What is Goalball?
Goalball is a unique, fast, skilful Paralympic sport for Visually Impaired (VI) players with no Olympic counterpart. It’s a 3 a side game and remarkably, a ball weighing 1.25kg (2.75 lbs) the same size as a basketball is thrown up to 50 mph at elite level, whilst everyone is blindfolded.
In Wales we currently have two established clubs called South Wales Goalball and West Wales Goalball, as well as an innovative development project in North Wales following a National Lottery grant. To learn more on Goalball visit Goalball UK’s website: Welcome to Goalball UK: Homepage
Goalball South Wales (South Wales Dragons)
The club established following a successful taster session in November 2016 and by now has over 20 VI members currently participating in alternate monthly sessions in C rdiff and Carmarthen. They currently play in the Goalball UK Region B League. The league comprises of 3 tournaments and a cup competition every year at regional level and they are hoping to progress to the intermediate level next year. Their next training session in Cardiff is on Saturday 14th December at the Eastern Community Campus (from 2pm to 4pm)
Alleah Beard-Pearce, Catrin Young and Gareth Mainwaring are all part of the Goalball UK Academy (part of the Performance Pathway Programme), who in tern will be great mentors for a proposed Welsh Goalball Academy.
Here’s Catrin’s story (published in Welsh only): Anelu am y brig yn y gamp pêl-gôl - BBC Cymru Fyw
Also see Megan’s life changing story: Meghan's Goalball Story | RNIB
West Wales Goalball Club (West Wales Vipers)
The West Wales Goalball Club is a satellite club who had their 1st session in January 2024, they currently run in partnership between South Wales Goalball Club and Eye Believe Eye Can.
On Saturday 2nd November 2024 they held a Goalball UK Club Leaders course in Carmarthen and have recently become Wales’s 2nd standalone Goalball club. Their next training session is on Saturday 30th November at Ysgol Bro Myrddin Carmarthen (from 2pm to 4pm).
North Wales Goalball – Check out the exciting video below!
The North Wales project is developing nicely following a BAWF grant from Sport Wales & the National Lottery. Goalball is one of the hardest sports to develop, it’s extremely niche with some of the most complex barriers to overcome in disability sport.
The funding has been vital for this innovative project and without it there would be no VI team sport provision in region. Goalball UK and DSW have recently held consultations with VI participants, families and multi-stakeholders, held 4 taster sessions, and the project attracted 18 attendances in one of the sessions which is fantastic.
Through Lottery money we have facility, education and training and equipment funding. This has enabled the Wrexham Sport Development Team and a cluster of school staff in the locality to receive goalball training and linking in with specialist VI teachers for the first time. We are now well on the way to developing an opportunity tackling the most stubborn of inequalities, and in doing so providing a much needed VI sports club in North Wales.
Video: (Audio Description) Goalball | Be Active Wales Fund | Sport Wales on Vimeo
Contact
For further information contact Marcus Politis, DSW’s North Wales Regional Partnership Senior Officer:
Please refer to me as: He / Him
