Blindfolds for Goalball

Goalball is a team sport originally designed for blind athletes.

It was created in 1946 to aid in the rehabilitation of visually impaired soldiers. Co-creators were Hanz Lorenzen and Sepp Reindle.

The governing body is now The International Blind Sports Federation.

First seen as a demonstration event at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto. The first world championship was in Austria in 1978 and then was includeded in the 1980 Paralympics in Arnhem.

The game involves 3 participants in each team and is played with a ball with bells embedded in it. Teams take alternate turns at throwing or rolling a ball into the opponents goal. Players stay in their own area of the pitch in front of their own goal.

The skill comes in using the sound of the ball to judge the position and movement of the ball such that they prevent the opposition scoring goals.

The game is played in two 12 minute halves.

Increasingly popular with sighted players who wear blindfolds or blindfold goggles to compete on an equal footing with blind players.