The gymnasts enter the van one by one. The only gym where they can train is about 30 kilometers from the center of Thessaloniki. Upon arrival, they leave the dogs in the stands, warm up, put on their masks, and quickly start throwing. This is at a critical point. In about three months, they will take part in a tournament that will determine their qualification for the Paralympic Games in Paris.

They know that it will not be easy to achieve their dream, but they try their best to overcome many obstacles. Although the Women’s National Goalball Team is the only women’s team in the Federation, female athletes say they don’t get the support they want and often face double discrimination: they are visually impaired as well as women.

“Play”

“Quiet, please.” Coach Meni Kesanopulu waits for silence and then gives the command to start. “Play.” Having found the target, Vicky Ago takes the right position and powerfully throws the ball weighing about 1.2 kg into the opposite goal. The bells inside the ball give away its direction, and her teammates rush forward to stop her before she finds a target and scores a goal. Despite the fact that goalball is little known in our country, it is an exciting Paralympic sport and one of the few that does not have a corresponding Olympic sport.

“It’s a very exciting sport. It takes the effort and perseverance that every sport needs,” says Rafaelia Kaklimani, one of the latest additions to the team that started playing the sport shortly before the pandemic hit. that she managed to develop enough to compete with the women’s team.

The women’s national goalball team has gone through many waves, some years reaching the top and some years almost falling apart. At the Athens Paralympics, she placed 8th in the world and most recently, in 2017, placed 4th in Europe. Despite a recent setback, it is now in the process of reorganization and development. At this year’s European Championships, she again moved up to category “A”, from which she was eliminated, and Vicky Ago was named the most valuable player of the competition.

“Even for participation in the games, we cover the costs ourselves,” says Vicky Ago, MVP of the recent European Championship.

Without support

“Goalball is the only constant in my life from the age of 6 until today,” says the scorer. talking to “K” during a training break. Thanks to sport, the young woman gained self-confidence, traveled the world and made wonderful friendships with fellow athletes. “I feel at home in goalball,” she says, while admitting that if she were in another country, things would be very different, and she could devote herself exclusively to what she loves and in what stood out. for her talent and performance.

“We are not getting the help we need,” he says curtly. “Most of us put in a personal effort — and I mean mostly financial — to be here. It all ends there. Because if someone does not make a living from his sport, he must either work or study in order to then find a job, and therefore cannot devote himself to training. Even for participation in competitions, we cover the costs ourselves, ”he notes. Vicky Ago starts her day at 6.30 am to attend classes at IEC where she studies, and then after 2 pm she goes to practice. In such a training season, when there are important matches ahead, the number of training sessions reaches at least five per week. The only thing that keeps her afloat is her love of the sport, which she and her fellow athletes have benefited from a lot, from the way they train their senses to the motivation to constantly improve.

Do like in Brazil

According to their coach Meni Kesanopulu, the income is not enough to cover the needs of the national team, coaches, assistants and, above all, to cover the cost of traveling abroad to participate in friendly tournaments. “With several matches, a pan-Greek championship and a couple of friendly matches, we are invited to take part in a Paralympic and Pan-European tournament where the teams we compete against play at semi-professional and professional levels. These are the teams that go to matches abroad every month and train, even in doubles, every day,” she says, clearly disappointed. “This is not a question of a group and a federation, but a matter of the culture of the state to include people with disabilities on an equal footing in all areas of society, for example, in sports,” he adds.

By playing matches abroad, Vicky Ago sees that this culture exists in countries that are also leaders in goalball. “In Brazil, those who are in default for the national team are paid normally, and therefore they have the opportunity to do just that. They have sponsors, even athletes personally, because they are recognizable. They are recognized on the street.”

The issue of recognition is also a thorn in the side, as Rafaelia Kaklimani describes. “Goalball is not known in Greece. Ask 10 people what it is and no one will answer. If the other person doesn’t know what the sport is, why should they support it,” he asks, adding that recognition is also directly related to the fact that it is a sport in which people with disabilities compete, and for this reason often underestimated.

“Most people see not athletes, but disabled people”

Completely blind since the age of six, Vicki expresses her bitterness at how athletes themselves are treated by others and the media. “They will write ‘look at the heroes overcoming obstacles’ instead of referring to the athletes that we are. Most people don’t see athletes, but people with disabilities.”

“Attitudes towards disability in the country are different from what they should be, and it is important that it be presented differently,” Rafaelia adds. He also speaks from personal experience. She herself received a disability standard, which makes her disabled, at an older age than her fellow athletes. “I haven’t had it since I was little, and it was very difficult for me to accept myself in this situation. We are attached to a piece of paper or a word, but when I joined the group and met other girls, I demystified a lot of what I thought was a disability. The perception we get from childhood is wrong,” the young athlete describes, adding that the biggest benefit of her participation in the sport is that she has learned to treat people equally. This is what she claims as an athlete now and from others. .

Eugenia Stamati, on the other side of the bench, points out another difference experienced by the team’s athletes, and indeed in the field of disability. “Male athletes don’t treat us the same. All these years we have made great efforts to have men come to play with us women so that we can train. Until now, there is an opinion that the participation of a woman in a purely male team is not considered a blessing. We are not allowed to participate in men’s tournaments, ”the athlete describes, emphasizing that at the same time, mixed championships and competitions are standard practice abroad. This practice is used because there are often not many players to participate, and therefore, for training, athletes from existing teams mix and organize mixed tournaments, where the team has men and women, as well as young people and more experienced athletes.

“That mentality still exists and it’s terrible,” confirms women’s coach Meni Kesanopoulou, who has given her soul to the women’s team for many years. “The women’s goalball team is the only women’s team in the National Disabled Athletic Federation,” she notes, pointedly saying that there are many reasons why it needs to be supported and continued to exist.

The break ends and the gymnasts begin to gradually rise from the bench. I understand their signal and unsubscribe. In addition, they do not have much time for training. They must complete it and then return to their remaining duties. The next day they will come back again to win their bet.