Jim Kyte seeks equal funding for Canada deaf athletes ahead of 2027 Winter Deaflympics Former NHL player Jim Kyte is the fundraising face for Canada 28 deaf athletes competing at the 2027 Winter Deaflympics in Austria while calling for equitable government funding. Jim Kyte, the first and only deaf player in NHL history, says Canada deaf athletes who represent the country internationally deserve equitable funding, with 28 deaf or deafened athletes set to compete at the 2027 Winter Deaflympics. The 62-year-old from Ottawa will be an assistant coach of the Canadian men's hockey team at the Games, held Jan. 15-24, 2027, in Innsbruck and Seefeld, Austria. He is also the fundraising face for the team across women's and mixed doubles curling, cross-country skiing and men's hockey. Kyte played almost 600 NHL games while wearing hearing aids that shorted out during games because of perspiration.He applied a blow dryer to them between periods, a detail that illustrates the barriers he overcame during his career. He was a first-round pick, 12th overall, by the Winnipeg Jets in 1982. He amassed 1,342 penalty minutes alongside 17 goals and 49 assists for Winnipeg, Calgary, Pittsburgh, Ottawa and San Jose during his pro career from 1982 to 1997.Deaf Athletes Face Funding BarriersAthletes do not receive funding from national sport federations to compete in the Deaflympics, nor do they get monthly Athlete Assistance Program cheques, worth up to $27,600 annually, as Olympians or Paralympians do. Kyte said funding from Sport Canada is really tied to the Olympic and Paralympic systems.He said the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf, the ICSD, is not recognized by national sport organizations for qualification for the Athlete Assistance Program, so zero athletes have qualified for AAP funding. He said he would love to see that change, but called it a longer conversation that needs to take place with Sport Canada and national sport organizations. Inclusion of Deaflympians in the AAP requires consultation with athlete groups, said Canada Secretary of Sport Adam van Koeverden.Van Koeverden said the Athlete Assistance Program was just expanded and the number of cards increased to just over 1,900 across 70 sports and disciplines. He said officials would need to sit down with some sport organizations looking at the Athlete Assistance Program. The Canadian Deaf Sports Association set a fundraising goal of $75,000 by December to help send the team to Austria.High Costs Challenge Team ParticipationKyte said it costs about $8,000 per athlete, covering participation, room and board, flights and everything else, and the hockey players have each put in approximately $3,000 so far. Over half the fundraising goal has been raised, which Kyte called wonderful, but he added the last half will be hard to come by. He said it is very difficult fighting for the charitable dollar.If fundraising exceeds $75,000, extra money would go toward sending a team to the 2028 Pan American Deaf Games in Colombia, said CDSA executive director Alain Turpin. Turpin wrote in an email that this is not the first time elite Deaf athletes have faced financial challenges. He said the association is almost used to it, and that athletes often have to cover a large part of the costs themselves or organize their own fundraisers just to represent Canada.The Winter Deaflympics date back to 1949, and the Summer Deaflympics to 1924. Athletes must have a hearing loss of at least 55 decibels in their best ear, while Kyte loss is 100 decibels. They are not allowed to use hearing aids or external cochlear implants during competition. In hockey, strobe lights signal a stoppage of play.Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland withdrew their teams from the 2023 Winter Deaflympics in Turkey because of conflict in the Middle East. About 850 athletes from 30 countries are expected in Austria. Canada team includes curler Emma Logan, who was Nova Scotia lead in the 2020 Canadian women's curling championship. Only three Canadians headed to the Deaflympics are under the age of 24 and eligible for Canadian Tire Jumpstart grants for children and youth, Kyte said.Kyte Advocates for Equal TreatmentThe Canadian Deaf Sports Association received funding of $400,000 from the federal government Sport Support Program on April 1. Kyte said he is a big proponent of sport, period, and wants to use his experience to help other deaf kids who are not being given a fair shake in their communities or by government. He said he wants them to try to be the best they can be.Kyte will coach his nephews Johnny and Thomas for the first time in Austria. He says two other nephews were eligible to play for Canada but could not afford to do so. Kyte said these are Canada best deaf athletes, and that just like any athletes, whether able-bodied, deaf, in a wheelchair or blind, they need to be treated equally, if not equitably. He said deaf athletes are certainly not being treated on the same level as their peers.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2026, with files from Gregory Strong in Toronto.