Goalball words · Beginner

A game for blind and visually impaired athletes, played by two teams of three players with up to three substitutes, on an 18 m by 9 m court. Each team throws the ball by hand along the floor to get it across the opponents' goal line while the other team tries to stop it. The ball has bells inside so it can be heard.

A rectangle 18.0 m long and 9.0 m wide, divided every 3.0 m along its length into six areas. Nothing but the court markings may be on it.

A blue, knobbed natural rubber ball 24 to 25 cm across and weighing 1.250 kg, give or take 0.050 kg. It has four sound holes in the upper half staggered from four in the lower half, and two bells inside.

Opaque eye covers that every player on court wears from the eyeshade check at the start of a half until its end, and in overtime and extra throws. Players may not wear glasses or contact lenses. At IBSA-sanctioned tournaments and the Paralympic Games the eyeshades must have a beak, a nose cover.

The referee's call for silence when the ball is about to be in play. The game starts with quiet please, centre, a throw of the ball, three whistles and play. Once quiet please is called, all communication from the bench must stop, or the team gets an illegal coaching penalty.

Scored when the ball is in play and completely crosses the goal line. The referee whistles twice and announces the goal, and the clock stops on the first whistle. The team with most goals wins, and the game ends immediately when one team leads by 10 goals.

Any action, not a pass, by which a player releases the ball on or off the court once they have control of it and the game clock is running.

The result of a personal or team penalty. For a personal penalty the penalised player defends alone against a throw from the other team, or if that is not possible the throwing team picks the defender, and for a team penalty the team awarded the throw picks the defender from the players on court. The game clock is stopped. The team awarded the penalty may decline it, and then keeps the ball. A defensive penalty means the throw is repeated unless it scored, and a penalty by the thrower means the throw cannot score.

A personal penalty on a thrower whose ball stays on the court but stops moving forward before the defending team's team area.

A personal penalty if the ball does not touch the court at least once on or before the high ball line, 6.0 m out at the front of the thrower's team area, when it leaves the thrower's hand. The line counts as part of the team area.

A personal penalty if the ball does not also touch the floor at least once in the neutral area during the throw.

A team penalty if a team does not get the ball across the centre line or a sideline within 10 seconds of its first defensive contact with it, whether or not it has the ball under control. The clock pauses for a time-out, substitution or blocked-out, and resets after a goal, the end of a half, an official's or medical time-out and in penalty situations.