Deaf International Basketball Federation

 Deaf International Basketball Federation (DIBF) is a world governing body for international deaf basketball with support of FIBA and in cooperation with Deaflympics and its confederations. DIBF shall be an independent association composed of the National Organisations governing deaf basketball.

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DIBF endeavour to encourage the growth and development of deaf basketball in all nationals of the world through an organised programme of education and instruction. They serve as the official governing body for the scheduling and conduct of all international contest and championships in deaf basketball in cooperation with the Deaflympics and its confederations. They also maintain a documented history of the basketball by recording and reporting on all major international contests from the inception of international competitions to the present. DIBF aims to expand its organisation and to empower deaf basketball world with many years to come.

Privileged board consisting of President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary-General and members at large - better known as Central Board, manages DIBF. This enthusiastic board, majority are deaf, brings together with many years of management and basketball experiences, and are from different corners of the globe.

History

As basketball has been increasing popular among elite deaf athletes around the world. Several international and national basketball competitions have already been held for several years under an international organisation of sports for the deaf - Deaflympics. This international deaf sports organisation is proud to have had such a long and rich history of Deaf sports since establishing in 1924 - the oldest of international organisations on sport for disabled people.

On Saturday 2nd May 1988, a group of highly respected deaf sports people involved in basketball came together in Turku, Finland. They have recommended that they need a world governing body for international deaf basketball, so this can be focused entirely on the core and to improve the standards and the well beings of deaf basketballers around the world. The first provisional Central Board was formed, consisted of President - Jussi Raiso (Finland), Vice-President - Aleksas Jasiunas (Lithuania), Secretary - Christian Boklund (Sweden), Board Member - Riina Kuusk (Estonia) and Board Adviser - Kjell Gunnå (Sweden).

With this special establishment meeting, they have founded "International Deaf Basketball Association" (IDBA) and constructed the first IDBA Constitution with Statutes and Regulations, and finally started informing other deaf people and organisations interested in basketball around the world.

On Friday 27th July 2001, during Summer Deaflympics in Rome, Italy, a first meeting to officially establish IDBA as an organisation was convened. Unfortunately this meeting did not reach the necessary two-third support from countries from all over the world playing deaf basketball. However, it was decided that the provisional Central Board should continue its work. Elected President was Jussi Raisio (Finland), Secretary - Christian Boklund (Sweden), Treasurer - Rick Balk (USA), Member-at-large - Lyndon Borrow (Australia) and Yaakov Keren (Israel), and Board Advisor - Kjell Gunnå (Sweden).

A year later, during the 2002 1st World Deaf Basketball Championships in Athens, Greece, IDBA held a foundation meeting and reached its goal of achieving more than two-third votes of deaf basketball countries and was thus officially founded. The name IDBA was momentarily changed to Deaf International Basketball Federation (DIBF) for more corporate translation.

The first official DIBF Central Board were President - Jussi Raisio (Finland), Vice-President - Lyndon Borrow (Australia), Secretary General - Kjell Gunna (Sweden), Treasurer - Rick Balk (USA), Member-at-large - Ioannis Stoufis (Greece). Later, two additional female members were added - Yue-Tong Zhu (China) and Iryna Chepchyna (Ukraine). The Central Board was elected with term to next World Deaf Basketball Championships in 2007.

International Recognition

At the Congress of Comité International des Sports de Surds (now known as Deaflympics) during the Winter Deaflympics in Sundsvall, Sweden, in February 2003, the Congress officially decided to recognise the DIBF as the world governing body of deaf basketball. The DIBF then henceforth can operate independently by itself for the development of deaf basketball around the world. The DIBF gained Associate Membership with the Deaflympics. Presently, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) granted recognition of DIBF and sturdily supports of its organisation and deaf basketball development camps and seminars across six different continents. Ever since, DIBF has continued to grow significantly and the standard of deaf basketball has increased notably.

See also

• Miha Zupan, a deaf basketball player from Slovenia who plays professionally among hearing people