Amy Burk always wanted to play sports. Her first love was basketball, but she quickly realized that because of her visual impairment, she would not be able to keep up.
And so she turned to goalball, a sport specifically designed for the visually impaired. Eventually, the Charlottetown, P.E.I., native made Team Canada and competed at the 2008 and 2012 Paralympics.
In 2015, she was all set to play at the Parapan Am Games at home in Toronto. And then, suddenly, her dream was ripped away. Burk, who competed as a B3 — the least impaired category in her sport — was told by a classification panel that she was no longer eligible. "It was essentially a slap in the face," Burk said. "Like being told that I see too well, even though I know I don't.
And then that literally took me out of sport. Like what other sport can I play? "To have the visual impairment that I have, it's very stable.