A goalball team can have a maximum of three players on court.
Goalball is played by two teams of three players, with each side defending a goal that spans the width of the court. Players roll a bell-filled ball toward the opposing goal and use sound to locate it. The defending team listens for the bells, dives to block the ball and then launches its own attack.
All competitors wear opaque eyeshades during play so that athletes with different levels of vision compete under the same visual conditions. Teams may have substitutes, but only three players are active on court at once.
Goalball was created after the Second World War as a rehabilitation activity for veterans with visual impairments. It became a Paralympic sport at Toronto 1976 and remains one of the Games’ distinctive team events.