Sen (Stewart) Smith

World Deaf Games Chaperon Kath Smith – her husband is the manager and both are also deaf – adjusts swimmer Rossell MacKenzie's hat at a final outfitting in Auckland.

The team of 17 deaf athletes are farewelled at Kelston School for the Deaf, with official team photos, before leaving for the 10th International Games for the Deaf at Washington D.C.

On a recent Saturday, I was lucky enough to meet members of the Auckland Deaf Society at a working bee they were holding to improve the grounds of the city's Deaf Welfare Centre. The centre, incidentially, is a very fine building – it has the biggest sports hall in Auckland with a floor area 110 by 60 feet.

The New Zealand team to compete in the World Deaf Games in West Germany later this month is $10,000 short of funds. The 20-strong team is due to buy its air travel tickets and is faced with having to borrow the deficit.