GOALBALL, a type of ball game invented
for the blind, which has become so popular that it is
also practiced by players not visually impaired who
blindfold themselves in order to compete on par with
blind players. The court is 18x9m. The ball is 76cm
in diameter, weighs 1.25kg, and has a perforated surface
and metal strips inside that make noise while the ball
is being rolled, which allows the blind players to locate
it. Goalball is practiced both by females and males.
The game is played by 2 teams of 3 players: 1 center
and 2 wings. They are supposed to stay within their
team area, also known as the defense area, which is
delimited by a goal line and a line parallel to it at
a distance of 3m. The players put on blanked out goggles
that must not be touched during the game. This effectively
blinds those whose sight is only partially impaired
or who have unimpaired vision - such players being more
and more frequently encountered in integrative matches.
The match lasts 14min. and is played in two 7-min. halves,
with a 3-min. break. Each team has the right to three
45-sec. intervals during the game. While playing, players
kneel, propped up on their hands.
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The wings are situated at the sides within the zone marked
by lines 1.5m long running crosswise. The middle players
control their position thanks to a line 15cm wide, which
can be felt and marks the middle of the playing field.
Most often the lines are marked with a tape onto which
another narrower tape is sealed, which produces a hump
easily felt with the palms. Another solution, employed
in Poland, is sealing a string under the tape. Total thickness
of tapes and hump must not exceed 3mm. The ball must not
be kept by the same player for more than 8sec. The objective
is to roll the ball to the opponent's goal, the width
of which is equal to that of the court (9m), with a height
of 1.3m. The opposing team is supposed to win the ball
before it is rolled into their goal. Every player has
the right to defend the goal with their hands. When the
ball is won, it is thrown back towards the goal on the
opponent's half. The game is continued by exchanging throws.
When the ball is thrown, it must touch the floor before
the overthrow line, also called the high ball line, and
from there has to be rolled on the court's surface. If
this condition is not met, the ball is considered high
and a goal |
scored after such a high ball is not acknowledged. The
halves are drawn by tossing a coin. The game is administered
by a referee, goal umpires, timers and linesmen. Penalty
kicks are taken from the team's own goal area. Time for
a penalty kick is not counted as playing time.
History. The game was invented in 1946 by an Austrian,
H. Lorencezen, and a German, S. Reindle, as an element
of rehabilitation for the disabled after WWII. In its
beginnings it differed substantially from the modern version:
the goals had different dimensions, instead of a sound
ball they used strings with bells that were hung at the
level which allowed the ball to touch them giving away
its position, etc. Today's rules evolved through a process
of trial and error. In 1980, in a form similar to the
modern one, goalball was incorporated in the Paralympic
Games. The strongest women's teams on the international
scale are Germany, Finland, and the USA (medallists at
Paralympic Games in Atlanta 1996), and men's teams of
Finland, Canada, and Spain (also medallists at Paralympic
Games 1996). |
