# Everybody Plays!

# Goalball

Paralympic symbol

Goalball is a team sport played on a basketball court. The court floor has rope taped onto the boundary lines so players can feel where they need to stand inside the court. Three people are on each team. Each team stands at one side of the court and stays in a small area at the end of the court. Players wear blindfolds, elbow pads, and knee pads. Each player has a certain place to stand on the court: one person on the right side, one in the middle, and one on the left.

Two blindfolded boys are stretched across the floor trying to stop the goalball.

A gym is full of people watching a goalball game.

The goalball is a heavy, hollow, rubber ball with a bell inside it. One team gets the ball and rolls it toward the other team. The other team listens for the bell and tries to block the ball when it crosses mid court. Players stop the ball by diving on the floor to stop the ball with their arms, body, or legs. Then it is that team's turn to try to score a point by rolling the ball past the other team. Everyone stays quiet at a goalball game so players can hear the ball. If the ball goes off the court, a sighted referee blows a whistle and gets the ball and gives it to the other team. Everyone stays quiet at a goalball game so players can hear the ball. If the ball goes off court, a sighted referee blows a whistle and retrieves the ball.