The newly appointed IBSA Goalball Sports Committee held its first online meeting on December 28, 2024. The meeting initially focused on several organizational matters. Currently, there are two vacant positions on the Sports Committee: the role of Secretary and the Female Coaches Representative. The Sports Committee encourages everyone to apply for one of these open positions by emailing [email protected] by January 15, 2025.

The first significant decision made during the meeting concerned the IBSA Goalball European Championships Group A in Finland.

Under the current rules, a region can only be divided into multiple divisions for championships if at least 16 teams participate. This is no longer the case in the women’s competition in Europe. Combined, the A-Championships 2023 and the B-Championships 2024 have seen 12 different women’s teams compete in the European Championships over the past few years. With the qualification process for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics starting in 2025, the women’s competition at the European A-Championships in 2025 will not be limited to 10 teams as in the past but will instead be open. If a total of 16 women’s teams register for the event, a separation into A- and B-Pools will still be implemented.

Further discussions were held about the host for the 2026 World Championships. It was agreed that the host will be officially announced in the first quarter of 2025.

Thanks to many constructive pieces of feedback regarding the 2025 rulebook, targeted discussions led to further adjustments to the regulations. These adjustments now need to be approved by the IBSA Executive Board. In general, it was agreed to establish a Rules Advisory Group under the leadership of Robert Avery. This group will support the Sports Committee, provide advice on regulatory matters, develop improvement proposals based on feedback, and identify challenges related to the current rules. Individuals interested in joining the Rules Advisory Group can apply by emailing [email protected] by January 31, 2025. The Sports Committee will appoint members during its next meeting.

Finally, the members of the Referee Advisory Group and the Senior Course Conductors were appointed. These will be announced shortly.