Welcome Letter

 Welcome GPSD athletes, coaches, parents, staff, alumni and friends,

 It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the Wisconsin School for the Deaf campus for the 2024 Great Plains Schools for the Deaf Basketball & Cheerleading Tournament. We are honored to have ten deaf schools join us in making this a memorable event.

 GPSD Tournaments are always a very special event for students, coaches, staff, parents, and fans.  With friendly competitions and social activities, this is a time for making new friendships and renewing old ones.  This time together is always an opportunity for building a larger community and making valuable connections.

 Today, we delight in witnessing the achievements of our Deaf youth in application of physical and social skills.  I hope you will enjoy all the events with a spirit of camaraderie.  May the best teams win!

Ryan Gollner
WESP-DHH Center Director

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Dear GPSD Tournament Participants:

On behalf of the Wisconsin School for the Deaf, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all coaches, players, families and fans to the 35th Annual Great Plains Schools for the Deaf Basketball & Cheerleading Tournament hosted on WSD’s beautiful campus in Delavan. 

This tournament will be filled with energetic and dedicated athletes from ten schools for the Deaf. We welcome Arkansas School for the Deaf, Illinois School for the Deaf, Iowa School for the Deaf, Kansas School for the Deaf, Metro Deaf School, Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, Missouri School for the Deaf, New Mexico School for the Deaf, Oklahoma School for the Deaf and Wisconsin School for the Deaf.

This tournament is GPSD’s 35th year of the strong tradition of hosting a GPSD tournament in February. The weekend will create many memories for our athletes and their schools. The tournament provides the opportunity to share not only athletic talents, but also an opportunity to make new friends and celebrate with the deaf community and their supporters. 

We are delighted and honored to host this event. We could not do this without the hard work and efforts of our GPSD committees. Many thanks to the WSD Community who helped plan and coordinate this tournament.

We are glad you are here and hope you enjoy the tournament immensely and all that GPSD has to offer. Enjoy the games, the fun and let the GAMES BEGIN!

Matthew Eby 
Athletic Director