Five questions with Australian goalball star Jenny Blow

Jenny Blow (right) training with a Goalball Packagoal.

Jenny Blow is an international goalball star who has competed in three Paralympic Games. A key player for the Aussie Belles Australian women’s team, she is currently undergoing her final preparations for the Tokyo Paralympics later this year.

We caught up with Jenny ahead of one of the team’s training camps to gather her thoughts on the team’s preparations, their chances for the upcoming campaign, and why she loves goalball.

The training camp was held in Victoria and featured one of the team’s secret weapons – Goalball Packagoals. Created by Packaworld International, these full-sized inflatable goalball goals have helped the team continue training from new locations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and hold considerable potential for helping to grow the sport of goalball across Australia

Q1. What are you most looking forward to about the Tokyo Paralympics?

“I am looking forward to competing against the best teams in the world. The Paralympic Games are the pinnacle event for goalball – teams and players are at their absolute best so the competition is always incredible. Also the excitement and hype a Paralympic Games brings is an amazing experience. No other competition compares to this so I am looking forward to that.”

Q2. How do you rate the team’s chances?

“As a team and individually we are all playing incredibly well. I think we have a really strong chance of making the finals and then hopefully playing off for a medal. One positive of COVID is it gave us more time to refine our individual skills and improve our strength and fitness, so I think that will really help our team.”

Q3. What do you think of the Goalball Packagoals?

“The goals are great. They are really easy and quick to setup and pack up which is good because it doesn’t take time out of our training. They are much more sturdy than I thought they would be.”

Q4. How often have you been training, and what is the team spirit like?

“Individually in our home states we are all training every day. Each week we do a combination of goalball skills sessions, social competitions, strength training and cardio. As a national squad, since COVID restrictions have eased, we have been getting together once a month to focus on teamwork and strategy.”

Q5. What do you love most about goalball?

“The main thing I love about goalball is that it doesn’t matter what you can or can’t see, every player is equal because we all wear blindfolds. This is the only sport I have ever played where my vision impairment is an asset not a hinderance. Living with a vision impairment, that isn’t a common feeling so that also is what I love about playing goalball.”

A quick introduction to goalball

Goalball was developed with blind and visually impaired athletes in mind. It is a Paralympic sport in which teams of three players roll a ball with bells inside it across an indoor court and into a nine-metre-wide goal at the other end. Players on the other team try to block the ball from entering their net by diving. Anyone can play – both blind and sighted wearing eye shades, relying on sound to identify where the ball is.