Ahead of the first Goalball Academy Aspire Days, check out information on VICTA’s travel offer for attendees!
The Goalball Academy programme supports young blind or partially sighted people to begin their journey along the Goalball UK Performance Pathway, with the opportunity to progress to the Talent Programme, and maybe one day Great Britain! Goalball Academy events are open to anyone with any goalball experience, with fun being at the forefront of everything we do alongside our six key values (confidence, honesty, respect, trust, listening, and teamwork).
Goalball Academy Aspire days are new for 2024, one-day training days in partnership with goalball clubs. These are in:
- Northern Allstars – Sat 13 July 10am – 1pm at Upper Hall at Sport Central, Northumbria University, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8ST
- Cambridge Dons – Sun 14 July 11.45am – 5pm at Cherry Hinton Leisure Centre, Colville Road, Cambridge, CB1 9EJ
- Winchester Goalball Club – Sat 17 August 10.45am – 4.30pm at Peter Symonds College, Owens Road, Winchester, SO22 6RX
- RNC Academy – Sat 21 September 10.00am – 4.00pm at the Royal National College for the Blind, Venns Lane, Hereford, HR1 1DT
- Liverpool Goalball Academy Aspire Day – details TBC
- London Goalball Academy Aspire Day – details TBC
This is to support more young people to access the Goalball Academy in more local areas. These days are:
- Open to blind or partially sighted people aged 11-18. If you are just outside of the age bracket please still complete the form and we can discuss your attendance.
- Open to people of any goalball experience, even if you haven’t played before, we will support you to have a great time.
- They will take place from e.g., 10am until 5pm and include on-court sessions led by Goalball Academy coaches, club coaches and volunteers.
- A great opportunity to make new friends, play more goalball, learn a new sport, and take your first step on our Performance Pathway!
Following these days there may be the opportunity to attend further Aspire days and our Regional Hub camps. We encourage all attendees to become members of a club, if they aren’t already. Register your interest via our Goalball Academy self nomination form.
VICTA are supporting our Aspire Days with a travel offer available for attendees to apply for, which covers:
- Travel expenses up to £50 for those taking part in a Goalball Academy Aspire Day
- This offer only applies to the cost of the travel for a young person with a vision impairment
- Please also note that this is a limited offer and VICTA reserve the right to close it once we reach capacity.
To benefit from this offer, you must:
- Be eligible for the age category identified for the Goalball Academy Aspire Days
- Be registered or registerable blind or partially sighted (VICTA may ask for a copy of your/your child’s registration documents or a letter from an ophthalmologist as confirmation).
Thank you to VICTA for supporting our Goalball Academy Aspire Days, we hope it will support more blind or partially sighted people to experience goalball, and our Goalball Academy programme!
