In the winter of 1975, the 8th World Winter Games for the deaf, commonly referred to as the “Deaflympics,” took place in Lake Placid, NY, from February 2 to 8, 1975, and was the first Winter Games for the deaf held outside of continental Europe. The Games were hosted by the American Athletic Association of the Deaf (AAAD) under the parent organization of the Comite International des Sports des Silencieux (CISS, now known as the Comite International des Sports des Sourds, or translated into English the International Committee of Sports for the deaf), the oldest organization sponsoring sporting competitions for the deaf. A subsidiary organization under the AAAD, the United States Organizing Committee (USOC), was established to oversee the Winter Games’ planning and operations so that the AAAD could continue to focus on sports competitions within the United States. At the completion of the 8th Winter Games in Lake Placid, the USOC was disbanded.

The 8th Winter Games for the Deaf in 1975 was also the first Winter Games to feature other sports besides skiing and was the first to be held at a site before an Olympics-the Olympics that took place in Lake Placid in 1980. Fifteen nations and 268 athletes participated in the 8th World Winter Games for the Deaf in 1975. In 1997 the AAAD changed its name to the USA Deaf Sports Federation (USADSF). The AAAD was the first national group among deaf persons to eliminate discrimination based on a person’s race or creed.