Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation Hosted First-Ever Goalball Game for Children with Visual Impairments

Las Vegas, Nev. (Sept. 27, 2022) – Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation hosted its first-ever goalball game on Saturday, Sept. 24. A dozen students and their families participated in the game which is known as the most popular sport for people with visual impairments. Raquel O’Neill from Blind Connect, who has competed in the sport on regional and national levels and was invited to join the Paralympics, helped coach them on how to play the game.

How the game is played

Similar to a mix between soccer and bowling, teams of three compete against each other, rolling and throwing a ball embedded with bells and trying to score goals on the opposing team. The game is played indoors, and all players are required to wear a blindfold to level the playing field. This means all players are required to use their other senses to play. The game is played on a court marked with heavy court tape with string underneath for tactical boundaries.

“Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation is proud to offer goalball as a new sport for our students to be able to experience the same sense of accomplishment and fun that their sighted peers experience when playing traditional sports,” said Maribel Garcia, Interim Executive Director of Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation. “After playing their first games this weekend, our students are very excited and envisioning what the future can hold for them in the world of sports. They are already talking about forming a team to compete on a regional level.”

  

  

Clockwise from top left: NBCF Students play goalball, NBCF students pose with a goalball, NBCF Interim-Executive Director Maribel Garcia joins the students for a game, NBCF students and staff take a team photo with Raquel O’Neill.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS & B-ROLL AVAILABLE HERE Courtesy of Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation.

About Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation

Founded in 2006, by Kevin and Toni Spilsbury, Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation (NBCF) is the only non-profit organization in Southern Nevada, solely dedicated to improving the lives of children, ages 0-22, who are blind/visually impaired. NBCF’s inclusive preschool, Children’s Learning Center, is the only special needs licensed childcare in the State of Nevada. NBCF provides comprehensive services for children and their families including advocacy, family support, health services, education and adaptive recreation programs and employment training for blind/visually impaired youth. Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation’s programs and services are provided through the generous support of individual and corporate donors.  For more information about Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation visit www.nvblindchildren.org