Surrey Goalball Club Hosts Our First Ever Taster Session
Last Saturday (the 7th of February), SGC held our first taster session at Woking High School, and we were delighted to see 15 people coming along to give goalball a go. We had a real mix of players, with some having played competitively before, but most having never touched a goalball. It was wonderful to see so many people trying it out and building confidence.
For anyone new to goalball, it’s a fast Paralympic team sport designed for blind and partially sighted players. Everyone wears blackout eyeshades so the playing field is level, and the ball has bells inside so you can track it by sound. Teams throw the ball along the floor towards a full-width goal, while the defending team put their bodies on the line to block it from their goal. It’s dynamic, intense, and brilliant fun. This taster gave people a chance to experience that for themselves.
We started the morning with a quick warm up and pulse-raiser, followed by learning how to throw the ball. Once everyone got the hang of that, we split into two groups to practice diving out to defend. This was also a chance to get use to listening for the ball.
We then took what we’d learnt and put it into a game scenario. This is where everyone really got to show their newly acquired skills. Many goals were scored, but there were some equally great saves.
We finished off with a game of ‘BINGO!” (but not the kind you may be used to). In goalball, we use a 1-7 number system to describe locations on the court (1 being the left goalpost, 7 being the right one). “BINGO!” involves all the players working together in one team to try and score a goal at each of the numbers. After a great start hitting all the numbers 1 through 6, it took us a little while to find 7, but thankfully one of our more experienced players put us out of our misery, finding the back of the net in the right corner at 7, which brought us to the end of the session.
We finished things up with a very quick group photo and a cooldown.
Image Description: A goalball game in a sports hall: one blindfolded player in the centre is mid-throw with a blue ball towards the netted goal while a teammate lies outstretched after a dive and another kneels near the left post, with two volunteers watching on the right and the Woking High banner on the wall behind.
Ashar, one of our new players, said:
“I really enjoyed the taster session! I really liked the competitiveness of the matches and that there were players from all different age groups. It was also nice to meet new people. I'm excited about the next session.”
Our coach, Leah, who led the session, said:
“I’m incredibly pleased with the success of this session. It’s clear people have wanted more opportunities for visually impaired people to keep active in the area, something that is often much harder for us to do day to day. While we still have a long way to go and a lot to learn, I’m really looking forward to building on this momentum and growing what already feels like the start of a successful club.”
image Description: A goalball team defend in front of the netted goal in a sports hall; one dives across the floor blocking the blue ball while another sits ready nearby, with a coach watching and the Woking High banner on the wall behind.
A huge thank you goes to everyone who made this possible. We’re incredibly grateful for the volunteers who helped set up the court, guide players, and kept things running smoothly. Special thanks to Stephen from Goalball UK who’s support and guidance allowed us to get the club to this point. Thank you for everything and we can’t wait to keep working together to grow goalball in Surrey and beyond in the years to come.
And on that note, we aren’t going anywhere! Right now, we’re getting the final bits and pieces in place before we get our regular training sessions up and running. It won’t be long at all now before we have more details to share about when this will be, so make sure you stay tuned on our social media (@SurreyGoalball) for the latest updates. You can also join our mailing list and find useful information at surreygoalball.com/.
This is just the start, so if you do want to come along In future, you can express interest or even become a member by emailing Enquiries@surreygoalball.com. Becoming a member, which is completely free, helps us demonstrate quantifiable interest to potential funders, expediting the application process.