Everyone with dwarfism can compete in DAAA sporting events.

• For general information about ages, abilities and particpation in DAAA sponsored activities, please see the Participate and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) web pages.

• For information about the sports offered and their rules and regulations, please see the DAAA Sports Rules web page.

DAAA National Games are held in the U.S. annually during the summer, usually in early July. The timing and location of the Games are planned to coincide with the annual National Conference for Little People of America (LPA). For information about locations of past Games, please see the Archive web page. The locations of future Games can be found on the News and Announcements web page.

DAAA athletes can participate in the World Dwarf Games, held internationally every four years. Locations of past World Games are listed on the Archive web page. For locations of future Games, please see News and Announcements.

DAAA encourages and supports athletic competitions and sports training events at the Local and Regional levels. For information about locating or setting up events in your area, please contact our DAAA Regional Activities Director, by e-mail or voice-mail at 888-598-3222.

Annual National Games competitions can include a number of sports appropriate for a range of ages and abilities. Most years the variety of sports includes the following:

• track athletics
  • individual - 15m, 20m, 40m, 60m, 100m, 200m
  • relay - 4 x 60m, 4 x 100m

• field athletics
  • shot put
  • discus
  • javelin
  • tennis ball (for children 4 to 12 years old)
  • softball throw (for children 4 to 12 years old)
  • flippy flyer throw (for children 4 to 12 years old)

• swimming
  • breaststroke - 25m/yd, 50m/yd, 100m/yd
  • backstroke - 25m/yd, 50m/yd, 100m/yd
  • freestyle - 25m/yd, 50m/yd, 100m/yd, 200m/yd
  • butterfly - 25m/yd, 50m/yd
  • individual medley - 100m/yd, 200m/yd
  • freestyle relay - 4 x 25m/yd
  • t-shirt relay - 4x25m/yd
  • lifejacket swim - 25m/yd (for children 4 to 12 years old)
  • kickboard swim - 25m/yd (for children 4 to 12 years old)

• boccia

• soccer

• basketball

• volleyball

• flag football

• table tennis

• badminton

• table tennis

• powerlifting

The specific events offered at National Games depends on the local facilities where the DAAA events are held. Similarly, during international competitions, the hosting country of the World Games might offer events customary to the locale and available facilities.

DAAA Local and Regional events tend to be smaller and informal sport outings offering more personal attention and guidance. For example, activities might include sport practices, clinics or training sessions, or social athletic outings where personal best and enjoyable interaction are the goals, rather than winning.

DAAA golf tournaments are offered as often as possible as fund-raisers to support DAAA events and organization. Please check our News webpage for tournament announcements.

Tournaments are open to everyone of every stature. Tournaments provide the opportunity to spend time playing golf, socializing with friends and meeting other DAAA supporters. Although no gold, silver, or bronze medals are awarded, there are prizes, such as:

• longest drives
  • short stature category
  • average stature category
    

• closest to hole
  • combined short and average stature category
    

• longest putt
  • combined short and average stature category

DAAA uses a classification system to provide the opportunity for competition between athletes of similar shape and size. On the FAQ page on this web site, you can find a general description of Class 1, 2, and 3 body-types.

For sports involving running, classification is based on the ratio of standing-height to sitting-height. For sports involving reaching, classification is based on the ratio of arm-span to shoulder-width. To find out how to measure and calculate the vertical (for running) and horizontal (for reaching) body proportion ratios for an athlete, please see the FAQ page.