Goalball
Main photo: Goalball being competed at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. © Sport in Pictures / Alamy
Goalball is a fast-paced Paralympic team sport for blind and partially sighted people (with a classification of B1, B2 or B3). However, below international level anyone can play because everyone is required to wear eyeshades so that no one can see! It’s then all about using your other senses – listening for the audible ball and feeling for the tactile court.
There are 3 players per team and as it is a non-invasive sport they remain in their own half and it is the ball that travels (along the floor) from half to half. A regulation court is 18m by 9m with goals at either end which are the full 9m width (and 1.3m high). All 3 players therefore have to defend the goal behind them and then attack the goal in front of them.
Within Goalball UK clubs and competitions, players play at levels appropriate to their ability in teams of mixed ages and genders.
Like most sports, in recreational settings goalball can be adapted to include most people.
Photo: A participant tries goalball at insport Series: Cardiff
Get Involved
To find out how to start participating in Goalball you can refer to the Goalball UK website
Goalball UK
Website: goalballuk.com
- Clubs - https://goalballuk.com/the-sport/clubs/
- Taster Sessions - https://goalballuk.com/the-sport/taster-sessions/
- Schools - https://goalballuk.com/school/
- Coaching - https://goalballuk.com/the-sport/coaching/
- Volunteering - https://goalballuk.com/work-with-us/
- Goalball North Wales Video: North Wales Goalball Club
- South Wales Goalball Club Video:Megan Price - South Wales Goalball Club
Competitive Pathways
There are pathways that lead to:
Paralympic Games
World Championships
European ChampionshipsTo find out what your potential is and and for guidance in competitive pathways, please complete the Disability Sport Wales #inspireform.
Goalball UK runs 3 levels of competition (https://goalballuk.com/competition/) comprising of 6 leagues overall plus 3 cup competitions:
• Regional – A, B and C plus the Goalball UK Shield
• Intermediate – North and South plus the Intermediate Trophy
• Super League – plus the Goalfix Cup Each year a set number of players are invited to join the Performance Pathway Programme (https://goalballuk.com/competition/) and participate in training camps and competitions.
The main competitions, overseen by IBSA (https://ibsasport.org/) who are the international governing body for goalball, are the:
· Paralympic Games
· World Championships
· European Championships
Eligibility
Eligible Impairments: visual impairment.
Description: goalball is played by athletes with visual impairment. There are three Sport Classes, however all athletes play in a blindfold irrespective of their Sport Class.
All goalball players wear eyeshades irrespective of their level of sight. To participate in international competitions, players must have a sight classification of B1, B2 or B3. This is based on a combination of:
Visual acuity – how far you can see in front
Visual field – how far you can see at the side (i.e. peripheral vision)
Sport Class structure:
B1: for athletes with no to very low levels of visual acuity and/or light perception (LogMAR greater than 2.6).
B2: for athletes with visual acuity between LogMAR 1.5-2.6, or visual field less than 10 degrees diameter.
B3: for athletes with visual acuity between LogMAR 1.0-1.4, or visual field less than 40 degrees diameter.
Sight classification categories are based on best corrected vision (i.e. what you can see with glasses or contact lenses).
More information on eligibility and an explanation of the sight classification system in goalball is available on the IBSA website (https://goalball.sport/about-goalball/classification/).
