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Starting gun shooting blanks for disabled sports champs

Angry Cripple

by Angry Cripple

07 Sep 05:35am

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Filed under: Athletics, Deaf, Disability, Fairness, Society

33 comments

Oscar Pistorius is a 400m runner who won a silver medal last week at the World Athletics Championships, with his approved set of carbon fibre prosthetic legs.

Sports authorities should not pass the baton when it comes to disabled athletes. Pic: Getty Images

Terence Parkin won a silver medal in 200m breaststroke at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Sekou Kanneh is an Australian eleven-year-old aspiring Olympic sprinter, running competitively in both the 100m and 200m events.

They may not have too much in common, but they are all athletically gifted and experience barriers in our society. Parkin and Pistorius, however, compete in elite international competitions, and their “disabilities” are made irrelevant in their chosen sports.

Kanneh’s considerable athletic potential, however, is being stifled by School Sports Australia who are worried about “setting a precedent”.

While Olympic swimming competition, and all the levels below that pinnacle, allow the use of a strobe light for deaf swimmers like Parkin to know when to start his races, School Sports Australia say that a visual signal for a boy who can’t hear the starter gun “might distract the other runners”.

Kanneh is a promising runner, having qualified for the upcoming School Sport Australia Primary Track and Field Exchange Athletics Carnival in Darwin.

He holds his own in the able-bodied division for the 100m and 200m sprints, coming second at the Queensland state qualifying round, despite not being able to hear the starter’s gun at the beginning of the race. Kanneh takes his cue to run from the other athletes on the field. Crouched, with his head turned to watch them, he leaves the blocks only after everyone else has started the race.

In races like the 100m dash, that split second is everything and can spell the difference between bringing home the gold or a silver.

Deaf Sports Australia (DSA) is the national peak body for deaf sports in this country. They recently approached School Sports Australia (SSA) on Kanneh’s behalf to ask that a visual aid be supplied at the starting line.

Why the starting signal must be a fired gun, we don’t know. It seems that the only reason is: That’s the way it’s always been.

The request was denied, citing that it would create a precedent that would cause problems in the future.

It’s a precedent that is long overdue in the sporting world, and Graeme Innes, Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner, agrees. He’s disappointed that a national school sports organisation would take such a narrow view. 

“Their action sends a totally wrong message to all of the young athletes and supporters involved - if you can’t hear you can’t equally participate,” he says.

Deaf Sports Australia have now filed a formal complaint with the Human Rights Commission. It’s bewildering that at the age of eleven, this boy has to fight for his right to equal treatment.

Dean Barton-Smith is an ex-Olympian who competed in the decathlon event at the 1992 Olympics, and the 1990 and 1994 Commonwealth Games. He too, is deaf.

“I have lost many competitions, kept running after false starts, and produced below-par performances in my prime for lack of a visual starter sign.

“To expect a deaf person to react to the sound of a starting gun is much like asking a blind person to react to the wave of a starting flag. It’s a simple, fair and reasonable request. It is inexcusable and discriminatory” says Barton-Smith.

School Sports Australia say that if Kanneh wants his “special treatment” he will have to compete in the disability event. 

Does that mean that we could potentially see a deaf runner in the disability event run faster times than those in the “regular” competition?  I must admit, there is something I like about that, just as I imagine that runners like Pistorius may well outrun those “ablebods” in the near future…

We’re pretty confident that Kurt Fearnley’s 1 hour 23 minute marathon is faster than anyone with two working legs has managed.

“Seeing him (Pistorius) race in able-bodied competitions on a world stage, challenges the idea that disability is associated with limitations.

“Disability can show strength & excellence! Stopping Sekou now may rob the sporting world of ever seeing what his true potential is,” says Fearnley, Australia’s gold medal winning paralympian.

But Kanneh has no disability, or prosthetic, or wheels that either hinders or enhance the speed at which he can run. He just needs to be shown when to start running his races.

“I’m focused and dedicated,” said Kanneh in a TV news interview via an interpreter. “I want to do more hard work and keep going.” It’s a strength of character he will clearly need for the years ahead, should he decide to pursue his athletics career.

Kanneh’s case, if unsuccessful, has the potential to deliver a backhander to the very key messages DSA has been delivering, and undermines the hopes of young deaf children in our sports-mad nation.

To see this kid denied the opportunity to race on an equal footing with fellow able-bodied athletes goes against everything DSA and other disability groups have been promoting and advocating for years.
And really, what sort of message is this sending to young athletes, those with or without hearing, with or without legs?

In Kurt Fearnley’s words: “Let the boy run! And let his competitors see that deafness or disability isn’t a burden but a shining addition”.

Brent Phillips, President of Deaf Sports Australia (http://www.deafsports.org.au/) and the Angry Cripple Editor have co-written this piece.

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33 comments

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    • Lostie says:

      06:19am | 07/09/11

      I disagree with the assertion that ” deafness or disability isn’t a burden but a shining addition”. It is not an addition - no one is ‘special’ because of their deafness or their disability.

      That said, I concur wholeheartedly that there is no reason for SSA to add this hurdle to the 100m track. This change gives no competitor an advantage over any other - why not make a light the icon for all racers - it works in motor sports.

      This is the perfect opportunity to show that, with a little bit of effort and compassion, the ‘deafness or disability’ can be set aside to allow the athletes to compete on a level playing field.

      The only thing keeping this little boy out of the race is the SSA.

      Reply

    • Mahhrat says:

      08:14am | 07/09/11

      I have to agree.

      He has different needs but need be no more “special” than anyone else.  Saying that, this doesn’t provide anything other than a different way to start a race.  There should be no problems here; why are there any?

    • Robert Bowler says:

      08:12am | 08/09/11

      we could end up with egg on our faces .
      being an athlet yrs gone we all accepted the rules its in Black and white .

      my point is it will open up chalenges in the Deaf Sport The hearing Athlets can and will request same in return   so in Deaf Games mmm do we denie them Particulating ??  Viual aids i can understand if he had the same and used them in Qld Comp then he can use them in Nationals but if he did not have them when qualifying ?? then i would be disturbed makeing and example of this would either set back all we worked for

    • Tim says:

      08:09am | 07/09/11

      I agree that they should provide a starting light for this boy but I disagree with letting Pistorius run in able bodied events.
      It’s only a matter of time before the technology surpasses a human body and allowing him to run is going to create a problem similar to the swimming suits later on.

      Reply

    • Mahhrat says:

      10:37am | 07/09/11

      I think it’s fine to let this go until able-bodied atheletes start replacing their limbs in order to win.smile

    • wolf says:

      11:08am | 07/09/11

      @Maharat
      Reminds me of the book “Limbo ‘90” by Bernard Wolfe where the ‘olympians’ were all amputees.

    • Tim says:

      11:21am | 07/09/11

      Mahhrat,
      imagine coming second to a guy with fake legs that produce more power than your own whilst not having the same lactic acid issue.
      I don’t think the other competitors would be too happy.
      They should stop this before it gets too far.

    • gravy says:

      04:26pm | 07/09/11

      i agree, i don’t think there is anything iffy about letting a deaf competitor run in a race, also how is a light etc to let the guy know when to start going to be a problem for other competitors? Its just redicilous excuses.

      Also agree that Pistorius should not be allowed to run in abled bodied events. Unfortunately his legs are technology and can be upgraded, and they do not produce latic acid, get injuries etc. They are also not the same weight etc as real legs, so it is very unfair to the other athelets.

      The two scenarios are completely different, and I think Pistorius should suck it up, as harsh as that sounds.

    • Flutz says:

      06:33pm | 07/09/11

      I will declare my interest in having worked in disability sport for over 15 years.

      Science has shown over and over that Pistorius’ prosthetics do not produce anywhere near the power of human legs, thereby giving him less drive, which is a key component of producing speed.

      And @ gravy in regards to your comment that they don’t get injuries - seriously, prosthetics can actually be quite painful to wear and the risk of stump sores and those getting infected are very high.

    • S.L says:

      09:35am | 07/09/11

      My hobby is Drag Racing. There’s more to driving in a straight line than meets the eye. Who’s the first to react when the light goes green. Shift up JUST at the right amount of revs, Don’t spin the wheels off the line too much (if not at all). All these ifs and buts can affect how fast you cover the quarter mile. At the Sydney track I’ve seen a few wheelchair bound competitors who give nothing away to the able bodied guys. More power to them!

      Reply

    • Kricket says:

      09:47am | 07/09/11

      Is there any information you can give us so we can petition or write to the SSA to show our support?

      Reply

    • Angry Cripple Editor says:

      10:10am | 07/09/11

      I’m getting that info for you now. Check back later!

    • wolf says:

      11:40am | 07/09/11

      Asked if he thought a visual prompt could give Sekou an unfair advantage over his competitors, Mr Kalend replied: “It could, in that it may distract the other runners.”
      No doubt similar arguments could have been used in South Africa under apartheid…

    • Stef says:

      04:09pm | 07/09/11

      I’d love to have information to be able to petition the SSA too please

    • Angry Cripple Editor says:

      11:26pm | 07/09/11

      Mr Steve Kalend
      Executive Officer
      School Sport Australia
      Ph: (02) 6205 9153
      Fax: (02) 6205 9154
      email: assc@bigpond.com

      And/or
      Mr K Rogers
      President
      School Sport Australia
      Ph: (07) 34108771
      Fax: (07) 34108776
      email: ken.rogers@bigpond.com

      I suggest you send a copy of your letter to your newspaper as well.

    • Ben says:

      10:28am | 07/09/11

      This is disgusting! what precedent are they afraid of? that everyone will get a fair go? if a visual cue is good enough for motorsport why not junior sport?

      I would also like the info on how we can lodge complaints with the SSA.

      Reply

    • jade (the other one) says:

      11:39am | 07/09/11

      But everyone doesn’t get a fair go. Poor children, and those in isolated areas certainly don’t. The prohibitive costs of equipment, entry fees, training sessions and the like prevent most poorer families from competing equally. The tyranny of distance, and the lack of available grounds, trainers and equipment prevents rural and remote children from competing equally. Yet no heartstring tugging stories are being written about how unfair life is to THEM.

    • Cate says:

      02:39pm | 07/09/11

      Jade, this is such a child. He is the child of refugees, a large family who often can’t get him to training, and such. He doesn’t (I believe) even understand much of the language of his parents. He began learning language at about 6 or 7 years old, after coming to Australia. He has seen things no child should see. And yet he is bright, intelligent and motivated. He has overcome many, many hurdles in his life, and now for the sake of not hearing the starter gun, is prevented in what he *does* have… his physical prowess ... one thing he finds motivating and possibly his only chance to experience anything that our society calls “success”. (And I don’t know about you, but I see plenty written about the difficulty for poorer families… and I am one!)

    • jade (the other one) says:

      03:04pm | 07/09/11

      It’s not the monetary difficulty of struggling families, but the detrimental impact that growing up in relative poverty in an affluent nation has on life chances that I am referring to.

      Because he is lucky enough to have a disability on top of all his other life struggles, he gets a whole column dedicated to his cause. Other similar children get written about in terms of statistics, and remain faceless.

      Until they grow up to commit crimes, or do something to make people notice them. Then all we hear about is how their background shouldn’t influence their notions of right and wrong, how they had the same opportunities as everyone else to be educated and drag themselves out of their beginnings. Facts which are patently untrue. And which help to perpetuate the cycles of poverty, crime, and welfare dependency which have been the true ruination of countries like England.

      Plenty of children in poverty stricken homes grow up seeing things no child should see. Yet we don’t provide sporting equipment and training free of charge, we don’t bend the rules of which equipment they can use to take into account their inability to meet the costs of more expensive equipment, and we don’t allow them to compete without paying fees.

      We say, they have the opportunity to compete. We say its merely unfortunate that they couldn’t afford it, or attack their parents, suggesting that they should prioritise their child more. But in reality, they don’t.

      This boy is not being prevented in any way from competing. What is wrong with him competing against other disabled athletes?

      We don’t allow girls to play in boy’s rugby league teams, or conversely boys to play in girl’s. We don’t allow children who are say 15 to compete in the under 13’s rugby league, even though their size and physical maturity may be more appropriate to a lower age grade, particularly with the growth in participation of the genetically blessed Pacific Islander population. We don’t change the rules of Rugby and Rugby League to take into account the size difference between a Pacific Islander 13 year old, who may be nearly 6 foot, and weigh the same as some 17 year olds, and a white 13 year old who may be 5 foot nothing and weigh 35 kilos.

      We don’t alter our classification system in light of data which shows that success in skewed heavily in favour of children born in the first half of the year, because they are older. We say tough luck. A child born under the sign of Taurus has a statistically high chance of being successful in sport than a child born under Scorpio, but we continue to allocate children based on age, rather than prowess, and therefore, negatively impact those children born later. That’s just tough shit.

      Why should this be different?

    • Flutz says:

      06:40pm | 07/09/11

      Ummmm Jade, statistically Australia’s best athletes throughout the generations (and still today) have been those who’ve grown up in rural / isolated areas and are largely from poorer families.

      It is these so called disadavantages that have driven them to succeed despite the odds; whereas ‘city kids’ and those from relatively affluent backgrounds tend to more take for granted the opportunities they have and don’t always make the most of them.  Or they have more options of ways to fill in their time; whereas the ‘isolated’ or ‘poorer’ kids don’t have a lot else to do, so they spend their time training / playing their sport.  Some could make an arguement that they are the ones with an advantage.

      It’s all about how you want to see things and how you want to work with what life has given you.

    • BOB says:

      10:29pm | 07/09/11

      Jade:- Are you always a pessimist?? Thats the worse argument I’ve ever read and you’re just talking bollocks..(I bet you don’t even know the so call poor people). Maybe you’re just one of the kids mums and too scared to race him, hence to why you want him to run with other disabilities. Racing in AWD comps is no challenge for him and he wants to better his time every time he race. He made the choice not to run with AWD comp.
      What is your problem, where’s your compassion, why bring in other problems and compare those problems to what sekou going through.
      What you’re saying is totally irrelevant and offensive. If you have a problem with poor people, then raise it up to the government, not bring sekou down to their problems, we’re here to find a solution for him. 
      How do you think he got a whole column on here in the first place?? because people on behalf of sekou knew it was a problem and should raise it to find a solution. They thought he was not getting a fair go and there were too many complaints about it. its indirect discrimination for not allowing him to have access to the equipment that would allow him to be in an equal playing field. He’s not looking to gain advantage, but to be equal with his peers.

      At state titles, one spectator said they got a 5m head start and the other said 4m head start and he still came second, so why would he want to go in AWD.

      Man I’m wasting my time writing to you. Good luck at raising the issues that you have

    • Patsy says:

      10:34am | 07/09/11

      Maybe someone could invent a sound activated sensor light to place in front of his block?

      Reply

    • Angry Cripple Editor says:

      11:21am | 07/09/11

      Patsy - that’s the point - School Sports Australia (and indeed Athletics Australia and the IAAF won’t allow such accommodations. Seems like they only want to know who is the fastest hearing person?

    • Tim says:

      12:06pm | 07/09/11

      It definitely shouldn’t be just in front of his block.
      If they do it, the light has to be out the front so that all competitors can use it.
      I’m sure there would be differences in reaction times for a light and a gun.

    • Robert Bowler says:

      08:26am | 08/09/11

      its a hearing Race simple anyone who wants to joing abides with its rules stop crying poor nothing to do with Poverty its a race Hearing Race i used to run Perry Lakes Stadium in the 60/70s   i watched i did ok todat what a mess rules are rules try to change theirs then they are entiled to chang ours


      No excuses do we let Hearing compet in our deaf Races no then thats Discrimination as i suggest hearing can join up and use what deaf do Lights instead of a gun is that fair ?/  rule is simply take part in Hearing worlds sport abitde with their rules if not dont then we can look rather silly i speak from experiance need to know more im happy to add
      we did and was chalenged and we were left rather red faced

    • Jade (the other one) says:

      11:36am | 07/09/11

      I hate to imagine the wash of criticism I am about to receive, but I disagree with altering the status quo for one child. I get that its not a great big change and stuff but to be honest, it does have a slippery slope aspect to it.

      Many children cannot compete in athletics or sport for a variety of genetic and ability reasons. I was such a child. I have a neurological disorder which prevents my brain from communicating with the rest of my body as quickly as most people’s. Should I have been given a headstart in the race, since, its possible that with such an allowance for my personal situation I could have been a great athlete?

      Furthermore, there are whole classes of children completely excluded from sports activities because of the prohibitive cost. Yet rarely, if ever do we see articles lamenting that Jimmy could have been the next Usain Bolt if only his mother and father weren’t struggling on a minimum wage job, and could afford the exorbitant costs of training, equipment, fees and travel expenses. It is acceptable to deny these children access because of circumstances beyond their control.

      How about a little consideration for those children, before worrying about changing the rules to accommodate the interests of one child?

      Reply

    • Cate says:

      02:44pm | 07/09/11

      When the sporting world has already accepted the precedent of visual starters for Deaf athletes, I don’t agree. And it isn’t about giving him a head start… it’s about giving him the SAME start. As I stated above this is such a child of refugees, a large family with very little money. He overcomes on a daily basis many obstacles without losing his motivation. And now for the sake of not hearing the starter gun, which you could easily change to a visual start signal for them all, which would not disadvantage any, he has a road block.

      SSA will lose this battle - there are too many precendents accepting that a visual start signal is not advantageous to the Deaf.

    • gravy says:

      04:37pm | 07/09/11

      Pretty flawed logic IMHO Jade.

      A light is not going to affect any of the other competitors, however giving someone a head start is a definite competitive advantage, they are two very distinctly different things.

      Also bringing in things like economics etc is kinda redicilous IMO, has nothing to do with the actual issue… Its like saying oh if i was born in *insert family* i would be the number 1 draft pick in the AFL therefore its not fair. Its about making the best of what you have, not what you could of had.

      Reply

    • Emma says:

      11:04pm | 07/09/11

      I’m likin the gravy smile

    • stephen says:

      06:15pm | 07/09/11

      Spot on.
      Good article.
      The history of all sports, (quite apart from the ever-more quicker times that, individually, can elapse) has been the shedding of variables which can give results a spurious edge.
      (Variables such as, say, a head-wind in a 100 metres race, or a current in the scull. These are accounted for in the result.)
      This, I might add, is the precedent for the soundless starter’s gun,
      e.g. variables that are included at the outset, to compensate for a fair outcome.
      Quiet guns for the deaf, (and I can think of a number of other inclusive ‘variables’) should be made optional forthwith.

      Reply

    • Cat says:

      08:21pm | 07/09/11

      that is hellishly disturbing. I talked to a friend about this today, even if offering a visual cue would be “distracting” (what a load of bollocks) that isn’t a reason not to come up with a suitable accomidation - we figured out within 5 minutes that he can wear a little wristband which vibrates when triggered remotely - fire the gun and trigger the wristband at the same time and problem sorted, mind you - you have to WANT to find sollutions to come up with them…..

      Reply

    • Emma says:

      10:58pm | 07/09/11

      Or even a small vibrating pad on the line under his hand at the start. You can get similar things in alarm clock technology for the hearing impaired. I agree Cat, it doesn’t have to be that hard.

    • Laurel says:

      02:25pm | 08/09/11

      Good Grief.  Come on guys….. this IS the 21st Century.  Just because someone NEEDS to do things a little bit differently, is no reason to react with a ” pack up and go home” mentality.

      Reply
 
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