An Update from Surrey Goalball: What Are We Working on?
If you came to our taster session in February, joined our mailing list, or have been following SGC online, you might be wondering what has happened since then.
The short answer is: we are still here, we are still working on it, and Surrey Goalball Club is still moving forward.
The slightly longer answer is that setting up a new sports club takes time, and a few things have taken longer than we expected. Our original hope was to start regular sessions this spring, following the taster session in February. That would have been great, and it is definitely what we were aiming for. But once we looked at everything that still needed to be ready, we decided it made more sense to take a bit more time and aim for a proper start in September instead.
That does mean a longer wait before sessions begin, but we think it is the better decision.
Credit: Goalball UK
Our Updated Timeline
We are now aiming to start regular sessions from September 2026.
This gives us the summer to get the main things sorted properly, especially funding and equipment. It also gives us time to recruit and onboard volunteers, confirm venue arrangements, and complete unexciting but important paperwork.
We know some people were probably hoping to get back on court sooner. We were too! But we would rather take a few extra months now than rush into sessions and then have to stop again because something major is missing.
The aim is not just to run one or two sessions. The aim is to build a club that can keep going.
That means having the practical bits in place before we ask you to commit your time, travel, and energy to sessions.
Over the summer, we will share more details about dates, booking information, membership, and how to get involved. For now, the main update is that September is the point we are working towards. We wanted to be transparent about this to keep you informed.
In the meantime, if you want to stay involved in goalball, it may be worth visiting other clubs nearby. We know Surrey will be the local or preferred option for some people, but keeping playing in the meantime can only help. It means you can keep learning, build confidence, meet others in the sport, and come back to us in September with even more anticipation.
Credit: Goalball UK
What Actually Has to Happen Before a Session Runs?
From the outside, it can look like running a goalball session should be fairly simple: book a sports hall, bring some balls, put tape on the floor, and play.
In practice, there is a lot more to it than that.
The venue has to work for goalball. That means the hall needs to be big enough, the floor needs to be suitable, the acoustics need to be workable, and there needs to be enough space around the court for people to move safely. We also have to think about whether the venue is easy enough to get to, whether the building is accessible, whether the timing works for volunteers, and whether the cost is realistic for a small new club.
Then there is the court itself. Goalball is not played on a standard sports court with painted lines. The court markings have string underneath the tape so players can feel the lines by touch. That means every session needs proper court setup, enough time to lay the markings down, enough people who know how to do it, and enough time to take everything back up afterwards without damaging the floor.
There is also the equipment. Goalball needs balls, eyeshades, padding, whistles, tape, court string, and goals. Some of those things are fairly manageable. Some are not.
The biggest issue at the moment is goals.
We already have some starter equipment, including goalballs and other basic kit from Goalball UK. That has been a huge help. But proper goalball goals are expensive. A pair costs around £4,500, which is a lot for a new club with no regular income yet.
And with goalball, the goals are not really optional.
They are used for scoring, but they are also part of how players orientate themselves on court. Players use the goal to understand where they are, line themselves up before throwing, and move safely within the team area. Without suitable goals, the session is much harder to run properly, especially for new players who are still learning the court and the game.
So at the moment, getting goals is one of the main things we are working on.
We are looking at funding options, including Sport England’s Movement Fund. That kind of funding is exactly the sort of thing a new club like ours needs, because buying major equipment upfront is difficult without support. The awkward part is that funding applications need paperwork, bank details, forecasts, and evidence that the club is set up properly. That means we cannot just fill in a quick form and order the goals the next day.
The club bank account is one of the pieces in that process. Until the bank account is fully open, there are limits on what we can do financially. It affects funding applications, payments, records, and the general practical side of running the club.
Alongside that, there are all the safety and governance bits. We need risk assessments, safeguarding arrangements, first aid cover, policies, volunteer roles, and a clear way of managing members and attendance. Some of this is already in place. Some of it needs updating before September. Some of it is simply the sort of work that takes longer than expected because it has to be done properly.
There are also the smaller things that people probably never see: updating the website, keeping track of enquiries, sorting emails, preparing membership information, checking what documents venues might need, planning session structures, working out how equipment will be transported, and making sure volunteers know what they are doing on the day.
None of those jobs are very exciting on their own. But together, they are what turns “we should start a goalball club” into an actual club that can run safely and keep going.
Credit: Goalball UK
Why We Are Waiting Until September
The main reason is simple: we want the club to be ready.
If we started sessions too soon, we could probably make something happen. We could borrow bits of equipment, patch things together, and run a few sessions. But that would still leave us with the same big questions afterwards: where are the goals coming from, how are we funding things, how are we managing the admin, and can we keep this going consistently?
Taking a bit more time now gives us a better chance of starting properly.
By September, we want to be in a position where we can say: here are the dates, here is how to book, here is what it costs, and here is how the club will work.
That is the point we are trying to get to.
We are really grateful to everyone who has stuck with us so far. If you came to the taster session, joined the mailing list, shared the club with someone, offered help, or just kept an eye on what we are doing, thank you.
We know waiting is a bit frustrating. We would much rather be on court already. But we are making progress, and the aim is still the same: to bring regular goalball sessions to Surrey and build a club that people can be part of for the long term.
If you’d like to find out how you can support us, there is some information on the rest of this website, and on our National Governing Body, Goalball UK’s website. You can also contact us at Enquiries@surreygoalball.com to find out more. We’re grateful for any support, no matter how big or small.