The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Goalball has announced the publication of version 1.2 of its rules and regulations for 2018-2021, and timelines for future revisions.

The revised IBSA Goalball Rules and Regulations will come into force on 1 July 2019.

Whilst there are no major rule changes, improvements have been made to the document’s readability.

The biggest amendment comes in the form of a new timeline for future reviews. The 2018-2021 rule period has been revised to 2018-2020 with a longer period to allow the sport to test any potential rule modifications and give referees, teams, coaches and athletes time to familiarise themselves with the changes before they go live.

Future revisions will then take place every four years.

The review of the current rules will therefore begin in June and run until November. National Federations will be invited to submit proposals to IBSA Goalball.

The following month the sport will announce which rules will be tested at selected tournaments between January and March 2020.

The final results will be published in March and the new rules and regulations will be added to the rulebook. Following a process of approval, the sport then expects to update all documentation (Coach Essentials, referee and International Technical Official manuals) in time for referee and officials’ training from October – December 2020.

The new IBSA Goalball Rules and Regulations will then come into effect on 1 January 2021 and run until 21 December 2024, with the next review process beginning in 2023.

The full new timeline for revisions can be viewed at the IBSA Goalball website.