A BLIND EYE

It’s not unusual for individuals to take up curling when they retire, and that’s just what Ray Kotanen of Thunder Bay, Ontario, did in 1991 when he turned 65.

Kotanen joined the Ezyduzit Curling League for retired men and proved to be not only enthusiastic but also a quick learner. However, he did have one limitation—he couldn’t see the other end of the ice, his skip, or his skip’s broom. Diabetes robbed him of vision in his right eye and left him with limited sight in his left. Kotanen relied on verbal instructions relayed to him by the sweepers and managed to become quite proficient. Still, he disliked being dependant on others.

All that changed when friend Ray Paju decided to help out. Paju developed a high-intensity strobe light that fastened onto the handle of Kotanen’s skips’ broom. The light blinked a strong signal from the skip’s end of the ice and was visible for Kotanen sitting in the hack. He no longer needed the verbal instructions—he could see just fine. Another example of ingenuity allowing a curler to play the game he loves.