The Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department recently hosted Inaugural Blind Sports Day of Palm Beach County to create an opportunity for everyone to experience sports for individuals with visual impairment and blindness.
The event was in partnership with Endless Possibilities for the Disabled, Inc. and took place at the CMAA Therapeutic Recreation Complex in Lake Worth on Oct. 14. Adults and children from age 6 and up, who are with or without visual impairment and blindness, were invited to a free interactive day to participate in four different blind sports. The event included beep baseball, beep kickball, boccia and goalball. The participants all were required to wear an eyeshade, which are used when playing sports designed for individuals who are blind or visually impaired to ensure they all have the same level of vision during the games.
The event, which was designed to bring awareness and help build interest for activities and programs for adaptive sports, attracted over 60 participants and several volunteers. The United States Association of Blind Athletes also holds events annually for National Blind Sports Month in October.
“We had a good turnout and a lot of people enjoyed the day,” said Diana Holm, recreation specialist II at the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department. “The feedback we received was really amazing and it was a successful event.”
The participants were provided information to learn the basics about the different sports and were able to try out the different equipment.
Goalball consisted of a 3-on-3 game in which each team attempted to throw the ball that had bells embedded inside of it into the opponent’s net. The participants kneeled on the ground and used their bodies to safely field and block the ball.
Boccia featured participants in a 1-on-1, 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 game. After a white marker ball was thrown first, each team received colored balls with an objective to toss them as close to the white marker ball as possible.
Beep baseball featured participants hitting a ball with a beeping sound and running toward either first and third base (4 feet tall and padded). The hitter must reach the base with the buzzing sound before the ball was fielded by the opponent.
Beep kickball consisted of the participants kicking the ball off the ground and it followed the same format as beep baseball.
Larry McDowell serves as the president of the Braille Club of Palm Beach County, an organization promoting recreational, social and educational activities for individuals with visual impairment and blindness. McDowell is the coach of the Braille Bandits beep baseball team, which holds practices at John Prince Park in Lake Worth and Mills Pond Park in Fort Lauderdale. The team formed in 2016 and currently has men and women participating from their mid 20s to the mid 70s. They attend out-of-state tournaments in Atlanta and play in the National Beep Baseball Association World Series, which will take place in Missouri during July. The team also includes sighted participants at pitcher and catcher. McDowell credited all the volunteers and organizations who have provided support, including the Lake Worth Lions Club.
“We have a lot of fun,” McDowell said. “We have had a lot of the same people since we started. They just really love the game.”
The Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department hosts an open gym for adaptive sports during select evenings at the CMAA Therapeutic Recreation Complex. The sports include goalball, boccia, beep kickball, beep baseball, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair lacrosse and handcycling.
The CMAA Therapeutic Recreation Complex is operated by the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department. They provide a variety of adapted sports for youth and adults in order for all individuals, regardless of ability, to have an equal opportunity to participate in sports and recreation in the community. Adapted sports creates an opportunity for athletes with physical and visual impairments to develop independence, confidence and fitness through participation in community sports, including competition, recreation and educational programs.
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