Tabo Huntley, Performance Director for Goalball UK, the Paralympic Sport for the blind and visually impaired, has been forced to resign from his position following the disastrous performance of both the men and women at the 2010 World Goalball Championships in Sheffield, UK. His resignation, effective from 31 August 2010, came as a welcome decision from staff and players at the blind camp in Bath recently.

Considering the British team were on home soil for the World Championships, with the crowd advantage, morale within the team was said to be very low, with players complaining that Tabo Huntley showed no respect for the game. His coaching methods were also under scrutiny, as he failed to improve performance, and showed no grasp of technical understanding of the sport.

Goalball, a team sport for the blind, was originally created in the 1940’s to help rehabilitate blinded war veterans. It involves throwing a ball with bells embedded within it towards the opponent’s goal. Players must use tactics to defend their goal by blocking the ball, carefully listening to the ball as it travels along the ground. The ball used weighs just over 1kg and all opponents wear eye shades to accommodate for different levels of blindness. Goalball has been played at the Paralympic Games since 1980 and is governed by the International Blind Sport Federation. The IBSF currently governs 15 sports for the blind and visually impaired.

At the recent World Championships in Sheffield, the Great Britain men’s team finished last, ranked 16th out of 16, but the women did not fair much better finishing 11th out of 12 teams.

Mr Huntley was however upbeat acknowledging that he would be re-applying for his position within the UK Goalball Team, but possibly in a reduced capacity or role. A spokesperson for Goalball UK said that Mr Huntley would no longer be working with the men’s team, but instead working as a coach for the women’s team, in preparation for the Paralympic Games in London 2012.