ESDAA Mission
The mission of the Eastern Schools for the Deaf Athletic Association (ESDAA) is to provide all member schools and respective athletes with challenging tournament and championship meet competition. These competitions will center on good sportsmanship, ethical behavior, and integrity as advocated by the National Federation of State High School Athletics Association.
ESDAA History
The ESDAA, based at the New Jersey School for the Deaf, organizes tournaments for the following high school sports: boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, soccer, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading and track & field.
The organization was formed following a 1927 inter-school boys’ basketball tournament among ten Eastern Schools for the Deaf – Lexington, American, Fanwood, Kendall, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, St. Joseph’s and Virginia. The first official ESDAA boys’ basketball game was played at Lexington. The winner of the each year’s tournament receives the George Harlow Trophy, named for one of the founding ESDAA members. In 1977, the first ESDAA girls’ basketball tournament was held at the Maryland School for the Deaf. For more information regarding the ESDAA, visit their website at www.esdaa.org.
ESDAA Members
The ESDAA includes schools for the Deaf from the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. Sports have two divisions based upon the student enrollment of the schools. Division I includes Lexington, American School for the Deaf (Hartford, CT), Marie Philip School (Framingham, MA), Maryland School for the Deaf, New York School for the Deaf (Fanwood), Ohio School for the Deaf, Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (Philadelphia) and Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (Pittsburgh). Schools take turns hosting the various ESDAA tournaments.
