John Lovett, Chairman of the CISS, has died of last week. His sudden death has been a shock to me and to the world of the Deaf Community Sports.
I had known him well for 10 years. The first time I met him and his lovely wife Jill and 2 sons was in Melbourne, his home town, during a month's holiday in Australia.
He invited me, my wife and my son Pascal to a Christmas dinner and I had a very pleasant time.
In the years that followed we me first in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the Olympic Games, where my son was playing in the national soccer team, then at Orlando in Florida for the CISS Meeting.
Shortly aftewards we met in Washington D.C. when I was working at the Italian Embassy. Together with the current Secretary-General Donalda Ammons, we spoke about the Games in Rome, he was worried and foresaw bad organisation by the Corti management. After the Rome Games it was proved that he was right and he was very unhappy about it.
John Lovett had a great sense of fair play, he was a very correct person.
He was very happy and proud that the next Deaflympics are to be held in Australia, in Melbourne 2005, his town and his country.
He told me this himself last July in Montreal during the WFD and he also said, "Gianni, when I'm next in NYC I'll come and see you".
But he has left us too soon, he will not come to NYC, he will not even see the Deaflympics in Melbourne 2005 which he so looked forward to.
I have a lost a true friend and I will miss him a lot.
Thank you, John, I will never forget your "true olympic" spirit.
Gianni Giovannardi
New York, November 3, 2003.
I had known him well for 10 years. The first time I met him and his lovely wife Jill and 2 sons was in Melbourne, his home town, during a month's holiday in Australia.
He invited me, my wife and my son Pascal to a Christmas dinner and I had a very pleasant time.
In the years that followed we me first in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the Olympic Games, where my son was playing in the national soccer team, then at Orlando in Florida for the CISS Meeting.
Shortly aftewards we met in Washington D.C. when I was working at the Italian Embassy. Together with the current Secretary-General Donalda Ammons, we spoke about the Games in Rome, he was worried and foresaw bad organisation by the Corti management. After the Rome Games it was proved that he was right and he was very unhappy about it.
John Lovett had a great sense of fair play, he was a very correct person.
He was very happy and proud that the next Deaflympics are to be held in Australia, in Melbourne 2005, his town and his country.
He told me this himself last July in Montreal during the WFD and he also said, "Gianni, when I'm next in NYC I'll come and see you".
But he has left us too soon, he will not come to NYC, he will not even see the Deaflympics in Melbourne 2005 which he so looked forward to.
I have a lost a true friend and I will miss him a lot.
Thank you, John, I will never forget your "true olympic" spirit.
Gianni Giovannardi
New York, November 3, 2003.
