Australia’s best goalball players are preparing to head to Melbourne for the Australian Goalball Championships.
To be held at Collingwood College from October 4 – 7, glory and bragging rights are up for grabs as a number teams fight it out for the right to be called Australian Champions.
The level of competition at the Championships is set to be extremely high, with a number of top teams and players set to take part.
The Australian Youth Girls Team, the Aussie Glow, are all set to compete as they come off the back of their success at the World Championships recently.
The Glow defeated Russia 9-6 in the final to become the first Australian team to win a World Championship.
There will also be a number of dual Paralympians taking part, with the members of the 2012 and 2016 Australian Women’s teams set to play for their respective states.
The clashes between New South Wales and Queensland in particular are set to be exciting, with both states boasting a number of national representatives.
On the Men’s side of the draw, all attention is set to be on the hosts as Victoria look to take the Australian title on home soil.
Led by Australian representative Sam Byrne, the Victorians are on the hunt for their first Australian title since 2016.
Goalball key facts:
- Goalball is specifically designed for people who are blind or have low vision.
- Teams are made up of players with varying levels of vision, with all team members required to wear blacked-out eye shades to create a level playing field.
- There are three players from each team on the goalball court, who aim to roll the ball past the opposing team and into the goal.
- The opposing team aims to block the ball with their bodies and then roll it back.
- The ball weighs 1.25kg and has bells in it so the players can track the ball and try and prevent it from scoring.
- The fastest throwers in the world have been timed at throwing the ball up to 90km per hour.
Want to learn more about goalball? Listen to this interview with Sue-Ann Hanson or check out this video.