Deaf Olympics, The

Sorenson Legacy Foundation Donates $250,000 to Sponsor Opening Ceremonies of 2007 Deaflympic Winter Games

February 7, 2006

SALT LAKE CITY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Sorenson Legacy

Foundation today announced that it is donating $250,000 to sponsor

the opening ceremonies of the 2007 Winter Deaflympics. The Games

are expected to draw 400 deaf athletes from 20+ countries and more

than 6,000 fans to Salt Lake and Park City, Feb. 1-10, 2007. The donation

is the largest cash gift the international sports competition has received.

“We are elated by this very generous donation from the Sorenson

Legacy Foundation,” said Dwight Benedict, chair of the 2007 Winter

Deaflympics Organizing Committee. “There is a great deal of excitement

in the deaf community about coming to Utah to compete at some of the

world’s most challenging winter sports venues. This Sorenson gift is a

big step towards accomplishing our goals for 2007.”

The Deaflympics are sanctioned by the International Olympic

Committee (IOC) as the quadrennial competition for deaf athletes, and

by hosting the Games, Salt Lake City becomes the first city in the

world to have hosted the Olympic, Paralympic, and Deaflympic Winter

Games. Rules and procedures in the Deaflympics are similar to those in

Olympic competitions except flashing lights and hand signals or flags

are used instead of starting guns or whistles.

“We’re proud to take part in making the 2007 Winter Deaflympics

successful,” said James Lee Sorenson, a member of the board of

directors of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation. “These games are very

important to the deaf community and this is a wonderful opportunity

for Utahns to further the Olympic ideals of promoting international

friendship and cooperation through athletic competition.” Sorenson, a

nationally recognized advocate for the deaf community, and Dr. I. King

Jordan, president of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., are

co-chairs of the 2007 Deaflympic Winter Games Honorary Advisory Board.

Other major sponsors of the 2007 Deaflympics to date are Sorenson

Communications, Communications Service for the Deaf (CSD), Utah Office

of Tourism, George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation and

DeafNation.

The 16th Deaflympic Winter Games will include five individual and

team events: alpine skiing, snowboarding, Nordic skiing, ice hockey

and curling. Some of the venues will be the same as those used for

Utah’s 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Snowboarding and alpine skiing will

take place at Park City Mountain Resort and Nordic skiing will be at

Soldier Hollow Nordic Center.

About Sorenson Legacy Foundation

The Sorenson Legacy Foundation is a non-profit corporation

established by the James LeVoy Sorenson family for the exclusive

purpose of promoting charitable, religious, educational, literary, and

scientific endeavors. The Foundation is qualified under section

501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

About the Deaflympics

The Deaflympics, which is under the patronage of the International

Olympic Committee, began in Paris in 1924 and is the second-oldest

multisport and cultural event in the world. The 16th Deaflympic Winter

Games will be held in Utah Feb. 1-10, 2007.