Torball
Indoor Team Sport for the Blind Remains Popular
Torball is a team sport for the blind and visually impaired played indoors on a hardwood court 16 meters long and seven meters wide. The sport developed from Goalball in the 1960s and is used as both a rehabilitation and leisure activity as well as a competitive sport.
A Torball team consists of three players who play both offense and defense. The object of the game is to roll a bell-filled, soccer-sized ball past the opponent’s goal as many times as possible during two five-minute periods. The ball must be thrown (rolled) underneath three cords stretched across the middle of the court.
A ball that touches one of the three cords during a throw results in a penalty; one player leaves the court while the remaining two players defend their goal for one throw by the opposing team.
Torball and Goalball Develop from Rollball
Both Torball and Goalball evolved from an earlier game known as Rollball, which developed in Germany after World War II and was still played in a few countries in the early 1980s. Rollball used a 2-kilogram ball that was not inflated and had no bounce.
Torbal’s chief innovation was switching to a much lighter (500 gram) inflated ball. A standard Goalball weighs 1,250 grams.
Torball’s chief difference from Goalball is the use of a lighter ball and the three cords under which each throw must roll. Goalball designates a “release area” from which all throws must be released.
Lighter Ball Makes a Faster, More Sophisticated Game
Devotees of Torball note that the lightness of the ball make for a faster game than Goalball that is more exciting for spectators and more suitable for a wider range of players, including men, women, and seniors.
Despite the similarities in the two sports, the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) championed Goalball as the main team sport for the blind, which became a Paralympic event in 1987, debuting at summer Paralympic Games in Seoul in 1988. Paralympic prestige, public relations, and access to funding enabled Goalball to supplant Torball on the world stage.
Torball is still played however, by more than 1,200 people in 30 countries, particularly those in central Europe (including Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland) and Latin America. A self-organized Torball European championship launched in 1986 and in 1989 the IBSA officially recognized the sport and began sanctioning tournaments in 1991.
Official IBSA Torball Rules
The current (2006 - 2009) official rules for Torball may be downloaded from the International Blind Sports Federation website.
Torball’s continued popularity is a testament to the tenacity of the sport’s founders and fans. It’s struggle for recognition is a case study on how the politically charged Paralympics can propel some sports to prominence, i.e. Goalball, and leaves other fighting for survival.
IBSA Torball Logo
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