Goalball
Goalball is a sport for people who are blind, meaning they cannot see. It is played by men and women. Each team has six people on it. Three people play on each team at one time.[1] A team throws the ball at a goal behind the people on the other team. They get a point if the ball goes in the goal. The ball has a bell in it. Players cannot see the ball, but they can hear the bell. They use their body to stop the ball. It is governed by the International Blind Sports Federation, and it is a sport in the Paralympic Games.
Goalball players wear blindfolds. This is because some players can not see at all (they are totally blind), and some other players can still see a little bit. When players wear blindfolds, none of the players can see anything. This makes it fair for all the players.[2]
History
Goalball was invented in 1946 by Hanz Lorenzen and Sepp Reindle. They invented it to help veterans who became blind because of World War II.[3]
Goalball was first played as part of the Paralympic Games during the 1976 Summer Paralympics.[4] At first, only men played goalball in the Paralympics. Women first played goalball in the Paralympics at the 1984 Summer Paralympics.[1]
In 1978, the first goalball championships were held in Vöcklamarkt, Austria.[3][1]
People who cannot see who can play goalball
B1 goalball player who cannot see well
B2 goalball player who cannot see well
B3 goalball player who cannot see well
| Type | What |
|---|---|
| B1 | completely unable to see |
| B2 | used-in-seeing acuity of less than 2/60 |
| B3 | used-in-seeing acuity of 2/60 to 6/60 |
Goalball Media
The Swedish goalball team at the 2004 Athens Paralympic games
A game of goalball in progress (2012).
Goalball court at the Future Arena in Rio de Janeiro (2016).
Egypt men's goalball team throwing towards Czech Republic. IBSA World Games, Seoul, South Korea (May 2015).
Ukraine women's goalball team preparing to defend against Greece. IBSA World Games, Seoul, South Korea (May 2015).
Canada women's goalball team throwing to Algeria. IBSA World Games, Seoul, South Korea (May 2015).
China and Iran men's teams lined-up for the introductions before the start of the game. Regional championships, Chiba, Japan (2019).
South Korea men's team at line-up. Goalball regional championships, Chiba, Japan (2019).
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Goalball - About". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
- ↑ "Goalball". BBC. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "History - IBSA Goalball". International Blind Sports Federation. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
- ↑ "Goalball - Paralympic Athletes, Photos & Events". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 2022-04-21.