Blind, deaf skater beats the odds
I always wanted to speed skate. I thought how can I make it happen to get speed skating as a blind, hard of hearing or deaf speed skater? I thought the only way I can do it is by actually competing with able-bodied people.
If you spent any time down at the Pomeroy Sport Centre in Dawson Creek, you may notice one particular athlete accompanied by his dog. The athlete is speed skater Kevin Frost, and the dog is Lewis, Frost’s seeing eye dog. Frost is blind, as well as deaf. Frost has Usher Syndrome Type II, which is the cause of his hearing loss and blindness. He started losing his hearing as a child and his vision as an adult.
Presently, he has two per cent tunnel vision, and only 10 per cent of his hearing. However, it hasn’t slowed him down. “I always wanted to speed skate. I thought how can I make it happen to get speed skating as a blind, hard of hearing or deaf speed skater?” he said. “I thought the only way I can do it is by actually competing with ablebodied people.”
Frost started out as a short track skater, climbing up the ranks to the point where he was winning competitions against ablebodied athletes.
After doing short track for a while, Frost was asked if he’d be interested in trying long track, which he says is safer as there’s more space between the competitors. Frost has competed in national and world events, coming out as a champion against both blind skaters as well as able-bodied skaters.
When it’s his turn on the track, a flash is used to let him know when the starting gun is fired, but he also says he can feel when the gun is fired. Bright orange flags are used to communicate to him how he’s doing for speed. As for how he knows where he is on the track, he simply counts his strides.
“It’s between nine and 10 strides on the straightaways, and usually about 7 or 8 through the turn,” he said.
Frost loves how supportive people involved in the sport are towards him.
“What’s nice about these events is everyone is treated equally, it doesn’t matter how fast or slow you are, we’re all supported,” he said. “Even I have a disability, I’m treated the same.”
Frost also competes in tandem cycling, and competes in blind golf, where he is second in both Canada and the U.S.
“The only thing I can see is the ball on the tee, after I hit the ball I can’t see it,” he said.
“So I hit the ball and look at my coach and that’s how I know where it would go and he would tell me ‘you’re 150 yards away, get this club out.’”
Frost also takes his story on the road as a motivational speaker.
“My message to people is I have three senses left, I could lose all my hearing, all my vision, but I just believe in positive energy, you take a negative and turn it into a positive.”
— Kevin Frost