The International Blind Sport Federation (IBSA) Goalball are inviting national federations and coaches in the Americas to join an online meeting to kick-start a new era of communication and development in the region.
 
The aim is to gather information and understand the different stages that each country is at in their growth. The knowledge gained by representatives from the IBSA Goalball Committee will be used to target projects and events, such as coaching and referee clinics.
 
The meeting will take place 21 November at 1pm BRT.
 
Carla Da Mata, the Regional Representative on the committee, said: “In the lead-up to and after the Rio 2016 Paralympics we saw a huge amount of countries in the Americas start their own goalball programmes. In recent years this has delivered new countries to the World Championships, such as Argentina who made their debut in 2018.
 
“Goalball is also quite an easy sport to start – all you need is a ball that makes a sound and a flat surface to begin. This, and the inspiration that Rio 2016 bought to the region, has meant that we now have a healthy group of countries practicing and improving all the time.
 
“We want to capitalise on this by gathering intelligence from the community to prioritise those countries and areas which would benefit most from training and workshops.”

 
The online session will also feature discussions about the most suitable competition format for the different areas of the Americas and upcoming international events.
 
All IBSA Goalball countries in the Americas are invited to send one national federation representative and one national coach, or two if they have a men’s and women’s team.
 
The online platform will confirmed closer to the time and the meeting will be held in English and Spanish. Participants can register at this link: https://forms.gle/fJoMvKiFFeKgzMX5A 
 
People involved with goalball in the Americas are also encouraged to join the IBSA Goalball in the Americas Facebook group to share their activities and get inspiration.