WORLD’S BEST GOALBALL PLAYER WILL BE IN CALLAO

One of the privileges that hosting Lima 2019 will grant us is seeing the world’s best Para athletes in action. One of these athletes is Leomon Moreno, currently considered the best Para goalball player in the world, one of the most exciting competitions that we will be able to enjoy during the Parapan American Games.

Leomon Moreno da Silva was born with retinitis pigmentosa (a degenerative disease that also affected his family). He is a functional Para athlete that also competed in football 5-a-side and Para athletics. He won a silver medal for goalball in the London 2012 Paralympic Games and a bronze medal in Rio 2016, with a goal he scored against Sweden in overtime.

At the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games, he won a gold medal and, at the 2014 IBSA World Cup in Finland, he placed first, just like in Mallmö, Sweden, in 2018. With this feat, Leomon qualified for Tokyo 2020; hence, if Brazil wins in Lima, it will pass its quota place to the second-place team, which will then qualify for next year’s Paralympic Games. All these titles have earned him his reputation as the best goalball player in the world.

With this, Brazil will be one of the main attractions in a fully equipped facility like the Miguel Grau Coliseum of Callao, where a well-organized international championship was held in 2018.

Goalball is also one of the Para sports in which Peru will participate for the first time, both in women’s and men’s. This sport was created for people who are blind or vision impaired.

The appeal of this Para sports is that the ball is almost always in play, which makes it very dynamic.

How do you play this sport?

Two teams of three people each play against each other. Team members wear eyeshades that block out their vision completely.

The match lasts 24 minutes, divided into two halves of 12 minutes. Each period has a three-minute break.

How do you win a match?

You score a goal when the ball, thrown with one hand, enters the opposing team’s net. The team that scores the most goals wins. If there is a difference of 10 goals between the teams, the match is over.

How are players’ guided?

Because they are people with visual impairment, the ball, which weighs 1.25 kg, has a key role in the development of the match: it contains bells inside, which make a loud noise that serve as a guide for the players.

What is the field of play like?

The field of play measures 18 meters long and nine meters wide. It has nets, 1.30 meters tall, on each nine-meter back-line.

The field of play is divided into three areas:

• Orientation area

• Landing area

• Team area

How do players protect themselves?

Players wear elbow pads, kneepads and neck protectors.

COMPETITION SYSTEM

The competition system is a round robin. Brazil will seek to win the title obtained at Toronto 2015 once again, where they won gold, both in women’s and men’s, with their star player Leomon Moreno da Silva.

The following women’s teams will participate in Lima 2019: Canada, Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico and USA; while the men’s team will be: Brazil, Argentina, USA, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela and Peru.

Goalball will be contested from August 25 to 31 at the Miguel Grau Coliseum in Callao. The first match will take place on August 25, starting at 10:00, between Canada and Brazil in the women’s category.

DAY ONE FIXTURE

TICKET SALES

If you do not want to miss this multi-sports celebration, you are still in time to buy your tickets to go to competitions and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Parapan American Games.

Tickets start at PEN 10. There will be a 50% discount for children under 18, senior citizens and people with an impairment. Tickets can be bought at the 11 Lima 2019-authorized points of sale around the city. Learn where they are located:

Tickets can also be purchased online at lima2019.pe/tickets, where you will also find the Sports Calendar with detailed competition schedules. In the case of e-tickets, printing will no longer be necessary since customers can show their e-ticket from their mobile phones at the entrance of the sports venue.