24 square kilometers. The sports center will have a theatre, athletics center, shops, 3,000 beds (for athletes and fans). The railway stops nearby, and the stadium for the opening and closing ceremony is also nearby and has 500 beds. The roof of the stadium can open and close, depending on the weather. We will have a leisure and aqua center at the sports center also. We already have some sponsors who are willing to finance the Games. We also have a long history of hard workers and we are very good at organizing different sports events. Kosice is very inexpensive and it will be easy for many countries to come to the Games. We also have a lot of history and culture to offer. We are aware that the sports center has not been built yet and it will be finished by 2003. After the Games, ten percent of the sports center will be donated to the deaf association. We are hopeful that we will win tomorrow!

By Jennifer Herbold