Sports · Other Sports · 2 hrs ago
Jim Kyte backs funding for Canada’s Deaflympics team
Former NHL player Jim Kyte is backing Canada’s Deaflympics team and calling for fairer funding for deaf athletes.
Canada plans to send 28 athletes to the 2027 Winter Deaflympics in Austria, competing in curling, cross-country skiing and hockey.
Kyte, who played almost 600 NHL games while deaf, will be an assistant coach of the men’s hockey team.
Deaflympics athletes do not receive funding from national sport federations or monthly payments through Canada’s Athlete Assistance Program, unlike Olympians and Paralympians.
The Canadian Deaf Sports Association is trying to raise $75,000 by December to help cover the trip, which Kyte estimates costs about $8,000 per athlete.
More than half the goal has been raised, but Kyte says the rest may be difficult to secure.
Any money raised above the target would help send a team to the 2028 Pan American Deaf Games in Colombia.
Jim Kyte is advocating for equitable funding for Canada’s deaf athletes competing at the 2027 Winter Deaflympics.
Canada’s 28 athletes do not receive funding from national sport federations or monthly Athlete Assistance Program payments to compete.
The Canadian Deaf Sports Association has set a fundraising goal of $75,000 by December to help send the team to Austria.
More than half of the goal had been raised when Kyte spoke to the Globe and Mail.
The Winter Deaflympics will take place from Jan. 15 to 24, 2027, in Innsbruck and Seefeld.
- Who
- Jim Kyte, a former NHL player, is backing Canada’s 28 deaf or deafened athletes.
- What
- He is advocating for equitable funding and helping raise money for the team’s trip to the 2027 Winter Deaflympics.
- When
- The games are scheduled for Jan. 15-24, 2027. The fundraising goal is $75,000 by December.
- Where
- The games will be held in Innsbruck and Seefeld, Austria.
- Why
- Athletes do not receive funding from national sport federations or Athlete Assistance Program payments to compete in the Deaflympics.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Canadian Deaf Sports Association aims to raise $75,000 to help send the team to Austria.
Canada’s athletes are scheduled to compete at the Winter Deaflympics in Innsbruck and Seefeld.
- Canadian team
- 28 deaf or deafened athletes
- Fundraising goal
- $75,000 by December
- Estimated cost
- About $8,000 per athlete
- Hockey players’ contributions
- Approximately $3,000 each
- Winter Deaflympics
- Jan. 15-24, 2027, in Innsbruck and Seefeld, Austria
What people are saying
I would love to see that change, but that’s a longer conversation that needs to take place with Sport Canada and with our national sport organizations.
That’s what it costs to attend, participate, room and board, flights and everything else.
Unfortunately, we’re almost used to it. Athletes often have to cover a large part of the costs themselves or organize their own fundraisers just to represent Canada.