Welcome to Goalball

By Adonis Watt

As a blind person two of the main things you must do are learn how to adapt to your environment, and advocate for yourself. These skills are important in school, at work, and in social settings. Sports are no different, today blind people have the opportunity to play adapted versions of games like baseball, cricket, as well as do track and field events in the Paralympics.
Yes, blind people have been adapting to sports but one sport that was adapted for the blind community is goalball.

Goalball was invented to help the rehabilitation for blind veterans in 1946 by Hanz Lorenzen and Sepp Reindle. In 1972 it became a paralympic sport, and now it’s a global sport. Goalball is a three-on-three sport played with a ball containing bells, so it is heard when it moves. Players ware eyeshades so everybody has no vision. This is important because just like with any disability there’s a spectrum with blindness. With the eyeshades the spectrum is eliminated. The court is tactile so players can actively move around the court and put themselves in the best position to score and play defense. The point of the game is to roll or bounce the ball past your opponents and into the goal.

I’ve been playing for two years and in the beginning I was surprised with the difficulty of it. My first time playing I was very over-confident, and my lack of experience showed. Aside from moments like that it feels good to know as a blind person there’s a game made for me. If I had to pick the hardest part of goalball I’d say it’s defense. This is because you have
to anticipate where the ball is, where it’s going, and then beat the ball to the spot and block it all while trying to be under control with your body.

Even more important than the game itself the connection that goalball can bring is truly amazing. Every time I’ve been to a goalball tournament the vibe is similar to a family reunion. For me goalball represents competitiveness, perseverance, and connection.