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Athletes' role in Opening Ceremony revised
by Shannon Bertling on September 5, 2009

Prior to the start of the 21st Deaflympics Opening Ceremony at Taipei Stadium
in Taiwan on Saturday, American athletes crowded into the first-floor lobby
of the Miramar Garden Taipei Hotel and speculated about what would happen
later that evening.

"This year will be the first time that athletes will not watch the Opening
Ceremony from the stands," mused three-time Deaflympic athlete Stacy Nowak.
"That's probably because this is also the first time tickets for the
performance were sold out. "

In Deaflympics past, athletes usually circled the stadium at the beginning of
the ceremony and then settled into the stands among fans to watch the rest of
the host country's performance.

However, this year, the ceremony was more like the Olympics, volleyball coach
Lynn Ray Boren said, "where athletes are simply a part of the ceremony and do
not expect to watch it."

When asked his opinion about the change in procedure, basketball behemoth
Edlin Dorn emphasized that he'd rather focus on getting the gold than worry
about watching the whole Opening Ceremony.

As it turned out, athletes sat in a holding room adjacent to the stadium and
were able to both mingle with competitors from other countries and watch the
ceremonies on television while awaiting their turn to appear in front of the
masses.

D.J. Rowse and Matthew Eby — both soccer players at their second Deaflympics
—agreed that this year's Opening Ceremony went far and beyond the
performances at the 2005 Melbourne Deaflympics.

For starters, the ceremonies lasted more than two hours and comprised an
actual story that incorporated the host country's cultural background.

"Melbourne was really simplistic in comparison," Rowse said.

The most heralded part of the ceremony came in Act Five, Part Two:
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, in which women clad in golden garb danced the
tale of “Kwan-yin with One Thousand Hands.”

The mirror-like effects of the many arms and fingers dazzled the audience
with their seamless motion, and "we were just amazed," tennis player Jennifer
Woyahn said.

Fellow teammate Aaron Gomez took care to note that the American athletes did
not get a chance to circle the stadium fully, but instead went barely half a
lap before their walk of fame was over.

"Still, it was a really awesome ceremony, and I'm glad I got to be a part of
it," he said.

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