Goalball, a team sport that was originally created in 1946 by Austrian Hans Lorenzen and German Sett Reindle as a way to rehabilitate visually impaired war veterans who had returned from World War II. Goalball evolved into a popular sport and exactly thirty years after its founding was introduced to a larger audience at the 1976 Paralympics in Toronto, Canada.
The object of Goalball is to throw a ball, in a bowling motion, into the opposing team’s goal and score as many points as possible before the clock runs out. The mechanics of Goalball is similar to a certain casino game played at 666 casino and gives you the chance to win real money and will keep you entertained for a long period of time. Players must use their bodies to keep the ball from going into the goal. The goalball is made of rubber and is about the size of a basketball but twice the weight and has holes in it so the bells inside can be heard by the players and help them calculate where the ball is moving.
Each Goalball game is played in compete silence and is split into two, twelve minute halves. There are two teams of three people and a maximum of three substitutes for each team. The court is divided in two halves with 30 foot goals at either end that span the entirety of the court. Players wear googles or blindfolds to protect their eyes from the oncoming ball and also to keep an equal playing field among all of the players due to varying levels of eye sight. Rope or string is taped down around the courts perimeter, along with various hash marks that make the court tactical for the player’s awareness on the court. Additionally, all players are required to stay on their respective sides of the court throughout the entire 24 minute game.
San Antonio, Texas has a Goalball team that practices on Tuesday nights from 6:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Morgan’s Wonderland located at 5223 David Edwards Dr., San Antonio, TX 78223. The league is looking for volunteers who can help in setting up and taking down the court, assist the athletes during warmups, drills and retrieve the loose goalball’s to help make practices run as smoothly and quickly as possible.
Contact Brooke Matula at 210-336-4135, brooke@strapssports.com or Rachel Bauman at 210-843-4264, Rachel.bauman12@gmail.com for more information about volunteering for San Antonio’s Goalball league.
To find out more about the sport of Goalball visit the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) at http://www.ibsasport.org/sports/goalball/.
