Goalball officials, their duties and the end of a game

25 min

Eleven officials for six players

At the Paralympic Games and every IBSA-sanctioned tournament, a goalball game has eleven officials for the six players on court: 2 referees, 4 goal judges, 1 scorer, 1 timer, 2 ten-second timers and 1 back-up timer (IBSA Rule 9). Why so many? Because the players cannot see, the officials must see everything for them: every bounce, every first contact, every touch of the eyeshades and every second after a block. In a school game, a smaller team of pupils can share these jobs, but each job still has to be done. In this lesson you learn what each official does, where they stand, and the procedures they run at the end of a game.

Definition

Referee: the official in charge of play, with the final decision on safety, the rules and procedures. One works on the officials' table side (the table-side referee) and one on the opposite side (the far-side referee).

Goal judge: an official beside a goal post who retrieves the ball, puts it back into play and helps players on and off the court.

Ten-second timer: a table official who times the 10 seconds from first defensive contact for one team, and times time-outs.

Technical delegate: the person appointed by IBSA to make sure a tournament meets the rules, from the court and ball to protests.

Protest: a formal written complaint that a rule was applied wrongly, decided by a protest committee whose decision is final.

Who does what

Official	Number	Main duties
Referees	2	Check eyeshades at the start of each half; start play ("quiet please", whistle, "play"); judge throws, blocks and every infraction and penalty; signal goals with two whistles. The table-side referee runs the coin toss, announces substitutions and explains an official's time-out for clarification to both teams and the audience.
Goal judges	4, one beside each goal post	Retrieve balls that leave the court and drop them at the side line 1.5 m in front of the nearest goal post; help a substituted player off and lead the incoming player to the goal post nearest the bench; keep the goals in position; re-orient a player after a penalty when asked.
Ten-second timers	2, one for each team, at that team's end of the table	Time the 10 seconds from first defensive contact and sound the signal for a ten-seconds penalty; time the 45-second time-outs and medical time-outs, with a signal 15 s before the end; alert the referee to eyeshades and illegal coaching offences; usually supervise eye patching.
Timer	1	Runs the game clock: 12-minute halves, stopped on the referee's whistle and restarted on "play"; stopped during penalty situations.
Back-up timer	1	Keeps a second record of the game time in case the main clock fails.
Scorer	1	Keeps the score sheet: goals, penalties, time-outs and substitutions used by each team; records substitutions made at half time.

Every official must be impartial. At IBSA events a referee may not officiate a game that involves a team of the referee's own nationality. Referees also must not touch a player without first saying what they intend and getting the player's spoken permission (Rule 41): a blind athlete must never be grabbed or moved without warning.

Hand signals and calls

Coaches and players use three hand signals to the referee: time-out (the hands form a T), substitution (the forearms roll round each other in front of the chest) and penalty declined (the arms crossed over the chest). The referee's spoken calls keep the blind players informed: "quiet please", "play", "out", "blocked out", "dead ball", "ball over", the name of each penalty and the player's number, and "half time" or "game". Only the head coach may speak to a referee about a dispute, and only at an official break in play; if the coach still disagrees, the game is finished and the coach may protest afterwards.

Rules 36 to 39: when a winner is needed

Overtime. If a game that must have a winner is tied, there is a 5-minute break with a new coin toss, then one period of 6 minutes. The first goal wins. Each team has 1 time-out and 1 substitution.
Extra throws. If it is still tied, each team throws in the order on the line-up sheet handed in at the first coin toss. The number of throws per team is the smaller number of players listed on either sheet. A referee leads each player to the back centre of the court; the two players throw and defend one against one, and the order of throwing first swaps after each pair. Every player wears eyeshades, on court or not. A winner is declared as soon as one team leads by more goals than there are throws remaining.
Sudden-death extra throws. If the score is still level, the same players throw again in pairs, and the first team ahead at the end of a pair wins.
Score sheet and protest. Straight after the game, a coach of each team, both referees and the scorer sign the score sheet, and each coach marks whether they will protest. A protest must be on the IBSA form, in English, naming the rule, with a fee of at least €100, handed to the technical delegate within 30 minutes of the end of the game. A coach who does not sign straight away cannot protest.

Worked example

Worked example 1: the scorer refuses a time-out. Team A takes no time-out in the first half. In the second half its coach calls time-outs with 10:00, 6:30, 3:00 and 0:45 left. What does the scorer record?

At least one of a team's 4 time-outs must be used in the first half, or it is lost: Team A has only 3 left.
The rules also allow no more than 3 time-outs in the second half.
The first three requests are granted. The fourth, at 0:45, is rejected, and the referee gives a team penalty, delay of game, so Team A must defend a penalty throw.

Worked example

Worked example 2: extra throws. Team A's line-up sheet lists 6 players and Team B's lists 5. After three pairs of throws, Team A has scored 3 and Team B 0. Is the game over?

Throws per team = the smaller list = 5.
After 3 pairs, each team has $5 - 3 = 2$ throws left.
Team B can score at most 2 more goals, which would still leave it behind 3–2 if Team A scores none.
Team A leads by 3, which is more than the 2 throws remaining: Team A wins, and the remaining throws are not taken.

Video: "Paralympic Sport A-Z: Goalball", Paralympic Games. A short introduction to the sport's history and rules. As you watch, list every official you can see and say what each is doing.

Tip

Running a school game. Two referees and four goal judges are the most important. One pupil can be both timer and scorer, and one more can time the 10 seconds for both teams. Rotate the jobs so that every pupil learns to officiate as well as to play.

Warning

Common mistakes. Goal judges do not decide penalties: the referees do. The 10 seconds are timed by the ten-second timers, not by the game timer. Overtime is one 6-minute period, not two halves. Extra throws use the smaller number of players listed, so both teams throw the same number of times.

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Practice

List the eleven officials required at an IBSA-sanctioned game, with how many of each.
Where does a goal judge drop the ball to put it back into play?
Which official alerts the referee to an eyeshades offence by a player of Team B, and how?
Why must a referee announce their intention and get permission before touching a player?
A game ends at 15:40. By what time must a protest form and fee reach the technical delegate? What must the coach do first?
Team A lists 4 players for extra throws and Team B lists 6. How many throws does each team take?
In extra throws with 5 throws each, Team B leads 2–0 after two pairs. Is the game over? Explain.
A school has only eight pupils free to officiate. Plan how you would share the officials' jobs, and justify which jobs you would never combine.

Show answersHide answers

2 referees, 4 goal judges, 1 scorer, 1 timer, 2 ten-second timers and 1 back-up timer.
At the side line, 1.5 m in front of the goal post nearest to where the ball left the court.
The ten-second timer at Team B's end of the table, by sounding the same signal used for a ten-seconds penalty; the table-side referee then confirms the details and checks the eyeshades.
The players wear eyeshades and cannot see who is approaching; being touched or moved without warning is startling, unsafe and disrespectful, and could disturb their orientation.
By 16:10 (30 minutes after the end). First the coach must sign the score sheet straight after the game and mark that a protest will be made.
4 each: the smaller number on either sheet.
No. Each team has 3 throws left, and Team A could still score 3 and win or score 2 and draw; a 2-goal lead is not more than 3 remaining throws.
A sensible plan: 2 referees, 4 goal judges, 1 timer who is also the back-up and scorer, and 1 ten-second timer for both teams. The referees' and goal judges' jobs should never be combined with table jobs, because they need to watch the court and move.

Remember

11 officials: 2 referees, 4 goal judges, scorer, timer, 2 ten-second timers, back-up timer.
Referees decide; goal judges retrieve and replace the ball and guide players; ten-second timers time 10 s and time-outs.
Officials touch a player only after announcing it and getting permission.
Overtime: one 6-minute golden-goal period; then extra throws; then sudden death.
Protest: sign the score sheet, then form and fee within 30 minutes.

1Eleven officials for six players

2Who does what

3Hand signals and calls

4Rules 36 to 39: when a winner is needed

Eleven officials for six players

Who does what

Hand signals and calls

Rules 36 to 39: when a winner is needed