Thursday, November 16th, 2023.- Competition began on Thursday in Santiago 2023 with the table tennis matches. However, there are 16 other sports included in these Parapan American Games, three of which are detailed below.

CP FOOTBALL (cerebral palsy)

Both the field and the goal are adapted compared to traditional football. For the female's competition, the field measures 40 meters long by 27 wide, while in the male's, the measurements are 70 x 50.

In this Parapan American sport, there is no offside, and throw-ins can be taken from the line or by rolling the ball.

Teams consist of seven players on the field (including the goalkeeper) and five on the bench. There are two halves of 30 minutes each.

After the medical-technical evaluation process that athletes undergo, they are assigned the so-called "Sport Class," information composed of letters at the beginning referring to the sport, followed by a number detailing the degree of disability. The higher the number (FT3 in the case of football), the lower the manifestation of disability, whereas when the number is lower (FT1), the degree of disability is higher.

In CP football, there must always be one FT1 class player on the field for each team and a maximum of one FT3 class player.

BLIND FOOTBALL

It's an adapted version of futsal, where players, using patches and goggles, receive guidance and instructions from the goalkeeper, coach, and guide to score goals in the opposing goalpost. A sound-emitting ball is used.

Although there are three sport classes according to visual impairment (from B1 to B3), at the Santiago Parapan American Games, the B1 class will be in competition, meaning players are completely blind.

Each team is made up of four players on the field with visual impairments and one goalkeeper without a disability. The field measures 40 meters long by 20 wide. Above the sidelines are 1.20-meter-high and 10-degree-inclined barriers, which serve as guidance for the players. There are no throw-ins or offside calls.

Matches last for 15 minutes per half, with a 10-minute break. The audience must remain silent throughout the game so that players can hear the sound of the ball and the voice and guidance of the guides. Shouting and applause are only allowed when a goal is scored.

GOALBALL

It's a sport created for people with visual impairments, where two teams of three players each face off. Members of one team have to throw the ball with their hands from their goal area to the opponents, while their rivals try to stop it using their entire body's extension. Then, it's the turn of the latter to throw, aiming for the goal that covers the entire width of the field.

Athletes must wear goggles to block their vision completely. The ball, similar in size to a basketball and weighing 1.250 kilograms, contains two bells inside. Hence, auditory sense is crucial to stop its trajectory, and the audience must remain silent.

Once they receive the ball, players have 10 seconds to throw it to the opposing goal, where rivals extend their arms and legs to try to block it, and then make their own throw.

The match consists of two halves of 12 minutes each. The field is 18 meters long, divided into six 3m areas, by 9 meters wide. The goals measure 9 x 1.3 meters. All field lines are marked in relief to be recognizable by touch, allowing players to orient themselves easily.

The winner is the one who scores the most goals in the opponent's goal, although the game also ends if a team takes a 10-goal advantage.

Written by Alejandro Pérez; translated by Vicente Valdivia / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport
Photo by Paula Letelier / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport