On World Deaf Day in Genk, DSV (Deaf Sports Flanders) will tell you more about the world of deaf sports in Flanders... - On Saturday, September 27, 2025, the annual World Deaf Day will take place in Genk (C-Mine).This year, Deaf Sports Flanders will once again be present with an information booth.But there's also something extra on the program that might interest you: a lecture on Deaf Sports in Flanders.This lecture will be given by two top athletes:Greet Vergult, who won numerous medals at the international level in swimming and later also in athletics.Emiel Schippers became Flemish Youth Champion in tennis and will soon represent Belgium for the first time at the Deaflympics in Japan.This lecture starts at 10:30 am and ends around 12:00 pm.They will tell you more about their athletic careers and their own stories of how they developed themselves and gained self-confidence through sports.Interested?Then register for this lecture!You can do so using the form below (fill out).

A total of four bowlers were sent, led by experienced trainer Dominique De Nolf from Dilbeek. Dominique is certified as a level 3 coach, which indicates a high level of expertise. He was also coach of the Bowlmaster 11 team, which achieved an exceptional performance in 2024 by winning the Challenge Cup ‘J. Felsenstein’. He is also professionally active in the bowling world as manager at DNMC Belgium / Bowling-Ball Shop in Mons. He provides technical support to both amateurs and professionals. He also offers training courses, clinics and internships at various bowling centres in Belgium.Christophe BartholoméChristophe Bartholomé from Noduwez (affiliated with Woluwe SSB) was the only Belgian player to finish 29th out of 56 participants at the previous Deaflympics in Malaysia, which was disappointing both for himself and the many supporters who cheered him on. He then bounced back in 2023 at the World Championships in Munich, where he won a magnificent individual bronze medal with an average of 207.50 points per game out of 114 participants! During these World Championships, he demonstrated his technical abilities and skills on numerous occasions.In August 2024, he confirmed his talent once again at the European Championships in Wemmel, winning three bronze medals (Doubles, Team and All Events). He was noticed by many foreign countries as the man to beat in the future. Christophe has since been classified in the A category BBSF – FSSB, which also shows that he is the most talented deaf Belgian bowler, who has a good chance of winning a medal at the Deaflympics in 2025.Over the past four years, he has consistently averaged 200 points or more per game. His goal now is to take that final step towards the absolute world top. At the moment, he is by far the number one in Belgium and one of the best in Europe!Michel RivezPartly due to Christophe's success, the other Belgian players have followed his lead and are also eligible to achieve good results in other disciplines, resulting in a double bronze medal at the European Championships in doubles and teams. Michel Rivez (affiliated with RLS Brussels and currently ranked No. 2 in Belgium) has been asked to provide Christophe with mental support. He averages 180 points, but can make a difference at important moments. The bowling competition lasts 10 days, during which time it will be important to support Christophe mentally and play alongside him in the doubles and team competitions. He will also participate in the individual competition.Thomas BartholoméThomas Bartholomé is Christophe's older brother and achieves the same level as his other teammates alongside Christophe. Some days he performs exceptionally well and can therefore be decisive in all disciplines when he is in good form. He won bronze in the team discipline at the 2024 European Bowling Championships: this was his only international medal. He will also participate in all three disciplines in Tokyo. Vincent LorantVincent Lorant is the fourth member of the team and is just as important as his other partners Michel and Thomas, making him a very important team player. The bronze medal in the Team event at the 2024 European Bowling Championships is also his only international medal.Program14+15+16 November: training sessions17 November: Singles (qualifications)19 November: Singles (finals)21 November: Doubles23 November: Team competition

 Officially, the Games from 1924 to 1965 were called the International Silent Games in English or Jeux Internationaux Silencieux in French.... From 1969, it was called the World Games for the DeafThe Games first took place in 1969 in an area under communist rule in Yugoslavia: Belgrade. 1. 189 athletes from 33 countries (Belgium, France, Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Greece, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, East Germany, West Germany, Turkey, Soviet Union, Israel, Japan, Iran, India, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Canada and the USA) participated in these Games with sports such as athletics, basketball, diving, gymnastics, handball, volleyball, swimming, football, cycling, shooting, table tennis and tennis. Colombia & Venezuela participated in the Pacific Games for the first timeNotable facts were:  for the first time, handball and volleyball featured as new sports!for the first time more than 1,000 athletes were present, namely 1,189 athletes, a record that was not broken until 1981 in Cologneat these Games it was the last time diving was offered as a sport.there were 3 top athletes at these Games: - Athletics: Josef Foldessy (HUN) in the 100m and 200m,- Swimming: Frederick Savinsky (USA) with 5 gold medals,- Gymnastics: Anatoly Vaganov (SOV) with 8 gold medals.Furthermore, Yugoslavia's football team also shone with a 5th consecutive gold medal as did USA in basketball!In the medal standings, we saw : the Soviet Union finished in 1st place with 96 medals (40 gold, 34 silver and 22 bronze), while USA came in second with 69 medals (22 gold, 24 silver and 23 bronze) and Italy took 3rd place with 35 medals (14 gold, 9 silver and 12 bronze). Belgium participated with 30 athletes and did not win a single medal:Tennis    - Lucien Gerin (°1945) : singles & doubles (with Joseph Goldwirt)   - Joseph Goldwirt (°1920) : Double (with Lucien Gerin)   - Josette Robinson (°1941) : singles (6th place).Cycling   - Bernard Deschamps (°1934) : Individual time trial (8th place), Individual road race and 1,000m Sprint (9th place).   - Xavier Van Hecke (°1943) :  Individual time trial (5th place), Individual road race and 1,000m Sprint. Basketball with 7th place    Belgium vs Italy = 49-62    Belgium vs USA = 29-57    Belgium vs Yugoslavia = 42-63    Belgium vs Israel = 37-54Players : Jean-Claude Billen (°1941), Pierre D'hoe (°1940), Pierre Dewit (°1940), Isaak Dorn (°1934), Jean Masfrancx (°1943), Edmond Rousseau (°1941), Roland Van den Bogaert (°1936), Daniel Van Synghel (°1953) and Urbain Werbrouck (°1931). Football with 14th place    Hungary vs Belgium = 4-3    Netherlands vs Belgium = 3-2    Belgium vs Israel = 3-0Players : Roger Damoiseau (°1948), Jean-Pierre De Groote (°1948), Amaat De Ro (°1935), Paul De Weerdt (°1946), Werner Deschamps (°1934), Rene Devos (°1942), Georges Dondelinger (°1946), Gustaaf Elsermans (°1941), Marc Engels (°1949), Pierre Laurent (°1946), Jacques Manderick (°1947), Willy Seeuws (°1924), Boni Sempels (°1937), Joseph Van den Bergh (°1943), Etienne Van Weymeersch (°1946) and Christian Vincent (°1956).