Amy Alsop | Paralympics Champion

Goalball is played by visually impaired athletes and relies on sound. How does that work in front of a crowd of fans? The spectators during a game of goalball must be silent. Every player–whether you have a little bit of vision or no vision at all–must wear eye-shades, which is why it is so important that we are able to hear the ball: because we cannot see the ball. It makes the atmosphere really intense. How did you get started? While I was swimming, I met the coach of the goalball team in my city, and I took her up on the offer to try the sport. When I arrived at my first practice I realized that for the first time in my life the object of the game was to get hit by the ball (a sharp contrast to many of the games I played as a young child). And I had no problems with that. How is goalball unique? My immediate reaction to this question is “Yes, goalball is a very unique sport.” But goalball is similar to other sports in many ways. It is a team sport. It requires all members of the team to play both defense and offense. Yes, the crowd must be quiet, but they must also be quiet during a tennis match. Goalball isn’t even the only sport that requires athletes to wear blindfolds. As a whole, the game of goalball is unique; but when you break it down, it is very similar to other sports. What’s Canada’s advantage? Well, I will share with you one of our most sacred team traditions. It dates back to the 2000 Paralympic Games. Every member of our team colors their hair red. Some take a more subtle and dignified approach to coloring their hair, and then some of us go a bit wild and crazy with the hair color. That’s me!