Goalball Tactics
Senior 2 · Physical Education
Goalball Tactics
Lesson 1 of 3
20 min
Goalball is a team sport designed for athletes with a visual impairment. Every player wears blackout eyeshades, so a player who is blind, a player who is partially sighted and a fully sighted player all compete on exactly equal terms. It is fast and physical: at the Paralympic Games, throws have been measured at more than 60 km/h. It trains skills every athlete needs, such as listening, sensing where you are in space, courage and constant teamwork, and it can be played in any school hall or on a flat outdoor court.
Goalball was devised in 1946 by Hans Lorenzen of Germany and Sepp Reindle of Austria, to help veterans who had lost their sight in the Second World War. It became a full Paralympic sport at the 1976 Games in Toronto. The world governing body is the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA).
The court is 18 m long and 9 m wide, the size of a volleyball court, and the goals run across the whole 9 m width at each end. The court is divided into six sections of 3 m:
Figure 1. The goalball court. Each team defends from its team area. The high-ball line (red, dashed) is the front of each landing zone. Diagram: Ganzaa.
The lines are made by taping over string, so players can feel them with their hands and feet. Small extra marks in the team area help players find their position.
Teams take turns to roll or bounce the ball the length of the court. A goal is scored when the ball completely crosses the opponents' goal line. The defenders stay in their own team area and stop the ball with their bodies. The ball is thrown by hand, never kicked.
For most penalties, one player from the team that broke the rule must defend the whole 9 m goal alone against a single throw.
Use accurate, respectful words: a player with a visual impairment, a blind or partially sighted athlete. Avoid phrases such as "suffers from blindness". Goalball is not a simplified version of another sport; it is a sport in its own right, played at the highest level.
Niyonzima throws the ball hard and flat. It flies through the air and first touches the floor in the neutral zone. What is the call?
Decision. High ball. The throw did not touch the floor before Niyonzima's own high-ball line, so it is a penalty. Niyonzima must defend the whole goal alone against one penalty throw.
Tip
Memory hook: "Six zones, three players, one sound." Six 3 m sections, three players a side, and a game that depends on hearing the bells, so silence is part of the rules.
A throw lands in the thrower's landing zone, then bounces once in the neutral zone and stops just before the opponents' team area. What is the call?
Solution. Short ball: the throw did not reach the opponents' team area.
Why are the court lines taped over string?
Solution. So they can be felt as well as seen. Players wearing eyeshades use touch to find their positions and orientation.
A defender blocks the ball after sliding forward so that her whole body is in the landing zone. What is the call?
Solution. Illegal defence: no part of her body was touching the team area when she blocked.
A team takes 12 seconds to throw the ball back after first blocking it. What happens?
Solution. A ten-second penalty, because the ball must cross the centre line within 10 seconds of first defensive contact.
Remember
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
