In Weeks 6 and 7, the Year 8 Students learnt and played the blind sport of Goalball. The sport is exclusive for athletes who are vision impaired and is played around the world, including the Paralympics. Goalball was evolved in 1946 to rehabilitate the blind veterans from World War II, where it made its Paralympic debut in 1976 in Toronto. The object of the game is to roll the ball into the opponent’s goal, while the opposing players try to block the ball with their bodies. As the students are blindfolded, there are bells inside of the ball to help the players indicate the direction of the oncoming ball.

Our Year 8 Students were all blind folded to participate in this sport. Students were able to put themselves in other people’s shoes, where they began to feel more grateful for their lives and what they have. Their communication and teamwork skills were tested throughout the sport, where they had to work very closely and collaboratively with all group members. All students demonstrated great respect for the game and enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

As a Year 8 cohort, we are very lucky and grateful to be able to learn and play these diverse sports that we typically would not play outside of school.

Eden Caputo

Year 8 PE Teacher