HIGH ACHIEVERS: Former NHLer Jim Kyte on the powerplay as ambassador to get Canada to 2027 Deaflympics

By Martin Cleary

Every day is, or should be, a learning experience. Every day, a new nugget of knowledge should lift us up. These are building blocks to add zest to our lives.

In a Face Time conversation last week, Jim Kyte, the NHL’s first deaf player, dropped a major tidbit in my lap early in the interview.

Everyone in sports knows about the Olympic Games (first modern Games in 1896) for able-bodied athletes and should be well aware of the Paralympic Games (inaugural in 1960) for athletes with physical disabilities.

But somehow the Winter and Summer Deaflympics have never found the spotlight like the Olympics and Paralympics, despite being around since 1924 as an elite international multi-sport event for deaf and hard-of-hearing athletes.

The Deaflympics were founded 102 years ago in Paris as the International Silent Games by Eugene Rubens-Alcais. Its longevity has made it the second-oldest international multi-sport competition, after the Olympics.

While the Summer Deaflympics started in 1924, the Winter Deaflympics didn’t arrive in Seefeld, Austria, until 1949. The 21st Winter Deaflympics will return to its roots in 100 days, running from Jan. 15-24, 2027, in the Innsbruck, Seefeld and Tirol regions of Austria.

Twenty-eight Canadian athletes in men’s hockey, curling and nordic skiing have met the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf selection criteria, but now they’re facing a major, final hurdle to represent the country.

The Canadian Deaf Sport Association, which is based in Laval, PQ, is in the midst of a $75,000 fundraising campaign to send its delegation of athletes overseas. Recurring funding challenges has made the Canadian team’s participation in the Deaflympics uncertain.

China, Germany, France and the United States have already confirmed their participation.

The money is needed to cover the athletes’ travel, accommodation, uniforms, registration and preparation costs. The athletes, who range in age from 18 to 56, also are doing their own fundraising with a goal of $4,000 each.

“The biggest thing is many people don’t know about the Deaflympics,” said Kyte, who is classified as profoundly deaf, but communicates by reading lips and closed-captioned messaging.

“People are familiar with the Olympics and Paralympics. But the Deaflympics have been around since 1924 and are the second oldest multi-sport competition to the Olympics.

“People aren’t aware of it because there is not much publicity. There is no TV, but there is live streaming. It’s also a function of our environment. There are communication barriers between deaf and hearing.”

Kyte, who played 640 regular season and playoff games for five teams over 13 seasons in the NHL, is serving as the face of the fundraising campaign as its ambassador. When the Winter Deaflympics begin, he plans to be behind the Canadian men’s hockey bench as an assistant coach at his first Games.

Deaflympians are at the opposite end of the athlete financial assistance scale, when compared to their Olympian and Paralympian peers.

While Sport Canada has supplied the Canadian Deaf Sport Association with more than $5 million since 1993, including $381,400 for 2024-25, its athletes aren’t eligible to be nominated for the monthly federal Athlete Assistance Program funding program because they aren’t connected to the Olympic or Paralympic framework.

For Canada’s athletes to participate in their version of the Olympics/Paralympics in January in Austria, they will need to take time off work, possibly without pay, or miss several weeks of school.

“They’re representing Canada and the Winter Deaflympics is their primary competition,” continued Kyte, adding the Games in Austria will be the first for Canada in eight years as it didn’t attend the 2023 Deaflympics in Turkey because of the war in the Middle East.

“There are no (federally-carded) athletes. They make sacrifices and work just as hard as the Olympians and Paralympians, but don’t get the same funding. Sport Canada provided some funds to the Canadian Sport Deaf Association, but it’s not equal or equitable.”

Kyte has strong support from former Ottawa Sting minor hockey player Sean Byron.

“We train just as hard, compete just as fiercely and dream just as big as any other national team,” he wrote on his fundraising page. “What we’ve lacked is the infrastructure to match.”

Kyte helped the Canadian men’s hockey team before the Deaflympics eight years ago by making a public service announcement. But he wanted to do more this time, especially with Ottawa-based nephews Thomas and Johnny Kyte on the hockey team.

“I’m happy to do it. I’m honoured to do it,” Kyte said about his dual roles with the team. “I hope to have a positive impact from a fundraising point. I’ll use my network. It’s difficult fighting for charitable dollars.

“Every little bit adds up. No matter how small it is, it’s appreciated.”

As of late Wednesday afternoon, $30,387 has been raised or 41 per cent of the $75,000 goal.

Individuals can make a donation to the Canadian team through the Canadian Deaf Sport Association website at www.assc-cdsa.com. Tax receipts will be issued for donations of more than $20.

Companies or foundations willing to connect with the Canadian Deaf Sport Association should email Canadian Deaf Sport Association executive director Alain Turpin at alain.turpin@assc-cdsa.com for more information about assisting the Canadian team.

“This is hardly the first time that deaf Canadian athletes have had to deal with funding challenges, when seeking to represent their country on the world stage,” Turpin said in a press release.

“All too often, they have to cover a large chunk of the costs themselves or set up their own fundraisers. Nevertheless, we remain optimistic about developments this year that would allow us to provide our athletes with better conditions for training and competing at the highest levels.”