Lord’s signing aid for deaf cricket fans

Article posted by Coliseum, May 27^th, 2024

Image: MCC

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has become the first cricket club to offer fully accessible interactions with deaf British sign language users through a partnership with SignVideo.

Lord’s said that whether deaf people want to call to buy tickets for upcoming matches at the home of cricket in London or discuss a membership package, SignVideo’s BSL video relay service will enable deaf people to contact MCC the same way as their hearing counterparts.

MCC staff will also be able to communicate on the spot with a deaf person through an on-demand video BSL interpreter via a mobile or tablet device.

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This video remote interpreting service is especially useful when an interpreter is needed immediately, such as for ad-hoc deaf spectators visiting on match days or for communicating with the ticket office or MCC club on non-match days.

The MCC is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord’s Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John’s Wood, London (UK).

The 31,100-capacity Lord’s Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord’s, is a cricket venue in St John’s Wood, London (UK). Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the European Cricket Council (ECC).

Sorenson CEO Jorge Rodriguez said, “We are ecstatic to partner with Marylebone Cricket Club in removing language barriers for deaf cricket fans in the United Kingdom, creating communication access and inclusive participation for users of BSL.

“This means deaf and hearing fan journeys will be very similar, with deaf fans having access to real-time communication and assistance. This is an exciting breakthrough in creating equivalent experiences.”

Stuart Dunlop, Sustainability and Accessibility Manager, MCC, said: “Partnering with SignVideo is a very important step for MCC, as we continue to look into ways of ensuring that Lord’s is a Ground for all.

“We are very pleased to become the first cricket venue to partner with SignVideo, whose service will make it easier for members of the BSL community to communicate with the Club’s staff. We hope this partnership will open up the experience of Lord’s to those who previously may not have considered visiting.”

Founded in 2004 to advance equality of deaf and hearing communities, SignVideo introduced the first videophone to deaf people in the UK, providing instant access to British Sign Language (BSL)/English interpreting through video conferencing.

Today, SignVideo services include online video and face-to-face BSL and Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpreting across the UK.

In 2020, SignVideo joined Sorenson, one of the world’s leading language services providers that connects more than 140 million conversations each year through a full suite of inclusive language services, combining patented technology with human-centric solutions.

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