Cody Zimmer

Disc Golf Committee Chair

Hi! I’m Cody Zimmer. I’m now your chairperson for Manitoba Deaf Disc Golf (MDDG), which is a recently established group within MDSA. Now I’ll tell you a bit about myself. I have been familiar with MDSA my whole life because I watched my parents, who are both Deaf, compete in sports while I was growing up. They took me to lots of Deaf events and tournaments such as Canada Deaf Games and World Deaf Ice Hockey Championships, and over time I was inspired to get involved with MDSA.

I started playing soccer when I was quite young, and I eventually worked my way up to the national level, being selected to play for the Manitoba team. However, I came up against a barrier when I was not permitted to have an ASL interpreter for soccer. I fought this in court and won! As a result of this, all Deaf athletes in Manitoba now have the right to an interpreter, meaning we have equal access to our hearing counterparts. That experience had a profound impact on my life, and I became more involved with sports and advocacy. I continued to play soccer while attending Gallaudet University, and retired from the sport upon graduation…I was getting too old for competitive soccer!

I have continued to play other sports such as volleyball, badminton, football, baseball, and several others. I enjoy playing any sport recreationally and I really enjoy the social aspect of sports. Now my focus has turned to disc golf. We started with a small group of three Deaf players a few years ago. I spread the word, encouraging more people to play, and numbers started growing. Eventually we had more than 10 players involved, and interest continued to increase, so we decided to establish MDDG. Having an official organization means we can affiliate with other disc golf organizations across Canada. The sport is well established in the U.S. but Canada has some catching up to do, and until recently, Manitoba didn’t have an official group at all. Setting up MDDG has allowed us to play with many different athletes in tournaments and other events across Canada.

If you are interested in playing disc golf, feel free to contact me and I can answer any questions or address any concerns that you may have. Disc golf is very similar to regular golf, but the hand technique is different. Instead of holding a club to hit a ball, you throw a disc. The rules of disc golf are very similar to regular golf, with a few key adaptations. Cheers!