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Sixteen Wellingtonians are part of the 97 strong New Zealand team to compete in the 16th World Games for the Deaf in Christchurch. Local members of the team and the sport they are competing in are listed.

Imagine a packed stadium and not one of the 10,000 spectators’ voices heard by the athletes competing. That was the scenario painted by deaf table tennis and basketball player Kaz Witko who travelled with the New Zealand team to the international deaf sports convention in West Germany last year.

The Games will be about the same size as the 1974 sporting extravaganza in Christchurch, the Commonwealth Games. Yet it has been orchestrated on a budget of $700,000 – about one-third of the cost of the opening ceremony planned for the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland.

Wayne Riggs (Wellington) beats Shaun Ruffel (Taranaki) to the wicket in a practice game by members of the Central District Deaf Sports team before the Saturday match against an Australian deaf team.

Almost one hundred Australian athletes will compete in the trans-tasman deaf games to be held in Wellington this weekend.

About 100 interpreters have been trained in Christchurch over the last year. The classes were organised by the hearing people but the deaf were the teachers. It is only the second time that New Zealand sign language has been taught in this country.

When the 1400 competitors and officials arrive in Christchurch to take part in the World Games for the Deaf, TVNZ's news programme for the deaf will be ready and waiting. The small staff of the weekly programme "News Review" is being boosted by four journalists to cover the events of the three-week games in January.