DEAF athletes will be able to showcase their talent at a major athletics event next month.
The Deaf Athletics Gifted and Talented Day has been organised by former England heptathlete Rebecca Foster, manager of the Outwood Grange College Sports Partnership.
Winners from next week’s Yorkshire Deaf Athletics Championships in Hull will trav
el to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield for a day of coaching on Saturday, July 19.
The 90 athletes will be able to get advice from top GB athletes and hopefully have their talent spotted by officials from Deaf UK Athletics (DUKA), which could see them competing in the World Deaf Athletics Championships in Turkey this September and the Deaflympics in Taipei next year.
The event, which is the first of its kind in the UK, has been funded by England Athletics.
Mrs Foster, 36, said: “The idea for the gifted and talented day came to me one Saturday morning and I have been overwhelmed with the support I have received in getting it off the ground.
“It really will be a fantastic opportunity for young deaf athletes.”
Mrs Foster is one of the few coaches in the country who can converse in sign language. She coached the British Deaf Athletics team at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in February this year and helped coach the Deaflympics team to 17 medals, including five gold, in Melbourne in 2005.
The full article contains 238 words and appears in Wakefield Express City newspaper.
