Goalball players and coaches wanted!
York St John Inclusive Activity Club is holding a
free goalball open day between 12.15pm - 2pm on Saturday 20
October for potential players, coaches, officials and anyone
generally interested in the sport to come along and learn more
about it.
Goalball is a fast-paced sport played by
visually impaired athletes who wear black-out masks. Two teams
propel a ball across a marked rectangular court, each team
attempting to roll it across the opponent's goal line while the
other team attempts to prevent this from happening. The game is
played with a bell ball made of hard rubber with holes in it, so
players can hear the ball as it moves.
The goalball open day at York St John University has been
organised in partnership with Goalball UK to help build on the
popularity that the sport gained at London 2012.
Robert Avery, senior lecturer in Health and Life Sciences at
York St John University and volunteer goalball coach, said:
“Goalball gained lots of new fans, even royalty, at this year’s
Paralympics and we want to see it continue to grow in popularity.
It’s a sport that anyone can play. One of the great things about
goalball is that it’s inclusive, masks have to be worn so vision
isn’t a barrier. Our open day is an opportunity for anyone who
would like to play, coach or just find out more about the sport, to
see demonstrations, have a go themselves and hopefully really enjoy
goalball.”
The Inclusive Activity Club was established by
a York St John University student, Simon Kumar, in 2009 to give
students and York’s disabled community the chance to try exciting
activities. Staff, students and alumni volunteer to run the
activities including York Goalball Club which was launched in
January 2011 and now the biggest club in the UK.”
Robert Avery adds: “One of our players Jamie
Hodgson began playing goalball in January and has already been
scouted by Team GB. He has his sights on the Rio Paralympics, which
really shows what can be achieved. It’s a fantastic sport that
helps build confidence and coordination as well as being social and
fun, we’re really looking forward to introducing more people to
goalball at our open day.”
York St John Inclusive Activity Club is always
looking for volunteers and players, to find out more please visit
http://www.ysjiac.org/ or call
Robert Avery on 01904
876968.
For further press information please contact Louise
McKenzie, PR & Communications Officer on T: 01904 876466 or
E: l.mckenzie@yorksj.ac.uk