At the Paralympics, the crowd goes completely silent for one sport. Hushed fans wait as players hurl a ball toward the opposing team’s goal. When someone scores, the stadium erupts in cheers and thunderous bleacher stomping.
That is because goalball — a sport created for those who are blind or have low vision — relies almost entirely on sound.
Goalball is unique to the Paralympics, and it’s a sport in which blind people (who are used to navigating the world through touch and sound) have an advantage over sighted people.
“A lot of people call it ‘the coolest sport you’ve never heard of,’” said Tre’Shaun Faison, 21, of Orange Park, Fla., who is a player on the U.S. men’s team. (The U.S. women’s team did not qualify for the Paris Paralympics.)
But, given the unprecedented media coverage of the Paralympics this year, Faison and his teammates are hoping this will change.
How goalball is played
Goalball was invented in 1946 as a way to rehabilitate military veterans who had lost some or all of their sight. Athletes use a ball with bells in it that jingle with movement. Taped-down string serve as tactile markers to help players feel for important boundaries such as the edge of the court, the goal or the halfway line.
While the athletes are blind or have low vision, they all wear a mask that obscures their vision completely to level the playing field.
Teams play on a volleyball-sized court that is split in half with two goals on either end. Three athletes on either side of the court play both offense and defense. To score, teams must throw or roll the ball across the court, past the opposing team and into the goal. Games are split into 12-minute halves.
Over the years, the ball has gotten lighter and bouncier, going from about 4 pounds to about 2.8 pounds, and the style of throwing has changed, with players sometimes spinning around to throw faster balls.
In a game that is sometimes described as reverse dodgeball, because players use their bodies as shields, that extra speed can pack a punch.
“The best players in the world are throwing at 50 or 55 miles [per hour], so it doesn’t feel good when it smacks you,” said Matt Simpson, 34, who lives in the Washington D.C. area and is a player on the U.S. men’s team. “I’ve definitely broken fingers and pulled toes out of their joints.”
Faison said he originally didn’t even like goalball because of how much getting hit by the ball hurt.
“Imagine getting punched but like, harder than that,” he explained.
Players used to roll the ball on the ground more, but the skill level has gotten more intense because they now use more bouncing throws, “which is harder for people defending it,” said Molly Quinn, chief executive of the United States Association of Blind Athletes.
But athletes can’t spike the ball high because it must bounce twice — once before the one-third mark on the court and once before the two-third mark. Failure to do this results in a penalty — when one player from the opposing team can throw the ball toward the goal against only one defending player. In these scenarios, Quinn said the likelihood of the opposing team scoring is roughly 75 percent.
The sounds of competition
In goalball, spectators get a sense of movement from the sounds alone: the rhythmic thudding of the ball across the court, underscored by a faint jingle, and the scuffle of players’ sneakers.
But there also are some intentionally misleading sounds. Players who don’t have the ball will sometimes pretend to run as if they’re throwing the ball to trick opponents. They may also clap, shout or toss the ball between them. Players cannot make any sounds once the ballcarrier is actually starting to throw though, because that is considered a penalty.
In this game, patience is key, said Calahan Young, 29, of Fort Wayne, Ind., a co-captain of the men’s team. Players work with a sports psychologist on exercises to hone their focus so they can tune into the jingle of the ball.
“You can’t react to footsteps, you have to react to where that ball is,” he said. “You can’t make that jingle with anything else, so it’s just about really paying attention to that.”
Japan’s men’s goalball team is well known for incorporating fake noises into their offensive strategy, Young said, whereas the U.S. team is quieter and focuses on defense. Young himself is a key part of that defense, as he is 6 feet 7 and can block roughly one-fourth of the goal with his body when his arms are outstretched.
Taking pride in goalball
Many of the players on the U.S. men’s team tried other sports but were particularly drawn to goalball because of how it is tailored to their strengths as blind athletes, they said.
The sport has long held special significance for people who are blind or have low vision, because they are less likely to be physically active compared to sighted people, despite wanting to exercise more. In a world where they may encounter many accessibility barriers, the goalball court is a place where they feel they fit right in.
For Young, who was introduced to goalball in middle school, it was instant love.
“I was able to just display my athletic abilities, and there are no limitations,” he said. “It was the first time I was able to be in a team setting where everyone was on an equal setting.”
He and his teammates want to see the sport grow among both blind and sighted people — and they hope to drum up excitement at this year’s Games. Heading into the medal matches, the U.S. men’s goalball team has won two matches (against France and Iran) and lost one to Brazil, which won gold in the last Games and is considered one of the world’s best teams. The United States is schedule to play against Japan in a quarterfinal today.
“It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen” Faison said. “Once you start watching it and you understand the nuances, you’ll fall in love with the sport.”
