Playing goalball in a game situation

25 min

A game you play with your ears

In goalball every player wears blacked-out eyeshades, so a player who is fully sighted and one who is blind play on exactly equal terms. The ball has bells inside; the court lines have string under the tape so that players can feel them. Goalball was created in 1946 to help soldiers who had lost their sight in the Second World War, and it has been played at the Paralympic Games since 1976. In Senior 1 and 2 you learned the skills and tactics; now you play full matches under the current IBSA rules and take turns as referees and timekeepers.

Definition

Team area: the 6 m in front of each goal, made up of the orientation area (3 m, next to the goal) and the landing area (3 m).

Neutral area: the 6 m in the middle of the court.

Penalty throw: after a penalty, one throw at a goal defended by a single player.

Eyeshades: blacked-out goggles worn by every player on court so that nobody can see.

The court and the rules

Topic	IBSA Goalball Rules and Regulations 2025
Teams	3 players on court per team; all wear eyeshades and may not touch them without the referee's permission.
Ball	1.25 kg, about 76 cm round, with 2 bells inside.
Time	2 halves of 12 minutes; half-time 5 minutes (longer since 2025). Each team has 4 time-outs of 45 seconds.
A legal throw	The ball must touch the floor at least once in the thrower's own team area, on or before the 6 m (high-ball) line, and at least once in the neutral area.
Ten seconds	After the first defensive contact, a team has 10 seconds to throw the ball back over the centre line.
Overtime (2025)	If a winner is needed: one 6-minute period, and the first goal wins; then extra throws.
Quiet, please	Spectators stay silent while the ball is in play, so players can hear it.

Penalties

Personal penalties (the offending player then defends the penalty throw alone): short ball (the ball stops before reaching the defenders' team area), high ball, long ball (no bounce in the neutral area), eyeshades, illegal defence (the first defender to touch the ball must have part of the body in the team area), personal delay of game, unsporting conduct and noise.
Team penalties: ten seconds, team delay of game, team unsporting conduct, illegal coaching (coaching while the ball is in play) and noise.

Playing the game

Defensive formation: the centre stands slightly forward, the wings slightly back near the goal line, so their blocks overlap like the sides of a triangle.
Blocking: listen for the bells, slide sideways and drop to the floor, lying on your side with arms and legs extended and your body square to the ball, to cover as much of the goal as possible.
Attacking: vary the thrower and the angle; throw straight, cross-court or with a bounce, and quickly, so that defenders cannot hear where it comes from.
Orientation: feel the tactile lines and the goalposts to find your position after every action.
Officials: two referees, goal judges and timekeepers; the 10-second timer calls the penalty if the team is too slow.

Video: "Sport Explainers - Paris 2024: All You Need to Know about Goalball", Paralympic Games. A short explanation of the court, the ball and the throws; notice how quiet the arena is during play.

Worked example

Worked example: is the throw legal? A thrower stands in her orientation area, 2 m from her goal line. The ball first touches the floor 7 m from her goal line, then twice in the neutral area, and is saved.

The ball must first touch the floor on or before the 6 m line at the front of her team area.
It first landed at 7 m, which is beyond that line.
High-ball penalty against the thrower; she must defend the penalty throw alone.

Worked example

Worked example: the ten-second rule. The defending team first touches the ball at 0 s. It controls the ball at 2.5 s, the thrower takes her position, and the ball crosses the centre line at 10.4 s.

The team had 10 seconds from the first defensive contact.
10.4 s is more than 10 s.
Ten-seconds team penalty: the opponents get a penalty throw.

Tip

Big and flat. To block, make yourself as long and flat as possible across the line of the ball, from fingertips to toes, with your head protected by your arm.

Warning

Safety and respect. Wear knee and elbow pads and, for boys, a protective cup; the ball is heavy and fast. Keep the court and the area round it completely clear. Never remove another player's eyeshades. For pupils who are blind or partially sighted, ask how they like to be guided, offer an elbow to hold, and describe the space before play.

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Practice

Give the size of a goalball court and of the goals.
Name the three areas of the court from a goal line to the centre line, with their lengths.
What two places must a legal throw touch?
How long are the halves and the half-time break under the 2025 rules?
A defender kneeling in the neutral area makes the first touch on the ball. What is the penalty, and who defends the penalty throw?
A throw stops rolling 1 m before the defenders' team area. What is called?
Your team keeps conceding goals between the centre and the right wing. What would you change?
How could you include a pupil who uses a wheelchair, or one who is blind, in a class goalball tournament?

Show answersHide answers

The court is 18 m by 9 m; each goal is 9 m wide and 1.30 m high.
Orientation area 3 m, landing area 3 m (together the team area, 6 m), then half of the 6 m neutral area.
The thrower's own team area, on or before the 6 m line, and the neutral area.
Halves of 12 minutes; half-time 5 minutes.
Illegal defence: the first defender to touch the ball must have part of the body in the team area. It is a personal penalty, so that defender defends the penalty throw alone.
A short ball penalty against the thrower.
The centre and the right wing should overlap more: the right wing moves slightly towards the centre and they agree to call to each other before each throw; the centre stays slightly forward so their blocks overlap.
Goalball is designed for players who are blind or partially sighted, and everyone wears eyeshades, so a blind pupil plays on equal terms. A wheelchair user can take turns as referee, goal judge, timekeeper or coach, or play a modified version from a mat with the teacher's adaptation.

Remember

Court 18 m × 9 m; goals 9 m × 1.30 m; three players each, all in eyeshades.
A throw touches the floor in your own team area (by the 6 m line) and in the neutral area.
10 seconds from first defensive contact; 12-minute halves; 5-minute half-time.
Personal penalty: the offender defends the penalty throw alone.

Sources and credits

Goalball, Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted by Ganzaa.
IBSA Goalball Rules and Regulations 2025, International Blind Sports Federation: rules summarised, not copied.
Photo: Goalball-2017 Asia-Pac Regional THA-KAZ M defend, Q8682, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Video: "Sport Explainers - Paris 2024: All You Need to Know about Goalball", Paralympic Games, embedded from YouTube.
Court diagram, worked examples and practice: written by Ganzaa.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1A game you play with your ears

2The court and the rules

3Penalties

4Playing the game

A game you play with your ears

The court and the rules

Penalties

Playing the game