He can hardly hear or see, but he's a Master
Unsinkable athlete to compete in Masters' Games in speed skating
by Allan Maki
 

CALGARY -- The man can hardly hear. It takes 90 decibels worth of noise to get his attention. That's the sound of a police whistle, a subway train, a pneumatic drill and, thankfully for him, a shouted conversation.

The man can barely see. He has tunnel vision, only 8 per cent of what a person is supposed to see. He's so blind he had to give up one of his favourite pastimes -- refereeing hockey games.

The man can hardly hear, barely see, suffers from Usher's Syndrome and is quite possibly the happiest guy on ice, because Kevin Frost is doing what he wants to do -- speed skating at the Olympic Oval, his guide dog Nemo nearby along with the likes of Cindy Klassen and Richard Shoebridge from the national development team.

Mr. Frost, the most unsinkable character you could meet, has come to Calgary to compete in this week's Masters Speed Skating Games and to learn from able-bodied athletes such as Mr. Shoebridge, whose forte is short-track speed skating.

"I want them to teach me to go faster," said Mr. Frost, who at 39 lives by the simple philosophy of trying to squeeze the most out of every day.

"With limited hearing and seeing, it throws off my balance. That's why I like to have those skaters in my shoes."

To accomplish that, Mr. Frost has produced a type of headgear that allows others to experience what he hears and sees, which isn't much. Mr. Shoebridge donned the headgear this week and tried to offer up some advice. Ms. Klassen, Canada's medal-winning heroine from the Turin Olympics, also tried the gear and said to Mr. Frost: "I don't know how you do it."

People say that a lot about the Victoria-born Mr. Frost, whose determination has made him a regular competitor against able-bodied rivals.

He has done exceedingly well in some events and has won his share of medals (18 and counting). The short-term goal, he insisted, is to get the most out of every performance and not worry about where that places him. The long-term objective is to have speed skating included in the Paralympics.

"You need eight to 10 countries to have it in the Paralympics," said Mr. Frost, noting there are less than a handful of countries committed to his cause. "It can [happen]. Every nation would need someone like me to push it as hard as they can."

Mr. Frost has been pushing beyond his limits ever since Grade 6. Back then he started to lose his hearing, but learned to compensate by reading lips. When he grew older, lip reading proved to be something of an advantage: He could sit in a boardroom and read the lips of the other side's negotiating team. He could even pick up the inaudible comments made by hockey players when he refereed games in the Ottawa area.

"I refereed over 20,000 games," said Mr. Frost, who had worked his way up to the senior A level. "When I was younger, I didn't have any problems. I was a very good referee, very fair with a very high tolerance. I didn't hear what the players were saying. But I could read lips. The players would be on the bench and I'd skate by and say, 'If you go after No. 9, I'll give you a penalty.' They'd say, 'How the hell did you know that?' "

In the spring of 2002, Mr. Frost's vision began to fade so badly that he went to an eye specialist who determined he was suffering from Usher's Syndrome type 2, a rare genetic disorder that stole his hearing and sight and eventually forced him to give up driving and working.

Worse than that, he had to give up refereeing.

"I was told to stop refereeing but I continued for six months after that," Mr. Frost admitted. "My last game, there were nine goals scored and I only saw two. Later, there were players who found out and said, 'You'd probably still do a better job than most officials.' "

Mr. Frost talks such a good game that he is a motivational speaker. He especially likes to speak to children to educate them on how to deal with people with a disability. It also doesn't hurt the disabled community to know that one of their own is out there, racing in circles against those lucky enough to hear and see unhindered.

As for this week, just being under the same roof as Ms. Klassen and Mr. Shoebridge has him bursting with possibilities.

"I'd like to follow Terry Fox. I can't be as big as him, but I'd like to be able to change minds," he explained. "My ultimate dream is to travel the world and compete. I need money to travel but with the extra money I'd like to build a foundation for other people to fulfill their dreams.

"I believe that's important."