A York St John lecturer will referee the Goalball match at National Paralympic Day later this month.
The match will be the most prestigious match of Robert Avery’s career so far.
The second National Paralympic Day takes place on Saturday 30 August at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London. The day aims to celebrate the Paralympic movement in the UK and build on the legacy of London 2012.
Robert will be one of two referees at the match between the GB women’s squad and their opponents Belgium which will take place in the Copper Box Arena that featured in the 2012 games.
Robert, a senior lecturer in Health and Life Sciences started refereeing two years ago after being involved in York St Johns inclusive activity club where he coached Goalball. He wanted to get more involved in the sport so became a referee and this launched his second career. He has refereed many domestic games and was awarded his level 2 in refereeing last year. Last September he refereed his first international tournament in Belgium. Robert is also a director on the National Governing Body for Goalball.
He said he was looking forward to the match and the opportunity to be part of an experience that will showcase Goalball on an international stage. The sport has increased in popularity in recent years, to the extent that a UK-wide tournament now takes place to accommodate the number of participants.
Robert said: “Participation levels have risen massively and we saw a boost after the Olympics. The three year participation targets agreed with Sport England were reached within one year.”
Robert, whose background is in visual impairment rehab, said the sport was also very popular with spectators.
He said: “It’s a great sport, it’s completely unique as there’s no sighted equivalent. It’s a surreal environment, there’s complete silence and it’s very tense. It’s an exciting sport and the tension builds as everyone has to be so quiet.
"Next week will be a very different refereeing experience with the TV cameras and microphones in a 6,000 capacity venue, compared to the 20-30 spectators that are usually in Foss Sports Hall!”
