So, here is the page where you can find the rules and a text description of the court
These are summary descriptions but there are the links to the full IBSA rules in our links section.
There are 3 players on the court at any one time and a full team usually consists of 6. There are 2 types of athlete on the court. The centre is usually the one who defends the most and controls the flow of the game. at higher levels they try to give directions, orientation to the rest of the team and generally passes the ball to the right person in that situation. A good centre can on occasion provide a quick return of the ball in an effort to get past the other team. The wingers firstly back the centre for any ball they may miss but more importantly provide the offensive power for the team.
The equipment
- the ball. the ball consists of a hard rubber shell, weighs 1.25kg and contains noise bells and noise holes which is what allows the ball to be tracked.
- The court. The court is made of string and yellow lane marking tape. This is effective but very time consuming to lay every session!
- eyeshades. these are usually made from ski goggles that have had foam and tape inserted into them as to prevent light seeping in but there are purpose built shades out there.
The duration of the game
The game consists of 12 minute halves. Mostly at domestic tournaments we don't have the time to run those length games unfortunately!
the penalties
The penalties in Goalball are for:
- Highball. The ball is thrown in the style of ten pin bowling so it can be tracked audibly. If the ball does not land before the highball line it is a personal penalty.
- 3rd time throw. No one is allowed to throw the ball more than two times in a row. If they do throw the ball for the 3rd time in a row it is considered a personal penalty.
- Eyeshades. At the start of the game the referee checks everyones eyeshades ensuring that no one can use their if any residual vision. If anyone touches their shades without the expressed permission of the referee it is a personal penalty.
- 10 second penalty. Each team has 10 seconds to throw the ball from the first defensive contact regardless of wether that contact resulted in control of the ball. If this time limit is exceeded then it is a team penalty and the last person to take a legal shot has to defend the penalty.
The court
- The outer perimeter of the court is 9m across the goal and 18m long from one team goal line to the other.
- Each team area has several lines to distinguish a position on court. There are 2 1.5m lines at the far left and far right of the team area. These are the wing lines.
- The front line is 3m in front of the goal line. This is where the centre usually defends and in some rare elite teams the wingers may come closer.