News

Blind Soccer Programs Popping Up Across U.S.

By: Muhammad Waheed, USABA Member and Contributor Blind Soccer, or five-a-side football, is a popular sport around the world. Similar to futsal, each team has four players who are blindfolded with goalies who can be sighted. Teams have three guides while playing. There are side boards along the perimeter of the field that keep the ball in play and maintain flow for the game. Learn the rules of blind soccer United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) noticed a lack of teams and blind soccer players in the U.S. and is motivated to change that. Earlier this year, USABA hosted… Read More

With Semifinal Win In Qualifier, U.S. Women’s Goalball Team Earns Paralympic Quota Spot

FORT WAYNE, Indiana (July 9, 2019) -- A day after earning a quota spot at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, the U.S. women’s goalball team fell just shy of a gold medal at the International Blind Sports Association qualifier in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The American squad lost Tuesday’s gold-medal match 5-3 to China, who won all nine of their contests in the tournament. For the U.S. it was their first loss of event to go along with one tie. A back-and-forth first half of action saw the U.S. counter each China goal, with five-time Paralympians Asya Miller (Portland, Ore.) and… Read More

NFC Participants Travel Equivalent of 11 Times Around Earth

Over the past eight months, more than 450 Americans who are blind and visually impaired participated in the sixth annual National Fitness Challenge, hosted by the United States Association of Blind Athletes. Together, participants took more than 631 million steps, tracked by Fitbit technology, to improve their physical fitness. The final number of "miles traveled" during the eight-month program (276,148) equals an astounding 11 trips around the earth. Seventeen regional partners in nine states hosted multiple events and sports programming for NFC participants throughout the eight-month program. Activities included tandem cycling, beep baseball, yoga, kayaking, skiing, running, 5-a-side soccer, goalball… Read More

Goalball Schedules Announced for IBSA Qualifier

Colorado Springs, Colo. (June 14, 2019) – The competition schedules for goalball have been announced for the upcoming 2019 International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) International Qualifier to be held July 2-9 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There are 27 goalball teams vying to secure their spot in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, including 14 men’s and 13 women’s squads. Each gender has been divided into two pools as follows: Men’s Pool A … Read More

Competition Pools and Livestream Plans Announced for 2019 IBSA Goalball Qualifier in Fort Wayne

Colorado Springs, Colo. (May 29, 2019) – The competition pools for goalball have been assigned for the upcoming 2019 International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) International Qualifier to be held July 2-9 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In addition, a robust livestream coverage plan for the goalball and judo competitions has been finalized, with Alan March Sport, Ltd., providing unprecedented coverage of this important qualifying event for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. The 27 goalball teams vying to secure their spot in next year’s Paralympic Games include 14 men’s and 13 women’s squads. Each gender has been divided into two pools as… Read More

Hotlanta Blazers, Manticores Capture Gold at Goalball Nationals

SMYRNA, Ga. (May 26, 2019) – A record 25 teams from across the nation convened in Smyrna, Georgia, over Memorial Day weekend for the 2019 USABA Goalball National Championships. The event featured three exciting days of action at the Smyrna Community Center and was sponsored by The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. Round robin play began Friday evening and ran through Sunday morning, with semifinals and medal rounds conducted Sunday afternoon. Women’s division In the women’s division, the Georgia Phantoms went undefeated in pool play to earn the top seed in the semifinal, but the Hotlanta Blazers pulled off a… Read More