Goalball UK’s journey through the pandemic
How we have adapted and overcome many obstacles to support our colleagues and plan for a brighter future
GOVERNANCE
Image: Goalball UK
Mark Winder
CEO, Goalball UK
First and foremost, let’s get the big question out of the way for many readers – what is goalball? Basically, it is a Paralympic sport for people who are blind or partially sighted. Goalball is played by two teams of three, with the objective to get the ball into the opposition’s net. Sounds nice and simple, but when each player is wearing blackout eyeshades, with the ball weighing 1.25kg and reaching speeds of up to 60km/h, it adds an incredibly exciting and enduring aspect to the game.
As goalball’s national governing body, we are responsible for providing opportunities to play, the league structure, support for the Great Britain squads, and of course, growing the game in the UK. Our organisation thrives on getting into the community and encouraging visually impaired people to connect with their peers through sport. But when the lockdown measures were introduced in March, it was a fairly ominous feeling. So how have we adapted to ensure we continue to deliver our aims?
Diversifying our skillset
We had to take stock, evaluate what skills we had and how we could continue progressing, despite being unable to play. It was never a question about utilising government schemes for us – from day one we examined how people could be redeployed. Whether for some it was boosting our social media efforts or others exploring the governance and stakeholder side of our sport, the team continues to pitch in and take on new responsibilities. Overall, this has helped us create more variation in the workforce, which will benefit our organisation in the long term.
We are also fortunate our board stepped up and their support has been invaluable. Embracing regular Zoom meetings has become commonplace for our entire organisation!
“Our organisation thrives on getting into the community and encouraging visually impaired people to connect with their peers through sport”
Creating an inclusive future
It is rare for us to have all our staff in one place at the same time. Most pre-pandemic weeks you would find many of the team across the UK delivering goalball activities. Working from home presented the perfect chance for us to get together (virtually) to take on some awareness training.
At the heart of our sport is inclusivity and having the chance for the entire team explore how we can create an even more diverse game has been valuable. For instance, we linked up with the likes of Stonewall for an incredibly revealing session about LGBTQ+ inclusivity in sport.
The entire team also took part in Mental Health First Aid Training. We were one of the first organisations to do this virtually. This was in addition to a workshop delivered by mental health experts DOCIA Sport.
A player from Birmingham's Goalball club in action
Looking after our own
Managing mental health has been a key theme throughout the pandemic and this is something that we identified early on.
From hosting virtual coffee mornings for the workforce, volunteers and members, to staff making use of our open-door policy, we have always tried to provide a comfortable environment for our people to talk about concerns they might have – whether work-related or not. It is so important that leaders take the time understand and be there for employees.
Every member of our workforce has benefitted from a planned wellbeing day. We believe that it is essential for staff to take time out of their schedule to just get away from it all. Something as simple as going on a long walk has helped the team refocus and feel reinvigorated at particularly testing times over the past six months. Furthermore, we encourage our team not to spend all day in front of a screen and operate a flexible working policy to complement this.
Encouraging the team to get involved with fundraising has continued to be an incredibly effective way to keep the team motivated. It has generated an added sense of accomplishment, which we believe filters into our day-to-day activities.
At the time of writing, we are heading into another nationwide lockdown. But this time, with everything we have learnt, it doesn’t feel like we’re staring into the abyss. Rather, it is just an obstacle we know we can conquer as a team.
