FIRST ROUND OF GOALBALL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP IS OVER

Aysor
Nov 18 2009
Armenia

The First Goalball Championship was held in Yerevan on November 17
initiated by Armenia’s Sport Federation for disabled people.

Six teams from Yerevan, Gyumri, Stepanakert, Echmiadzin and Abovyan
participated in the First Yerevan Goalball Team Championship. These
teams are Nika and Eagle (Yerevan), Shirak (Gyumri), Storm
(Stepanakert), Zipper (Echmiadzin), and Lions (Abovyan). In the
first round, teams were divided into A class and B class. Lions,
Nika, and Storm are in A class while other three teams are in B class.

In round one after hard struggle Lions won 17:14 over Storm and
14:10 over Nika, thus, top-seeding with leader title and entering
the semi-final. Nika seeded second after 11:10 victory over Storm.

In B class’s first round Zipper won13:10 over Eagles and 17:3 over
Shirak. Eagles, in its turn, won 15:9 over Shirak entering the
semi-final.

Today marks the second round of Championship where Lions will play
against Eagles, and Zipper will play against Nika. Of these two
will later contend for champion title while losers will contend for
vice-champion title.

Goalball is a team sport designed for blind athletes. It was devised
by Hanz Lorenzen (Austria), and Sepp Reindle (Germany), in 1946 in an
effort to help in the rehabilitation of visually impaired World War II
veterans. The sport evolved into a competitive game over the next few
decades and was a demonstration event at the 1976 Summer Paralympics
in Toronto. The sport’s first world championship was held in Austria
in 1978 and goalball became a full part of the Paralympics from the
1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem onwards. Participants compete in
teams of three, and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded in
it into the opponents’ goal. They must use the sound of the bell to
judge the position and movement of the ball. Games consist of two 10
minute halves.