Acclaimed wheelchair athlete Frank Mazza, a member of the first group of inductees into the Cobourg and District Sports Hall of Fame, has passed away peacefully in his 67th year at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
Born in Peterborough, Mazza was a long-time Cobourg resident as a client of D’Arcy Place Centre. It was during those years that his extraordinary sports achievements began – first taking up wheelchair racing as a recreational activity, then progressing to competitions where he rolled up the wins.
Mazza had cerebral palsy that left him the use of only his left arm. Nevertheless, he became an accomplished wheelchair-racing athlete, winning races and setting records against wheelchair athletes who were blessed with the use of both arms.
His racing career began in 1982 in regional meets, provincial meets, international meets, and he represented Canada internationally at the 1984 Olympics for the disabled and at the 1986 Cerebral Palsy Games in Belgium.
He began racing with an everyday wheelchair they made adjustments to. Then they found an Ontario wheelchair racer who worked with Mazza’s team to create one of the first one-arm racing chairs ever that helped his times improve dramatically.
In 1990, Mazza enjoyed the first of three inductions into sports halls of fame, when he entered the Ontario Cerebral Palsy Sports Hall of Fame.
In 2019, he was among the very first group of inductees into the Cobourg and District Sports Hall of Fame.
In June, he received two standing ovations at the ceremony inducting him into the Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame.
His friend and coach Doug Montgomery, who would handle Mazza’s coaching, remembers him as “a great guy and wonderful friend,” but was most impressed by what he describes as an extreme desire to win.
“He had that competitive nature – he pushed and drove so hard,” he said.
Mazza is also remembered by Suzanne Atkinson, who declared him “a true Canadian sports hero.”
As a reporter at the Cobourg Daily Star, Atkinson followed Mazza’s story and activities, inspiring the kind of community support – and service-club donations – that made these far-flung competitions possible.
Canadian national coach Doug Wilton said it best – “the entire opportunity for people with disabilities to be integrated and included in all walks of life was spurred by people like Frank Mazza, who changed the focus from disability to ability – what you can do, not what you can’t.”
A funeral service will take place Monday at Highland Park Funeral Centre in Peterborough, and online condolences can be made by visiting www.highlandparkfuneralcentre.com
