USA Goalball Teams Open Parapans with Two Wins Over Canada

SANTIAGO, Chile (November 18, 2023) – With two victories over Canada, the USA Goalball teams got off to a hot start during Saturday’s opening day of competition at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile. The USA men’s team played Canada in the morning session of preliminary Group B action and came away with a convincing 9-2 victory. After Blair Nesbitt scored on Canada’s first throw of the match, Christian King (Virginia Beach, Va.), playing in his first Parapan American Games, tied the game with a bounce-ball goal. Tyler Merren (Greenville, Mich.) converted a penalty throw less than a…  Read More

PlayLA Adaptive Youth Sports Program and USABA Boost Youth Participation in Visually Impaired and Blind Soccer Ahead of LA28 Paralympic Games

Los Angeles (November 15, 2023) – The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks (RAP) PlayLA Adaptive Youth Sports Program welcomed blind and visually impaired youth ages 5-17 to a series of visually impaired & blind soccer clinics, supported by the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, for the second year in a row. Eight consecutive clinics were held every Saturday from September 16 to November 4 at Mar Vista Recreation Center and Hubert Humphrey Recreation Center. With the guidance of Paralympic gold medalist David Brown, USA Blind Soccer Men’s National Team Head Coach Katie Smith and other distinguished coaches and…  Read More

Florida and Utah Win Gold at High School Goalball Nationals

The 2023 USABA High School Goalball National Championships wrapped up three days of intense competition on Sunday, Nov. 4, at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) in Austin, Texas. Twelve boys' teams and 11 girls' teams took part in the championship event. In the boys' competition, two undefeated teams faced off in the gold medal final when host team Texas played Florida. The match was tied 16-16 at the end of regulation and Florida was able to pull out the victory in the overtime period. The boys' bronze medal went to the team from Atlanta as…  Read More

Hal Simpson Named 2023 Ronald W. Plassman Gold Standard Award Honoree

The U.S. Association for Blind Athletes (USABA) and Turnstone Center are pleased to announce Hal Simpson has been named the recipient of the 2023 Ronald W. Plassman Gold Standard Award. Established in 2021, this prestigious award is presented annually to deserving athletes, coaches and program supporters who demonstrate the gold standard values lived out by the actions and support of Ron Plassman (1940-2022). These include excellence on the field of play, sportsmanship, leadership, and championing the sport of goalball. Simpson, of Smyrna, Ga., formed Georgia Blind Sports in 2011 and his leadership has enabled hundreds of people who are blind…  Read More

Thursday Throwdown: Bailey (Martin) Ahrenholtz

Each Thursday during October's celebration of National Blind Sports Month, USABA athletes will be sharing their experiences and stories of navigating physical activity and workout spaces in their communities. They will share their tools, challenges, and triumphs as blind or low-vision athletes or those who support them. This week we are honored to feature USABA Sport Ambassador Bailey (Martin) Ahrenholtz. Bailey is majoring in sports public relations at Northern Iowa and has been part of the athletic community since elementary school. Her love of sports grew when she became visually impaired as a teenager. Bailey has been involved in beep…  Read More