Adapting Sports and Recreational Activities for the Blind

Exercise is essential to our mental and physical health. There are a thousand and one ways to exercise. Some run, walk or cycle. Others don't leave their home. They can enjoy exercising with the latest jazzercise, pallottis or Tai chi videos. Some join a gym or the YMCA. Others engage in adult sporting teams.

Blind adults, such as myself, need to exercise, as well. We, like most "light dependent people," eat too much, become more sedentary as we age and lose our muscle mass. But, there are some challenges to exercise. Videos and aerobics leave us more mentally exhausted than physically. This is because the exercises are not explained in a way that we can fully comprehend them. When we finally do understand the move or exercise (which was more difficult to explain than to actually perform; go figure), the leader is on to another more complicated exercise. Certainly, there are those who are self motivators and go to the gym or walk on their own. However, I have found that walking; in itself can be difficult for a blind person. Please let me clarify, lest someone thinks that blind people have trouble walking by themselves. It is necessary to walk at a speed that increases your heart rate. Furthermore, you must continue this speed for at least fifteen minutes. This is difficult to do if you are using a cane or even a dog. You have to look for and go around obstacles, stop at curbs and look for that turn that is coming up. Therefore, you can't walk at a quick enough speed. I have found myself stuck between treadmilling and stationary cycling or just sitting around thinking about exercising. It would be nice to join a volleyball team, like my daughter or play three on three basketball like my sons. I would even settle for a competitive game of Ping-Pong, that is what the navy guys are playing these days. (Smile).

There is a growing number of blind people who feel this exact same way. These blind people are interested in being more active, thus they play sports. There are many sports that have been adaptive for the blind. Some sports need no modifications at all. These sports include: swimming, diving, wrestling, High Jump, pole vaulting, shot put, long jump, discus throwing, javelin throwing, gymnastics, power lifting, indoor rowing and some forms of judo. In some sports, there are adaptations to the equipment or additions to make the sport accessible. Tandem cyclists have a sighted person in first seat and a blind person second seat. A sighted person runs as a sighted guide with a blind person in long distance running. There is also a sighted guide in nortic skiing, downhill (alpine) skiing, waterskiing and in golf. The Blind Golf association reports that sighted assistance is needed to give information about the specific hole and which club might be best. The golfer is responsible for their own swing and aim. In equestrian riding, there are sighted callers who call out different points on the arena and the blind rider must navigate his/her horse accordingly. In bowling, the only adaptation is a guide rail to assist the blind person in keeping their direction.

There also is blind archery and rifle shooting. For this, headphones are worn by the participants and the person must locate targets by identifying the proximity of certain beeps. The target has a beeper on it and the participant has to use his ears to determine how far left or right or high or low that they are aiming.
Hey, learning to aim by sound and not sight could also serve the military.

There are other sports that are either made specifically or adapted within their rules and regulations to accommodate blind people. Goal ball or torball is one such sport. Although it was invented in 1946 by an Austrian, Hanz Lorenzen and German Sepp Reindle, it did not get recognized as a sport until 1976 when it was introduced to the Paralympics in Toronto, Canada. This sport is played indoors on a court or gymnasium floor. Tactile marks are placed on the floor to orient blind persons. A team of three sleepshaded athletes, on each side of the court aims to launch a ball at speeds more than 30 mph into the opposing side's goal. The ball is slightly larger than a basketball and made of much thicker rubber. There are nine medium sized bells in the ball to help the athletes track the ball's location. The athletes must use their body to stop the ball and hurl it toward the opponent's goal. This is a rough game because the ball is coming at high speeds and defenders must throw themselves on the ground and use their body as a human shield for their goal.

Showdown is a cross between table hockey and table tennis. It does not have courts marked on the table; therefore points are scored by hitting the ball into a goal pocket. Joe Lewis, a totally blind Canadian, wanted to find a game which could be played by blind people without any sighted assistance. Thus, in the 1960's he invented Showdown. He and another Canadian, Patrick York, refined the rules and equipment until it has become the showdown that is played today in the Paralympics. Showdown was an international success at its debut as a recreational sport during the 1980 Olympiad for the Physically Disabled in Arnhem, Holland. Showdown is easy to learn. The object of the game is to bat (with a paddle) the ball off the side wall, along the table, under the centre screen (much like a Ping-Pong net), and into the opponents

Goal. The first player to reach eleven points, leading by two or more points, is the winner. One of the reasons this game is so popular is its low cost. All a player needs is paddles. The table is specially made and the balls are made with bee bees inside so that the blind person can hear the ball rolling. Showdown is being played in countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and North and South America.

Beep baseball is another favorite among blind individuals. The ball is much like a baseball with a beeper inside. There is a sighted pitcher who pitches the ball to the batter. The batter must connect with the ball and run to a base. There are only two bases: first and third. However, they are not run to in succession. One of the two is turned on after the batter hits the ball. If the batter makes it to the beeping base before the ball is picked up by a fielder, then, he/she has made a run. There are six innings unless there is a tie. There are three outs for each team in one inning. To get a player out, a fielder must locate and hold the ball before the player makes it to the specified beeping base.

Cricket is another sport that has been adapted for the blind. These adaptations benefit the nonsighted and low vision players. The main difference between standard Cricket and Blind Cricket is the ball. A size three football (Soccer ball) is used in Blind Cricket to help the partially sighted players to see the ball. The ball is also filled with ball bearings to make it audible for the totally blind players. The MCC Laws of Cricket have also been adapted in other ways in an attempt to allow blind and partially sighted people to compete on equal terms. The major variations are as follows:
The wicket is larger, making it easier for the partially sighted players to see and helps orient a blind batsman or bowler. The Bowler must ask the Batsman if he is ready before beginning his run up and shout "play" as he releases the ball. A totally blind Fielder can make a catch after the ball has bounced once. Teams throughout Europe, Asia and Africa enjoy competitive cricket games.

The newest sport to be modified is basketball. There is a beeper placed on the backboard so that blind athletes can orient themselves to the basket. While the first basketballs had bells in them, similar to the goalballs; New technology from Rose-Hulman University of Indiana has put a beeper inside the basketball. This would allow blind athletes to hear where the ball is at all times. While the blind players might have a hard time playing the game as pro ballers do, they will now be able to play "horse," and "21."

There are many organizations that promote sports for blind people. United States Association of Blind athletes (USABA) is an organization which promotes sports for blind teens and adults. Each sport has their own date and place of regional and national competitions. There is also the International Blind Sports Federation which supports competitive and recreational sports for blind people.

Check out these links for videos of the various sports and more information about record holders, rules of play and competitions.

Sources:
http://www.ibsa.es/eng/
http://www.usaba.org