Adaptive Sports (Sitting Volleyball and Goalball)
Senior 3 · Physical Education
Adaptive Sports (Sitting Volleyball and Goalball)
Lesson 3 of 3
25 min
Goalball and sitting volleyball were designed for athletes with impairments, yet anybody can play them, and in both the players with and without disability compete on equal terms. That makes them ideal for a whole-class tournament. Running one well needs more than players: referees, scorers, timekeepers, a fair schedule, and a hall laid out so that both sports can happen safely. In this lesson you plan and officiate such a tournament.
Definition
Adaptive (para) sport: a sport designed or changed so that people with an impairment can take part fully.
Inclusion: arranging an activity so that every pupil, with or without disability, can take part and succeed.
Classification: grouping athletes by the effect of their impairment on the sport, so that competition is fair. Goalball uses the visual classes B1, B2 and B3; sitting volleyball uses VS1 and VS2 (VS2 is "minimal impairment").
Round robin: a competition in which every team plays every other team once.
| Sport | Officials (international rules) | Class version |
|---|---|---|
| Goalball | 2 referees, 4 goal judges, a scorer, a timer, two 10-second timers and a backup timer | 1 referee, 2 goal judges, 1 timer who also counts the 10 seconds, 1 scorer |
| Sitting volleyball | 1st and 2nd referees, a scorer and line judges | 1 referee, 1 scorer, 2 line judges |
| Change the… | Example |
|---|---|
| Space | A smaller sitting volleyball court for beginners; a shorter goalball court |
| Task | Allow a catch-and-throw instead of a volley for the first pass |
| Equipment | A lighter or softer ball; a lower net; a bell ball for a pupil who is blind in any game |
| People | Mixed teams; a partner who describes the play; smaller teams |
Respect. Speak directly to a disabled person, not to a helper. Ask before you help, and listen to the answer. To guide a pupil who is blind, offer your elbow and walk half a step ahead, describing steps and obstacles.
Video: "Paralympic Sport A-Z: Sitting volleyball", Paralympic Games. Note the classification of players and how quickly the game is played at the top level.
Worked example
Worked example 1: how many matches? Six teams enter the sitting volleyball round robin. In a round robin of teams the number of matches is
With two courts, 15 matches need 8 time slots (7 slots of two matches and 1 of one match). If each match lasts 15 minutes with 3 minutes to change over, the tournament takes minutes, about two and a half hours: too long for one lesson, so play it over three PE lessons.
Worked example
Worked example 2: a goalball pool. Four teams play goalball on one court. Matches: . With two 5-minute halves, a 2-minute half-time and 3 minutes to change over, each match takes minutes, so the pool takes minutes, two lessons.
Tip
Rotate the jobs. In every time slot, the teams not playing are the officials. Everyone referees, scores and times at least once, which is the best way to learn the rules.
Warning
Safety. Keep a clear 2 m around every court, with bags and benches outside it. In goalball, nobody walks behind the goals during play. Check the floor for grit before sitting volleyball, and stop play at once for any injury. Have a first-aid kit and know the ambulance number, 912.
Practice
Remember
Further reading
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
