 "Paralympics 2024: What is goalball, the sport where players can throw the ball at over 60 kph at each other?")
Among many sports in the Paris Paralympics 2024, goalball must have caught your attention, mainly because it is very similar to football and still very different. It’s played by visually impaired players. Unlike football, goalball is played by throwing the ball and the objective is to score by throwing balls into the goal that is guarded by your opponents.
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How did goalball start?
Goalball as a sport was invented in 1946 to help rehabilitate war veterans who had lost their eyesight in the Second World War. It has been a part of the men’s programme in the Paralympics since 1976 Toronto and the women’s event was added in 1986 New York Paralympic Games.
The first Goalball World Championships were held in Vocklamarck, Austria, in 1978.
The sport is governed by the International Blind Sport Federation (IBSA).
Goalball classification
During goalball games, players must wear opaque eyeshades throughout the match to ensure fair competition. The athletes taking part in the competition need to have less than 10% vision, meaning legally blind.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWith players wearing eyeshades, players of different classifications can play against each other. Generally, the visually impaired classification includes B1 for those who are totally blind, B2 for those who have some sight and can see shadows, and B3 for those who have less than 10% functional vision.
Match de Goalball 🏐 France 🇫🇷 Brésil 🇧🇷 cet après midi aux JO paralympiques de @Paris2024 .
— Cyrille Blint (@CyrilleBlint) August 29, 2024
Créé pour les déficients visuels, les joueurs doivent marquer dans le but adverse à l’aide d’un ballon sonorisé.
Silence absolu durant les points 🤫#paris2024 @departement13 pic.twitter.com/SJsL89sH9e
Rules of goalball
A goalball team is made up of six players but only three can play at any given time. A goalball court is 18 metres long and nine metres wide with goals at each end covering the entire nine-metre back-line.
A match lasts 24 minutes with each half of 12 minutes. If the match ends in a tie, there will be two overtime periods of three minutes each that will follow the ‘golden goal’ rule which means the first team to score in the overtime period will win the match. If there’s no goal in the overtime period then a penalty shootout, just like football, will take place.
The match is played with balls that contain bells so that players can hear them and is played in stadiums that are deliberately kept quiet so that players can sense their surroundings better.
I was initially confused when I watched the #goalball today during the #Paralympics that the crowd seemed unsupportive, not cheering at all. Then I quickly realized this is so the athletes can hear the ball. I was then impressed that the crowd could remain so silent! Fun sport. pic.twitter.com/Mmq59SnDpk
— Amy Mantravadi (@AmyMantravadi) August 29, 2024
Trivia: The ball in goalball weighs around 1.25kg and the size is the same as a basketball and the player can throw it at a speed of 60 kph.
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