He moves nimbly and comfortably around the mat, his keen eyes preying on every detail that unfolds around him. Ron Gough, 71, has been a familiar face around the local high school wrestling world for forty years, officiating at the sport’s highest levels. He communicates to those at the scorer’s table through a series of hand motions that signify who has scored points and how many.
It becomes apparent that Gough is special, however, when a shrill buzzer pierces the din created by screaming coaches and fans to signify the end of a period or match and Gough doesn’t budge.
There exists at all amateur wrestling matches a designated participant who wanders onto the mat in the final seconds of a match or period to gently nudge the official so he or she may keep their attention on the action until the final second, but in Gough’s case, it is a necessity and not a reminder. For, it becomes apparent at that very moment that Gough is deaf.
He was born without hearing in Tacoma, Washington in 1949. His love for wrestling began as early as 15 years old, when he enjoyed watching televised professional wrestling matches.
To satisfy his early dreams to enter that sport, Gough’s parents encouraged him to join the wrestling program at his new school. He had recently transferred from an oral school in Portland, Oregon to the California School for the Deaf in Berkeley (CDSB), which is now located in Fremont. Upon entering the gym, Ron’s first impression was, as he says, “puzzled,” to say the least.
“I asked the coach, who was also deaf, where the 3-ringed match would be held,” Gough said. “The coach responded with contempt, saying the pro wrestling matches on TV ‘are just a bunch of dumb clowns.’”
Ron soon understood the difference when, after a minute of “real” wrestling on the mat that day, he was completely out of breath.
After a month of training, Ron’s passion developed even more. He began to favor the sport of wrestling over other sports he had joined, which included football and track. Wrestling opened up an entire new world for Ron and his passion was far from faded. In fact, it flourished.
Ron won the Bay Area League 127 lb. championship twice, in his junior and senior years. During summer, he would participate in club wrestling. Despite a lack of communication with all of its “hearing” members, Gough enjoyed working up a sweat and building his strength and stamina. He also loved to win. Losing a match only meant Ron would train harder.
Gough attended Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.—a federally chartered private university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing—where he earned a BA in Art History and a Masters in Counseling. He was a four-year member of the Bisons’ wrestling team and, during his junior year, was undefeated at 12-0 until he placed 3rd in the 134 lb. weight class at the Mason Dixon League championships.
He attended the World Games for the Deaf—now the Deaflympics—in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1969 and at Malmo, Sweden in 1973, participating in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling.
After graduation, Gough got a job as a dorm counselor at the Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) in Austin with the goal of becoming a wrestling coach.
“Unfortunately, the head coach already had four assistants who wouldn’t move from their positions any time soon,” Gough said in retrospect.
Disappointed but not deterred, Ron soon discovered another way to put his 12 years of wrestling experience to good use. When TSD held its first match of the season, Gough began to observe the referee.
“An idea popped up,” he said. “I wondered if I could become a referee. But how could I communicate with a scorekeeper?”
Gough figured he could rely on the colored wrist bands used by referees and use his fingers to tell the score and, of course, all the existing wrestling hand signals. He also learned to rely on the “tap on the shoulder” to help him identify the end of a period.
“I did not let my deafness dissuade me from accomplishing this goal, or anything I have put my mind to,” he said.
Gough met with the local wrestling commissioner, who welcomed him to join a local chapter of the Texas Wrestling Officials Association.
“The first two years, I made several bad calls and mistakes,” Gough recalled. “Some coaches complained, but I continued to officiate and, according to feedback, I very quickly improved.”
He advanced through the ranks as a certified referee to achieve top ratings with three wrestling officiating associations: Southern California Wrestling Official Association (SCWOA), USA Wrestling, and FILA International Wrestling. Ron became the first and only deaf official for both USA Wrestling and FILA International Wrestling
Ron moved to Southern California in 1989. The first high level competition he officiated was in 2001, at the CIF Southern Section Division 5 wrestling championships in Azusa. He has since gone onto officiate at many high level competitions.
Gough also has the distinction of being the first deaf official in Deaflympics history since its inception in 1924. He officiated at the 1997 Summer Deaflympics wrestling venue in Copenhagen, the 2001 Summer Deaflympics wrestling venue in Rome and both the Freestyle and Greco-Roman competitions in the 2005 Deaflympics in Melbourne, Australia and Taipei, Taiwan in 2009. He was selected for the American Athletic Association for the Deaf (AAAD) Hall of Fame as an official in 2001.
Gough is currently retired from his career as a vocational rehabilitation counselor. He lives in the San Gabriel Valley with his wife Sharon, who is also deaf. The couple has a daughter who is “hearing,” in the vernacular, and the family employs American Sign Language.
But his job as an official is not without its challenges.
“The biggest challenges in terms of being deaf when it comes to officiating is emphasizing to hearing officials, wrestlers, parents, and coaches to treat me as an official first,” Gough explained. “The main barrier between deaf and hearing people is attitude, not communication. For example, when a hearing coach has a complaint but finds out that I am deaf, he will avoid me and instead go to another official or someone else. Sometimes they do not know what to do with me, but there are several easy ways to directly communicate with me. I can gesture, write back and forth and lip read fairly well if only they would make their best effort. That is a challenge I encounter not only on the mat but anywhere. Overcoming social barriers at work, at school, at the park or at an airport is something I deal with everyday.”
Though he cannot hear the buzzer in the arena or even his own whistle, Gough said he is “a strong visual learner and an avid observer.”
“Before I decided to become a referee, I watched and studied how the wrestling referees performed on the mat, especially when it came to tough calls,” he said. “I would study how different referees would determine different calls. I developed confidence in my own judgment to make the best call. Wrestling is part of my life. My many years of wrestling experience has lent itself to my expertise in officiating. I rely on my vision to quickly see scores, the timer, any illegal holds and potentially dangerous holds at any moment. Every year, I attended officials’ meetings where there is no sign language interpreter. I had to attend these training meetings in order to receive assignments. During the meetings, instead of ‘watching’ lectures, I read rule books and made notes from what read. Whenever I had a question, I would write it down and bring it to the instructor. I am not great at lip reading, but if I know what the context is, most of time, I can follow pretty well. In 2009, thanks to advances in technology, other officials and I use email and video relay interpreting services to communicate. YouTube has also been helpful with captions.”
At a recent match at San Marino High School between the Titans and the visiting South Pasadena Tigers, Gough patiently pantomimed his deafness to several student volunteers, who quickly and pleasantly adapted their communication style to allow a connection. Tiger Coach Al Shuton took offense to one of Gough’s decisions, but the two were able to work through the disagreement and parted on good terms.
Gough believes that what some call a “disability” is actually a different ability.
“Research shows that adults who have been deaf since birth may have advantages over hearing people in terms of their range of vision,” he said. “For example, deaf people could be more proficient in jobs which depend on the ability to see a wide are a of activities and respond quickly to situations, such as sports referees, teachers or closed circuit television camera operators,” Gough said. “Research also shows that deaf people have an eye-opening experience or visual attentiveness to them. So researchers think the deprived auditory areas of the brain reorganize to better process visual information. As a result, people are more sensitive to moving stimuli in their periphery, like a car speeding toward them in the street. This gives them greater peripheral vision, allowing them to see more and thus increase their awareness of their surroundings and any potential hazards.”
He said that the perception that those who have lost one sense experience an improvement of the other senses is his “Number 1 favorite misconception about disabled people.”
“It seems to be that way when you’ve lost the use of one sense, the other senses magically become stronger, but that is not the case,” Gough said. “The remaining senses do not become stronger, instead a person’s focus will rely more on what is left. Deaf people learn to rely on visual cues and are therefore more alert to them. While I am on a wrestling mat, I tend to use visual cues, anticipating any possible next wrestling moves. I am constantly looking around, checking the clock, the scoreboard, and looking for illegal holds.”
Not only does Gough feel he has achieved a sort of equality in his life, he senses an advantage.
“I find peace and quiet,” he said. “It is much easier to find a minute alone to think or meditate when I cannot hear what’s around. I also enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep.”
Gough feels that his condition allows him to be “calm, in situations when coaches or parents attempt to curse or yell at me,” he allowed.
“I sign back to them that I do not use my voice,” he said. “I keep my attention on the wrestling activity regardless if there is a lot of surrounding noise or not. It doesn’t distract me from seeing what’s happening on the mat. I do not feel or think that I am at a disadvantage, because the truth is, I can do anything…except hear.”
Gough said he is “thankful” for his forty-year journey.
“Wrestling has and always will be a part of my life,” he said. “I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to give back all the joy that wrestling has given to me.”
