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GOALBALL
Overview
Goalball is exclusively a sport for athletes with blindness/visual impairment.
It was invented in 1946 in an effort to rehabilitate the blind veterans from
World War II and was introduced to the world in 1976 at the Paralympics in
Toronto.
Goalball competitions are set apart from all other Paralympic events due to the
unique atmosphere inside the playing venue. The object is to roll the ball into
the opponent's goal while the opposing players try to block the ball with their
body.
Bells inside the ball help to orient the players indicating the direction of the
on-coming ball. Therefore, while play is in progress, complete silence is
required in the venue to allow the players to concentrate and react instantly to
the ball.
Goalball is played by male and female athletes with blindness/visual impairment
and athletes wear ‘blackout’ masks on the playing court, which allows persons
with varying degrees of vision to participate together. The game consists of two
halves of 10 minutes each.
Events
-
Teams - Men's and Women's
Classification
Goalball is open to athletes with a visual impairment:
B1: Total absence of perception of the light in both eyes, or some perception of
the light but with inability to recognize the form of a hand at any distance and
in any direction.
B2: From the ability to recognize the form of a hand to a visual acuity of 2/60
and/or a visual field of less than 5 degrees.
B3: From a visual acuity of above 2/60 to a visual acuity of 6/60 and/or a
visual field or more than 5 degrees and less than 20 degrees.
All classifications must be made by measuring the best eye and to the highest
possible correction. This means that all athletes who use contact lenses or
correcting glasses normally must wear them during classification, whether or not
they intend to use them during competition.
Links
»
Goalball New
Zealand
»
International Blind
Sport Federation
»
International
Paralympic Committee
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