Physical preparation in goalball

Abstract

People with disabilities (PWD) represent the category of population which due to their impaired abilities have special needs. However, PWD need to have sports activities like all other people in order to maintain and improve their general anthropological status. As such, people with disabilities achieve significant sport results at the highest level. Blind and visually impaired people are a special category of people with disabilities in regards to sports training and competitions, since their physical abilities and characteristics are not impaired compared to people without disabilities, except in the field of sight. Goalball is a team sport designed for blind and visually impaired people and is characteristic among sports of people with disabilities because the rules are not adopted from another sport and adapted for people with disabilities, but are unique. There is no categorization in this sport because all participants, blind and visually impaired, wear special blacked - out eye shades, so that everyone is equal on the court. Goalball requires special physical preparation due to the complexity of the game itself. Although in this sport players occupy only three positions on the field, the time from defending the shot on goal to the end of the attacking phase is 10 seconds, so athletes must have high fitness levels. Depending on the competition schedule, there is a distinct difference between general and special physical preparation, within which special emphasis is placed on individual physical preparation.