Athletes gather in N.S. to play goalball, a sport for the visually impaired
Global News
Athletes from across North America came to Halifax this weekend to play goalball, a sport exclusively for those with visual impairments.
Athletes from across North America came to Halifax this weekend for the 6th annual Nova Scotia Open Goalball tournament.
Some of the athletes taking part will represent Team Canada at the goalball world championships next month, including Peter Parsons, who was playing this weekend for Team Nova Scotia.
“We have my national teammates here playing with their various provinces. It’s a tournament where people are ramping up, getting ready for those world championships, so we have the best players from across the country here competing.”
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Goalball is a sport exclusively for those with visual impairments and is a Paralympics sport.
Since each player will have a varying degree of visual impairment, they all wear dark eye shades on the court.
“The eye shades can ensure an equal playing field,” said Parsons. “Nobody on the court can see anything, so we’re using all our other senses.”
The ball, which is roughly the size of a basketball, has bells inside so players can follow it by listening to the jingle.
