Goalball: 12 Facts for London 2012

Here’s a list of 12 interesting things you should know about Goalball for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. 15 May 2012

Chinese Goalball Women's Team competing at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games

ⒸLieven Coudenys

Goalball is played competitively in more than 100 countries, making it one of the most popular Paralympic sports around the world.

Goalball is a sport of top skill, keen judgment and high concentration. Players need to have excellent spatial awareness and lightning reactions to block balls that can be travelling at up to 60 kilometres per hour.

Here’s a list of 12 interesting things you should know about Goalball for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

1. Who, what, when?

The London 2012 Goalball competition will take place from 30 August – 7 September, as 12 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams compete for medals. The men’s field includes: Algeria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Great Britain Iran, Korea, Lithuania, Sweden and Turkey. The women’s group consists of: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Japan, Sweden and USA.

2. Where?

Goalball will be held at the Copper Box in London’s Olympic Park. The venue’s roof is fitted with 88 light pipes that allow natural light into the building, reducing the demand for electric lights. The venue was completed in May 2011.

3. History of the sport

Goalball was originally developed as a rehabilitation activity for injured soldiers returning from World War II.

4. Blacked out

All athletes wear blackout masks, known as eyeshades, which allow everyone with varying degrees of vision to participate on the court at the same time on equal ground. There will be 132 sets of eyeshades used at London 2012. It was introduced to the Paralympic Games as a demonstration event at the Toronto 1976 Games and then became a medal sport four years later in Arnhem.

5. High speed

The aim of the game is to throw the ball into a goal on the opposite side of the court. During a match, the ball can reach speeds of 60 kilometres per hour, and players literally throw their bodies down to stop it from crossing the goal line.

6. Around the world

Goalball is played competitively in more than 100 countries, making it one of the most popular Paralympic sports around the world.

7. What’s that noise?

The game is played using a ball that is nearly 25cm in diameter and has eight holes that allow players to hear the bells within the ball when it moves.

8. Silence from the crowd, please

Unlike most other sports, spectators at a Goalball match must remain quiet during play so that players can hear the ball. But they are free to cheer when a goal is scored.

9. Field of play

A Goalball court is 18m long and 9m wide. It is divided in half with a centre line, and each half is then further divided into three sections by lines at 3m intervals. Each of the court lines are marked by tape and are slightly raised to allow players to orientate themselves.

10. Extra time

In the event of a tie in the knockout stages, two extra periods of three minutes each are held, decided by a golden goal. If necessary, these are followed by extra throws, which are similar to how penalty shootouts work in football.

11. Don’t be too patient

Teams can be penalized for taking longer than 10 seconds to throw the ball, resulting in a delay of the game. They can also be penalized for making unnecessary amounts of noise.

12. Defending world champions

The Lithuanians are the defending world champions on the men’s side, while China took the last women’s world title.