New Goalball Rules as of 2006
The new IBSA International Goalball rules will be used n all of the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA.org) Sanctioned Regionals and the National Goalball Championships. The rules can be found at IBSA’s site and Rules for Goalball (www.ibsa.es/).
Now, if you're simply looking for a quick and easy rundown of the rules of Goalball, which doesn't include every little detail, read below for a general description of the rules of the game...
Basic Rules:
Each game consists of two ten-minute halves. A coin toss is held and the winning team can choose whether to throw or receive or pick which end of the gym court they want, to start play.
One of the two referees checks the court and teams to make sure they are ready to begin, and then blows a whistle three times and calls out "play" to signal the beginning of the half.
During the halves, play can be stopped by a ball landing out of bounds, signaled by the call "out" or "blocked out," the ball going past a team's back line, signaled by two whistle blows or the call "goal," by time expiring, and by several other less common events explained in the link above.
When a player blocks the ball, they will usually either throw it back at the other team or pass it to a teammate. To pass the ball successfully, the passer needs to verbally here where the other player is, usually by the teammate tapping the floor, to allow a clean pass.
So there you go... those are the basics you need to know to start playing the game.
Read through the rest of our site to learn more about this great sport. Read the "Official Rules" link above, for more details on specific situations which can occur during a game.
Or, if you haven't already, come and join the USA Goalball Discussion List to find out who is playing Goalball in your area, right now... and how you can start playing, too.
