The King's Connection Magazine Volume 23 Number 1//Summer 2012 | 页面 15

campus news

King’s student to play volleyball at Canadian Deaf Games

K

ing’s Eagles volleyball player and education after degree
student Jon Kassian played in the 2012 Canadian Deaf
Games held in Edmonton this past May.
In the summer of 2011, Kassian was asked to try out for the
men’s Canadian national deaf beach volleyball team. He flew to
Vancouver for the tryouts and scored a spot on the team.
Born able to hear, Kassian lost his hearing at the age of three.
He was home schooled as a child and admits that he never
really identified as deaf. With the help of two hearing aids, Jon
never learned sign language and instead relied on lip reading to
understand others. Sign language is the primary communication
tool for many of Jon’s teammates. Kassian admits to finding it
challenging to learn how to communicate with his
new teammates.
With nine years’ experience playing volleyball with teammates
who were not hearing impaired, this is the first time Jon’s
teammates are also hearing impaired. Kassian notes that he had
to change the way he played, relying on his peripheral vision to
know where his teammates were on the court - a skill that has
improved his game at King’s.
In addition to representing Alberta at the Canadian Deaf Games,
Kassian plans to compete in the 2012 World Deaf Beach
Volleyball Championships and the 2013 Summer Deaflympics.

did you know?
The Deaflympics are the
second oldest multiple
sports games after
the Olympics.

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Jon Kassian
The King’s Connection /// Summer 2012 ///15