Visual Impairment

• Guides should be used by individuals who are blind or have little vision.
• B1 and B2 athletes are allowed a guide in athletic competitions.
• A guide cannot pull or propel an athlete forward and they must always cross the line behind the runner. However, they are permitted to give verbal instructions and feedback.
• You can choose your preferred method of guidance; elbow lead, tether or to run free.
• Elbow lead. Simply hold your guide’s elbow; it may sound easy but this technique requires great synchronisation.
• Start with a short tether/rope and increase the length as your confidence grows, this will allow you a more natural arm swing action when running. Do not tie or knot the tether/rope to your hand or wrist as this can be very dangerous should one of you fall.
• Run free. If you have enough vision you can follow a guide wearing brightly coloured clothing and they can provide you with verbal instructions on the terrain ahead of you.
• Get to know your guide and build your trust to enable you to progress from a walk to a jog, and eventually to a run.

• For sports such as Goalball and Football the ball itself contains bells/ball bearings so that players can hear where it is. Hence, silence is required at these events to ensure players can hear the movement of the ball.
• Goalball: The court is marked by taping heavy string to the floor so that players can feel where they are.
• Football: The goalkeeper is sighted or visually impaired and is allowed to give instructions to teammates. A support team member is also allowed to aid a player when they are taking a penalty by tapping the goalposts to help the athlete locate the position and direction of the goal.

• Many sports such as Powerlifting, Judo, Gymnastics, Swimming and some Athletics field events such as shot put and discus do not need any adaptation. You may simply require orientation to the playing surface and equipment.
• B1 athletes are often required to wear opaque glasses, eye patches or blindfolds to ensure a level playing field.
• Some sports require specialist equipment e.g. when cycling you may require a tandem bike, when Swimming you may require a tapper to indicate when to turn, and when playing Goalball you may need padding to protect yourself when diving to block the ball.
• In some sports such as field events in Athletics and Equestrian a sighted guide can produce acoustic signals (electronic, voice or clapping) to orientate you.
• If you have some degree of vision, use bright colours where appropriate to indicate objects, heights or lanes.

To get involved in physical activity or sport you do not need to have a classification. Just do whatever you enjoy!

If you reach the stage where you want to compete in a Paralympic sport, there are three classification categories:

• B1 (Blind) à Inability to recognise form of hand in any direction or distance.
• B2 (Partially sighted) à Ability to recognise the shape of a hand to a visual acuity of 2/60 and/or a visual field of less than 5 degrees.
• B3 (Visually impaired) à A visual acuity of more than 2/60 up to 6/60 and/or a visual field of more than 5 degrees and less than 20 degrees.

In some sports, classification does not occur such as judo where athletes are separated by weight or goalball where a level playing field is created by the use of blackout masks by all players.

For more information on classification and sports for the visually impaired visit www.parasport.org.uk