Students, staff and parents from the North Dakota School for the Deaf are attending the 16th Winter Deaflympics in Salt Lake City, not only to take in the games, but also to root for one of their own.
Sixteen middle school and high school students from the Devils Lake school leave for Salt Lake today, along with 18 adults, said Pam Smith, a social studies teacher and trip coordinator.
While there, they plan to cheer for David Zimmerman and the Team USA hockey squad. Zimmerman is a physical education and health teacher at the school and assistant coach for team.
"I know it's a wonderful experience for the kids," Zimmerman said while working with the team in Colorado Springs, Colo. "It's nice to have a cheering section from North Dakota."
The trip will be a learning experience for the students, many of whom have never been out of North Dakota or seen a large city, Smith said.
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"The thought of traveling to a large city, seeing real mountains, will be a really new experience," she said.
The Deaflympics will bring together nearly 600 deaf athletes from 24 countries, with several thousand people, many of them deaf, attending the events, Smith said.
"They are really excited about the possibility of seeing hundreds and hundreds of deaf people in one location," she said.
"I think it's a wonderful experience from the deaf cultural perspective for the kids," Zimmerman said.
The Team USA hockey squad takes on the Russians on Friday morning, he said.
"I believe we have an excellent chance of beating the Russians, We have a chip on our shoulder from four years ago when Russia beat us 3-1," he said. "We'll do all we can to bring home the gold medal."
Through fundraisers and with the help of the Friends of Deaf Children Foundation, the group raised about $43,000 for the trip, Smith said.
The group returns Feb. 7. The Games run Thursday through Feb. 10, but competition opens Friday with the USA vs. Russia hockey game. The opening ceremony is Saturday.
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Web coverage of the Deaflympics will be available through DeafNation.com by clicking on the Deaflympics.TV tab.
Readers can reach Forum reporter
Helmut Schmidt at (701) 241-5583
