By Basketball Australia
17 Jan 2005
Melbourne 2005 Deaflympics Basketball mascot.
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For 3500 athletes and 1700 volunteers, 12 days of elite competition came to an end in a celebration of sport, friendship, triumph, endeavour, new world records and participation on Sunday in Melbourne.
The 2005 Deaflympics Closing Ceremony Celebration invited all athletes, officials and volunteers to walk onto the track at Olympic Park to celebrate the Games success after a procession of Harley Davidson’s, Holden Utes and sky divers.
Presentations included ‘signing’ choirs accompanying singers, international performance groups and a handover ceremony between Melbourne Lord Mayor John So and Chinese Taipei, the nation to next host the Deaflympic Games in 2009.
Speeches from Federal Minister for The Arts and Sport, Senator Rod Kemp along with Victorian Sports Minister, Justin Madden were complemented by a special fair play and sportsmanship scholarship presentation.
The Closing Ceremony also recognised the National Day of Mourning for Tsunami victims.
The Deaflympic cauldron was be extinguished and the party began for athletes as they wound down from years of preparation and training to be at the Games.
The basketball competition ended successfully for Australia on Saturday afternoon with the women finishing sixth and the men fourth.
The women were unsuccessful in their bid to win the fifth spot against Greece, going down in a tough game 78-54.
Lisa Westwood had 15 points and Fiona Goldab had 11, while Michelle Jackson had 11 rebounds.
The men were also defeated on Saturday, going down to Lithuania in the bronze medal match, 90-62.
Sam Quinn, Australia’s standout player for the tournament, was again the top scorer with 21 points. Quinn averaged 26 points-per-game throughout the tournament with his highest score of 39 points against Japan.
The US won the men’s tournament with Slovenia taking silver, while the US women also took gold, Sweden silver, Lithuania bronze and the Ukraine coming in fourth.
Basketball Australia
www.basketball.net.au
