Sports for Blind People: Goalball, Blind Soccer and More

Sports for blind people are played by sound, touch and teamwork: a ball with bells inside, eyeshades so nobody can see, raised lines on the court, and sighted guides, callers or coaches where the sport needs them. The most searched in the US are goalball and blind soccer, both Paralympic sports; beep baseball, blind chess, blind golf and tenpin bowling have their own rules and competitions. Athletes compete in sight classes, B1 to B3, so that people with similar vision play each other. This guide explains how each sport is played, using only the rules published by its governing body as of October 29, 2026, and where to start in the US.

Key points

• Goalball was made for blind players. It was "invented in 1946 to help rehabilitate veterans who lost their sight during World War II" (IPC), and every player wears eyeshades.
• Blind soccer uses a ball that makes noise. Outfield players are blindfolded and the goalkeeper can see (IBSA). The US team will play at the Paralympics for the first time in Los Angeles in 2028 (USABA).
• Beep baseball has a beeping ball and buzzing bases. Every batter and fielder is blindfolded; each team brings its own sighted pitcher and catcher (NBBA).
• Blind chess has no sight classes. Blind and sighted players compete against each other on adapted boards (IBSA), and blind players may record their moves in braille.
• In the US, start with USABA. The U.S. Association of Blind Athletes is the national governing body for goalball and blind soccer and runs programs in many other sports (USABA).

Blind sports at a glance

Sources: IBSA, USABA, USABA running, NBBA, FIDE, USBGA, IPC.

Sight classes: B1, B2 and B3

Most blind sports group athletes by how much they can see. USABA's page lists IBSA's three classes:

USABA's exact wording for B1 is "No light perception in either eye up to light perception, and an inability to recognize the shape of a hand at any distance or in any direction." (USABA). USABA's page also lists a fourth class, B4, for a visual acuity from above 20/200 up to 20/70.

Classification is done by eye doctors, not coaches: "Classifiers are ophthalmologists and optometrists who are recognised by IBSA and IPC." (IBSA). Before an IBSA competition, "all athletes must undergo classification, carried out by an international classification panel." (IBSA). At the Paralympics, sight classes carry each sport's own letters: S11 to S13 in swimming, T11 to T13 and F11 to F13 in athletics, and J1 and J2 in judo (IPC swimming, IPC athletics, IPC judo).

Goalball

Goalball was designed for blind players from the start. It was "invented in 1946 to help rehabilitate veterans who lost their sight during World War II" (IPC).

How goalball is played

Two teams of three try to roll the ball past each other into a goal the width of the court. The attackers throw; the defenders hear the ball coming and throw themselves across its path to block it. According to the governing bodies:

• The team. "Each team has six players, with three members playing at any one time on the same size court used for volleyball (18 metres long and 9 metres wide)" (IPC).
• The ball. Players are "firing a 1.25kg ball across the court", and "the ball has been measured leaving a player’s hand in excess of 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph)" (IBSA).
• Bells and raised lines. "The ball contains several bells so that players can locate its position. In addition the goalball court is marked with raised lines so that players can feel their location at any time." (IBSA).
• Eyeshades for everyone. "Players wear eyeshades to ensure a level-playing field" (IBSA), so a B3 player has no advantage over a B1 player.
• Silence. Because the players are listening for the bells, "spectators must be completely silent during play" (IBSA).
• Time. "Games are split into two 12 minute halves" and "If a goal difference of ten is reached during regulation time, a mercy is called" (IBSA).
• Speed of play. "If a block is successful, players have 10 seconds to return the attack." (IPC).

"Men and women play separately at IBSA Goalball sanctioned-competitions" (IBSA).

Paralympic goalball

Goalball was a demonstration sport at the Heidelberg 1972 Paralympics, the men's event began at Toronto 1976 and the women's in 1984 (IPC). "At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, 96 athletes representing 12 nations competed in medal events." The IPC adds that "Today, the sport is played competitively in 112 countries." (IPC).

"The U.S. goalball team made its Paralympic debut in 1976 at the Toronto Games" (USABA). USABA counts 12 Paralympic medals for the US: "Women: 2 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze. Men: 1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze" (USABA). The national teams have a full-time resident training program in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

How to start playing goalball

USABA says teams play across the country and gives the email of its USA Goalball Coordinator for anyone looking for one (USABA). You need an official sight classification to play at national and international level. To practice at home, USABA's tip is simple: "Eyeshades can be made using ski goggles and duct tape." (USABA).

The 2025 national championships were held at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind in Colorado Springs, and "Matches are free and open to the public" (USABA). That school is in our state-by-state list of schools for the blind.

Blind soccer (blind football)

Blind soccer, called blind football outside the US, is five-a-side soccer for blind players. IBSA splits it in two: blind football for B1 players, and partially sighted futsal for B2 and B3 players (IBSA).

Blind soccer rules

From IBSA's overview of the sport:

• Players. "Each team has five players, including a goalkeeper. Outfield players must wear eye patches and eyeshades"
• The goalkeeper. "The goalkeeper can be sighted or partially sighted, classified as B2 and B3, and cannot leave the area."
• The ball. "The football must contain bells or another system that ensures the ball makes a noise"
• The pitch. It is "40m x 20m wide" and surrounded by kick-boards, a barrier that marks the edge of the playing area.
• No offside. "There are no offside rules or throw-ins in blind football but there are corner kicks."
• Time. "Each half lasts 20 minutes and teams can request a one minute time-out per half."

"Before attempting to tackle, players must shout the word ‘voy’ so that the person they are attempting to tackle is aware." (USABA). Behind the opponents' goal, "Offensive guides make noise around the goal and bang on the post of the goal to signal its location to the blind outfielders." (IPC), and USABA notes that "Teams can also have off-field guides to assist them."

Blind football at the Paralympics

"Blind football first featured at the Paralympics in Athens 2004, and has featured at every Games since." Brazil dominated it: "Brazil has won gold at every Games except for Paris 2024 where they came third against France (1st) and Argentina (2nd)." The Paralympics have only a men's event: "There has never been a women’s event in blind football at the Paralympics." (IPC).

USABA says "Blind soccer is played in 60 countries and has become the fastest-growing Paralympic sport in the world." (USABA). The US will play at the Paralympics for the first time in 2028: "Blind soccer has been part of the Paralympic Games since 2004, but the U.S. has never fielded a team. That will all change in 2028 as the U.S. plays host to the Los Angeles Paralympic Games and receives an automatic entry into the blind soccer competition as the host country." (USABA). USABA became the national governing body for blind soccer in January 2022, and in Los Angeles it runs free blind soccer clinics for children with the city's PlayLA program.

Beep baseball (blind baseball)

Beep baseball is the American blind version of baseball. Its governing body, the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA), was "initially established in January 1976 In Chicago" (NBBA). USABA sums it up: "The game is played with a ball that beeps and bases that buzz" (USABA).

Beep baseball rules

From the NBBA's 2026 rules (NBBA rules):

• The goal. A team scores runs "by having its batters hit the beeping ball into fair territory and reach a buzzing (activated) base before the ball is legally fielded by the defense."
• Buzzing bases, no second base. "There shall be three bases: Home base (plate), 1st base, and 3rd base. First and third bases will emit a steady ‘buzz’ when activated; home plate does not emit a sound." When the ball is hit, one of the two bases starts buzzing and the batter has to run to it; there is no running from one base to another (NBBA guide).
• Blindfolds. "It is mandatory for each batter and fielder to wear a blindfold."
• Sighted helpers. "Each team must also furnish its own pitchers and catchers on offense and at least one, but not more than two, spotters on defense." When the ball is hit, a spotter calls a number for the zone it is heading to; the pitcher is on the batter's own team and tries to place the ball on the batter's bat.
• Game length. "A Regulation Beep Baseball Game is six innings (turns at bat) for each team".

Players do not have to be totally blind. The rules define visually impaired as "a distance visual acuity no greater than 20/70 and/or a visual field no greater than 30 degrees in the best eye with best practical correction." Because everyone wears a blindfold, everyone plays at the same level.

Beep baseball World Series and teams

The 2026 World Series, the 50th anniversary edition, "was held August 2 through August 8 at Stuart Sports Complex in Aurora, Illinois. Twenty-one teams from across the United States competed." The Indy Thunder won their seventh title (NBBA).

The NBBA keeps a list of its teams on its teams page. To start a new one, its guide says "A minimum of six players with visual impairment and three people with sight are required." (NBBA).

Blind chess

In chess, blind and sighted players meet as equals. "There is no classification in chess — all players can compete against each other regardless of their sight." (IBSA).

How blind people play chess

The board is adapted so you can feel the position without knocking pieces over. IBSA describes it: "The adapted boards are at least 20x20cm with the black squares slightly raised by 3–4mm." Each square has a hole in the middle, and each piece has a peg underneath that fits into it, "thereby fixing the piece securely in place." (IBSA). The black pieces are specially marked so they can be told apart from the white ones by touch (FIDE Laws of Chess, Appendix D).

When a blind player meets a sighted one, FIDE's Laws of Chess allow two boards: "either player may demand the use of two boards, the sighted player using a normal board, the visually disabled player using one specially constructed." Every move is said aloud: "The moves shall be announced clearly, repeated by the opponent and executed on his/her chessboard." (FIDE Laws of Chess, Appendix D). To make the announcements clear, FIDE suggests a name for each file, from "A - Anna" to "H - Hector".

Braille in chess

Players have to keep a written record of the game, and braille is one of the ways to do it: "The visually disabled player must keep score of the game in Braille or longhand, or record the moves on a recording device." (FIDE Laws of Chess, Appendix D). IBSA puts it the same way: "the visually impaired player writes the moves in Braille or records the moves on a tape recorder" (IBSA).

Where to play blind chess

Internationally, chess became an IBSA sport in 2015 (IBSA). In the US, the United States Blind Chess Association (USBCA) "has been around since the late nineteen sixties". Its members play by email (correspondence chess) and live online, "using LiChess or Skype on your computer or smart phone, using your own adaptive chess set." (USBCA). Anyone can join its mailing list; paid membership adds chess instruction and tournaments with cash prizes.

Blind golf

Blind golf follows the Rules of Golf with a few modifications, and every blind golfer plays with a coach. "Blind Golf is a team sport where a player and a coach work as one to compete against others in the field." (USBGA).

The coach

Under the USBGA's modifications, a coach is the person who "assists a blind golfer in addressing the ball and with alignment prior to the stroke", and "A coach has the same status under the Rules as a caddie." According to the USBGA, the coach's job includes "walking the player to the ball, describing the shot and the distance, helping with club selection, and positioning and aligning the player and the club to the ball. The coach then stands back while the player makes the swing." (USBGA). The USBGA follows the Rules of Golf, with the USGA's modifications for players with disabilities (Rule 25).

Blind golfers compete in three classes recognized by the International Blind Golf Association and the USBGA: B1 (totally blind), and B2 and B3 (vision impaired). Their limits are close to the IBSA ones above (USBGA).

Blind golf in the US

The first "Blind Golfers Championship" was played in Duluth, Minnesota, on August 20, 1938. The United States Blind Golf Association was formed in 1953 by Bob Allman, a blind golfer and lawyer from Philadelphia (USBGA). Today it has no local chapters: "No, there is one USBGA that holds tournaments throughout the USA." (USBGA). It holds a National Championship and regional tournaments; the Guiding Eyes Classic, for totally blind golfers, has been played in Mount Kisco, New York, since 1978 (USBGA).

Blind bowling

Blind bowlers use ordinary bowling centers. "Players can bowl in any bowling alley but most totally blind bowlers need sighted guidance or use a guide rail to help with their deliveries." (IBSA). IBSA describes the guide rail as a light rail of wood or metal set alongside the approach; the bowler usually slides one hand along it while delivering the ball with the other. A sighted assistant tells the bowler what is left standing: "These assistants identify the pins either knocked down or left standing by calling the numbered locations of the pins."

IBSA says it is played in more than 20 countries, and "The first IBSA Tenpin Bowling World Championships were held in Orlando, USA, in 2004." (IBSA).

Sports with a sighted guide: running, cycling and triathlon

Many athletes who are blind take part in the same races as everyone else, with a guide:

• Running. "in running disciplines, athletes who are B1 and B2 are allowed the use of a guide runner. The same rules apply for your local 10k or marathon." USABA points to United in Stride, which pairs runners with guides, and to local groups like Achilles International (USABA). Since 2008 USABA has worked with the California International Marathon in Sacramento to make it inclusive for blind runners.
• Tandem cycling. "The blind or visually impaired rider is called a stoker and rides behind the sighted rider who is called the pilot." (USABA).
• Triathlon. "You’ll use a tether during the swim and the run and ride a tandem bike." At the Paralympics the race is a sprint distance (USABA).
• Skiing. USABA suggests starting with lessons from a mountain's adaptive ski program and "a trained adaptive ski guide and instructor" (USABA).

Judo and swimming

Judo for blind athletes is regular judo with one change: "Players are required to grasp each other's judogi (uniform) before and during the match." Athletes compete in two classes, J1 and J2, by sex and weight (IPC). J1 athletes, who are blind or almost blind, "Wear a red circle on the back number of their judogis." (IBSA). Para judo has been on the Paralympic program since Seoul 1988, with women's events since 2004.

Swimming adds two rules for the class with the least vision. "In order to ensure a fair competition athletes in the S/SB11 sport class are required to wear blackened goggles." And "To ensure safety all S/SB11 swimmers must use a tapper" (IPC): a person at the end of the pool who taps the swimmer before the wall, using "a tennis ball attached to a mobility cane" (USABA).

Other blind sports

• Showdown. A table game for two: players use paddle-type bats to hit a ball under a center screen into the other player's goal. "Sound produced by the bee bees rolling around inside the ball indicates the location of the ball during the play." It was created by Joe Lewis, a totally blind Canadian, and first played in 1980 (IBSA).
• Blind hockey. Played with "A puck that makes noise and is bigger and slower than the traditional puck." In the US it is governed by USA Hockey (USABA).
• Powerlifting, torball and more. IBSA also governs "showdown, powerlifting, nine and tenpin bowling, chess, torball and partially sighted football." (IBSA).

Blind sports at the Paralympics

IBSA runs three Paralympic sports directly: "These are goalball, judo and blind football, all of which are contested every four years at the Paralympic Games." (IBSA). Blind athletes also compete in Paralympic athletics and swimming, in their own sight classes, and in triathlon with a guide.

For the US, Los Angeles 2028 brings the blind soccer team's first Paralympics, as host. In judo, LA28 "aims to be the first Games to have gender parity in Para judo with 72 athletes competing across eight women's events and eight men's events." (IPC).

Where to play sports if you're blind in the US

• USABA is the place to start for most sports. It was founded by Dr. Charles Buell in 1976 and, besides goalball and blind soccer, offers "track and field, Nordic and alpine skiing, biathlon, judo, wrestling, swimming, tandem cycling and powerlifting" (USABA). Membership costs "$50 for adults, $40 under age 21" and includes insurance at USABA events (USABA).
• Beep baseball: the NBBA teams page.
• Chess: the USBCA mailing list.
• Golf: the USBGA, whose site also explains how to become a coach.
• Swimming and judo: USABA sends swimmers to local USA Swimming or YMCA clubs (USABA), and points judo players to the USA Judo Visually Impaired National Championships (USABA).
• Schools for the blind: the 2025 goalball nationals were held at one; see our state-by-state list of schools for the blind.

For help beyond sport, such as job training, free books or services at home, see our guide to organizations for the blind. For blind athletes and adventurers who made history, see famous blind people, and for how blind people handle phones, money and cooking, how blind people do everyday things.

Where Braillito fits

In this guide, braille shows up at the chessboard, where a blind player can keep the score of the game in braille. Braillito, our app, teaches braille. It teaches the braille cells in lessons with exercises you play, with lives, levels and a daily streak: 59 lessons in 8 worlds in English. It also has a translator, a dictionary and a cell builder. It is meant for anyone learning the code, such as adults who are losing their sight (learning braille as an adult) or sighted family members of a braille reader (learning braille as a sighted person).

Braillito is a subscription with no free version; depending on the plan, it starts with a free trial or a discounted first period, if it's your first subscription (is Braillito free?). Get Braillito.

Frequently asked questions

What sports can blind people play?

Many sports, with adaptations. Goalball was designed for blind players; blind soccer, beep baseball, chess, golf, tenpin bowling, judo, swimming, running, tandem cycling, triathlon, skiing, showdown and blind hockey all have adapted rules, and goalball, blind football and judo are Paralympic sports run by IBSA.

What is goalball?

A team sport for blind and visually impaired players. Two teams of three, all wearing eyeshades, roll a 1.25 kg ball with bells inside toward the other team's goal on a court the size of a volleyball court, and block it with their bodies. Spectators stay silent so the players can hear the ball.

How do blind people play soccer?

With a ball that makes noise, on a 40 by 20 meter pitch surrounded by boards. Outfield players wear eyeshades; the goalkeeper can see, and a guide behind the goal calls out where it is. Players shout 'voy' before tackling, and there is no offside.

What is beep baseball?

A version of baseball for blind players, governed by the NBBA. The ball beeps, first and third base buzz, and every batter and fielder wears a blindfold. A sighted pitcher from the batter's own team pitches, and the batter scores a run by reaching the buzzing base before the defense fields the ball.

How do blind people play chess?

On a board with raised black squares and holes that hold pegged pieces, so they can feel the position. Moves are announced aloud, and against a sighted player each side can use their own board. Blind players keep the score in braille, in longhand or by recording it.

Can a blind person play golf?

Yes. A blind golfer plays with a coach, who walks them to the ball, describes the shot and the distance, helps choose the club and lines them up, then steps back for the swing. In the US, the USBGA, founded in 1953, holds tournaments across the country.

What do B1, B2 and B3 mean in blind sports?

They are sight classes. B1 athletes are blind or see only light; B2 and B3 athletes have more vision, up to a visual acuity of 20/200 or a narrow visual field. In goalball, blind football and beep baseball, blindfolds or eyeshades put every player at the same level.

How can a blind person get into sports in the US?

Start with the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, which covers goalball, blind soccer and many other sports. For beep baseball, chess or golf, contact the NBBA, the USBCA or the USBGA. USABA also points to local running groups, such as Achilles International, and to USA Swimming or YMCA swim clubs.