Goalball UK has launched a transformational Performance Pathway Programme for players hoping to represent Great Britain.
The new initiative will select and prepare athletes with a sight impairment to achieve the best possible results in competitions.
It will bring together players invited to join the Academy, Talent, Performance Potential and High-Performance levels in a holistic pathway delivering training, support, and opportunity to players at all levels.
The goal is to deliver a clear and exciting pathway for goalball players nationwide, with future planning and working together key to making this happen.
The 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles is a key milestone, but preparations are already underway for the IBSA (International Blind Sports Federation) European A Championships in 2025 where both men and women’s senior squads will compete.
“The launch of our new Performance Pathway Programme is the cumulation of a lot of hard work from all involved.,” said Gary Fraser, High-Performance Lead at Goalball UK, the National Governing Body for the Paralympic sport of goalball in the UK.
“We are proud to make a big statement and say that we are aiming high, and we are looking forward to supporting our players to progress in the sport they are so passionate about.
“I’d like to thank our players and the wider goalball community for their commitment to this new direction, and especially UK Sport and Sport England for championing it as we evolve.”
Goalball is a completely unique, dynamic team sport of skill, speed and accuracy for men’s and women’s teams that can be played by sighted, blind and partially sighted people.
Three players on each team try to score goals by firing a 1.25kg ball across the court and defending shots from the opposing team using their entire bodies, throwing themselves to the floor in front of a goal that spans the width of the pitch.
Players wear opaque eyeshades to ensure a level-playing field for all those taking part, whether completely blind or with less severe – but still acute – visual impairments.
The ball contains several bells so that players can locate its position. In addition, the goalball court is marked with raised lines so that players can feel their location at any time.
To find out more about Goalball UK’s Performance Pathway Programme visit https://goalballuk.com/performance/
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