Prize distribution for the Italian Cup Goalball in Bergamo: From the left Piera and Sandro Belotti (representatives of the organizers Bergamo), BSSG coach Marco Grazioli. Back from left Peter Mair, Christian Mair, Franz Gatscher, Gabriel Psenner. Front from left Magdalena Hofer, Manfred Wieser, Armin Plaikner

Bronze and silver in goalball for BSSG Südtirol

Being able to do sports is not something that can be taken for granted, especially for blind and visually impaired people, nor is being able to achieve national success in doing so.

15 April 2024

From: pm

The blind and visually impaired amateur sports group, or BSSG for short, South Tyrol looks back proudly on the recent successes in the Paralympic discipline of goalball.

In previous seasons, BSSG Südtirol was able to very successfully establish itself as one of the best Italian goalball teams. And the 2023/24 sports year should also be a good one for the committed blind, visually impaired and sighted athletes from all over South Tyrol. The BSSG secured two medals, a bronze in the Italian Championship and a silver in the Italian Cup. As a long-time coach, coach Marco Grazioli led the team to this repeated success. The top performers of these podium places for the BSSG Südtirol are Franz Gatscher, Magdalena Hofer, Christian Mair, Peter Mair, Gabriel Psenner, Armin Plaikner and Manfred Wieser. The South Tyrolean selection also includes two permanent members of the Italian national goalball team.

That makes you want more – and the season isn’t over yet. Now the focus is on the discipline of goalball, which is very similar to the sport of goalball. The Italian championships Serie A and Serie B, the Super Cup and the Italian Cup as well as several international friendly tournaments at home and abroad take place here in spring. Since the two sports only differ slightly from each other, the players are the same, except that in goalball there are almost four times as many active athletes.

General information and useful facts

The sport of goalball was developed in the middle of the 20th century specifically for blind and visually impaired war veterans and has since been enjoyed on all five continents of the world. The playing field, the size of a volleyball court (18x9 meters), is bordered on the two shorter sides by two goals (9 meters wide and 1,30 meters high). A team consists of three field players and three substitutes, each playing the role of attacker and defender. For orientation on the playing field, thin cords are fixed to the ground so that players can feel their position with their feet. The game object is a 1,25 kilogram ball made of hard rubber. This has three bells on the inside, which make it acoustically audible and localizable. This ball is thrown with the hands, with the throw resembling a bowling motion. The special thing about this sport is that all players wear opaque glasses, so blind, visually impaired and normal-sighted people can play sports together under the same conditions.

Blind sports have existed in South Tyrol for more than 50 years. In addition to the sporting aspect, the focus is primarily on the motor development of people with visual impairments and the social added value, which is achieved through inclusive physical activity both internally and externally.