Being Deaf No Obstacle For Penn Rugger
During a recent rugby tournament at Dartmouth between the schools of the Ivy League, a successful goal kick by Penn Women’s Rugby Football Club fly-half Sophia Hu was met with an unusual reaction from the rest of the team. Rather than applauding and shouting encouragement, Hu’s teammates could be seen waving and twisting their arms in the air.
Ivy Profiles by Jim Sturdivant
The maneuver is known as “deaf applause,” and for Hu, who has been deaf since birth, it was a special moment.
“I was very moved by their support and by their awareness of the deaf applause,” she said. “They continued to do the deaf applause after every time I kicked, even when I missed.”
Hu has played on the Penn women’s rugby team since her freshman year. She started out playing inside center and this year also added the fly-half position to her repertoire.
She loves rugby for the same reasons as everyone else: the camaraderie, the aggressiveness, the intense level of competition. “Plus, tackling people is a great way to de-stress from school,” she says.
Now a junior chemistry major with plans for grad school, rugby has been an important part of her college experience, and she credits Penn with helping make her desire to play a reality.
Support Structure
With assistance from Penn’s Office of Student Disabilities Services, Hu has had little trouble meeting the challenges that come with being a deaf rugby player. Penn provides interpreting services for all practices and games, even arranging last-minute assistance in the face of unexpected schedule changes.
"When we make arrangements at other schools, the interpreters often are nervous that they know nothing about rugby," says Pamela Balkovec, a learning disabilities consultant at Penn. "They will ask, 'Do I need to run up and down the field?'"
Hu says interpreters stick near the coach (in other words, off the field) during games.
"During practices, the interpreters run around more," she says. "Whenever we get together to discuss a play or listen to the coach's instructions, the interpreter would see us starting to gather, so she would have to run from the sidelines to join us."
Balkovec says she always gets the same feedback from these rugby newbies: "... that the team, coaches and particularly Sophia are great to work with."
Team Effort
Hu says her teammates have been incredibly supportive both on and off the field, even learning some sign language themselves.
“I remember a touching moment when a couple of my teammates stepped in to defend me," she recounts. “I was the first person in a ruck, and the referee blew his whistle, but of course I didn't hear him, so I kept on pushing against the opponent. The opponent got angry and slapped my shoulder. Immediately, two of my teammates shouted at her that I am deaf, and the opponent looked shocked and apologetic. I was deeply touched by the fact that they defended me and had my back.”
While it sometimes takes a second or two longer to figure out what's happening during games, Hu says most of the time she can tell a play has stopped when she sees other players slowing down or turning to look at the referee.
The team has developed special signs to communicate plays—especially important for Hu as a fly-half. (A fly-half often sets plays in motion after a scrum or lineout—the two ways of deciding possession following a stoppage of play in rugby.)
Because of these small adjustments, Hu has found that there is no particular disadvantage to not being able to hear on the pitch—and in some cases, it can actually be an asset.
“Deaf or not, I would still be aggressive, tackle opponents, and pass the ball to other players,” she notes. “While I can't hear, I have high visual awareness to make up for it. Deaf people are often more visually aware of their surroundings than hearing people ... perhaps, because of my deafness, I was able to focus on the ball and not be startled by a sudden shout and make a mistake.”
“You just have to learn the rules of the game,” she adds, “and once you do, it's pretty easy to understand and keep up.”