Toronto man wants to get blind hockey into Paralympics

From The Leader-Post in Canada:

REGINA, Canada — Mark DeMontis (pictured) has a dream that one day the sport of blind hockey will become an official event in the Paralympic Games.

DeMontis, who was in Regina on the weekend, is marking the mid-way point of his 5,000 kilometre in-line skate across Canada — from his hometown of Toronto to Vancouver — to raise awareness and donations for Courage Canada. He hopes to reach Vancouver in early October.

Courage Canada is a not-for-profit organization that he founded in 2008 with the goal of raising money to support learn-to-skate programs and skill development sessions for blind youths across Canada enabling them to learn the basic fundamentals of hockey.

After losing his sight as the result of a rare optic condition (Lebers optic neuropathy) five years ago, DeMontis — an up-and-coming young hockey player who had signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Young Nationals Hockey Club at 17 — was forced to give up his aspirations of turning pro. But he never lost his passion for the game.

Inspired by the story of Chris Delaney, a young man he met in 2007 who has the same degenerative eye disease, DeMontis took a year off his university studies to kick-start that dream — giving visually impaired youth the chance to learn and play Canada's national game.

In 1996 Delaney did a cross-Canada tour on a two-seater tandem bike — the first legally blind person to do such a feat — to raise $300,000 in research dollars for the Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation.

DeMontis, 22, said his goal is to raise as much money as possible to help blind youth learn to skate and play hockey and experience the joys of playing the game.

"My dream, and for many others, is to see this game one day becoming a Paralympic sport, many years down the road. But in order for that to happen these programs have to start here in Canada and they have to start with youth,'' DeMontis said.

By helping youth develop those skills and grow, DeMontis hopes these young players will trigger the energy and enthusiasm for the sport that is needed to promote blind hockey in other countries.

"Hockey has always been a passion of my own. I really love the game and it has shaped a lot of my life. It has taught me about discipline and team work and dedication and those are the very things I want to share with youth,'' DeMontis said.