The Jerusalem Institute for the Blind (JIB) has sent a goalball team to the Tokyo Paralympics, according to a statement released on Thursday.
“Goalball is a team sport for athletes with a vision impairment, where a ball with bells embedded in it, is thrown into the opponent’s goal,” the statement read.
Four of the players, Lehi Ben David, Gal Hermani, Roni Ohayon, and Alham Mahmid participated in an after-school program at JIB called Noar Yachad, which aims “to bring middle and high school students together in a group where everyone is equal - where everyone is blind or visually impaired – in order for them to bond with like-minded peers and work together to improve their skills,” the statement added.
The program includes various field trips, workshops, and other activities that help students make friends and integrate into sighted schools and communities.
According to JIB, the program offers “crucial support” to the visually impaired, which helped one of the students who was struggling with a difficult financial and family situation at home realize her skills as a goalball player.
Two other visually impaired athletes affiliated with Beit HaLochem Tel Aviv, a rehabilitative sports center, Ori Mizrahi and Noa Malka, are also on the Paralympic team.
They joined the Jerusalem Institute for the Blind while attending sports camps at school. In addition to goalball, these camps involve sports such as sailing, tandem biking, and more.