Goalball is played exclusively by vision impaired athletes. It was invented in 1946 to help rehabilitate veterans who had lost their sight during the Second World War.
The sport was included in the Paralympic sport programme for the first time at Toronto 1976.
The object of the game is to throw a ball past the opponents and into their net to score points. Players stay on their hands and knees to defend their net and score against their opponents.
Bells inside the ball help to orientate the players by indicating the direction of the oncoming ball.
Goalball is played by male and female athletes. Each team goes on court with three players.
The game consists of two halves of 10 minutes each.
A goalball court measures 18 m long and 9 m wide. It has goals at each end covering the entire nine-metre back-line, with 1.3m high.
String is taped to the markings on the court to allow players to feel the lines and orientate themselves.
The ball is made of rubber, weighs 1.25kg and has a circumference of approximately 76cm. It has eight holes and there are noise bells inside. The ball must meet the specifications of the IBSA Sport Technical Committee.
Players must wear opaque eyeshades at all times ensuring fair competition.
Vision Impairment |
Athletes with vision impairment have reduced, or no vision caused by damage to the eye structure, optical nerves or optical pathways, or visual cortex of the brain.
Athletes who have an eligible vision impairment compete in a single class. To ensure a fair competition, all outfield players must wear opaque eyeshades.
B1 |
Athletes have a very low visual acuity and/ or no light perception. They have visual acuity less than LogMAR 2.60. |
B2 |
Athletes have a higher visual acuity than athletes competing in the S/SB11 sport class (visual acuity ranges from LogMAR 1.5 to 2.60) and/ or a visual field of less than 10 degrees radius. |
B3 |
Athletes have the least severe vision impairment eligible for Paralympic sport. They have the highest visual acuity (ranging from LogMAR 1 to 1.40) and/or a visual field of less than 40 degrees radius. |
Vision Sports Ireland is the National Governing Body for goalball in Ireland. If you wish to get involved in goalball, please access the National Governing Body link below.
Governing Body | |
National | Vision Sports Ireland |
International | International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) |
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