The South African Sport Association for the Physically Disabled (SASAPD) held its national Games in Bloemfontein last week.
The Western Cape team remained unbeaten, winning all six of their matches, claiming the title in the process, the first in more than two decades.
Two of the victorious Western Cape Team are the League of Friends of the Blind (LOFOB)’s goalball players.
Israel Hattingh and Marlin Kolbee were selected to represent Western Cape at the games.
Israel Hatting (visually impaired) is the LOFOB club coach and served as the Western Cape Team Manager for the tournament. Marlin Kolbee (blind) formed part of the Western Cape team for the last two years.
Goalball is a team sport designed for athletes with a vision impairment where teams of three try to throw a ball into their opponents goal.
The ball the players use has bells embedded into it in order for the players to hear where it is during play.
Usually played on an indoor volleyball court, players use ear-hand co-ordination to master the sport.
The Western Cape team participated in six games and won them all.
The final game was played against Free State and Western Cape won with a resounding 20-11.
“LOFOB is pleased to have contributed to the development and growth of goalball in the Western Province.
“We extended a hearty congratulations to the Western Cape team for this outstanding achievement and for bringing the gold medal home after 24 years,” says LOFOB’s executive director, Dr. Armand Bam
