Hundreds of West Midlands volunteers sought for blind games

Men and women's goalball competitions will be qualification tournaments for the 2024 Paralympic Games

Hundreds of volunteers are sought for a major summer sporting event for blind and partially sighted athletes.

The 2023 International Blind Sport Federation (IBSA) World Games runs for 10 days from 18 August.

Organisers expect the games, held in venues across the West Midlands, to be the largest ever UK sporting gathering of its kind.

"[It] has the potential to be a real watershed moment," said Sallie Barker from British Blind Sport.

"This event will not only help provide the stage for the world's best blind and partially sighted athletes to showcase their talents, but it will also inspire other blind and partially sighted individuals to take advantage of the pathways into sport and opportunities to volunteer," she added.

About 1,250 competitors from 70 countries will participate in sports such as archery, powerlifting and tennis, with judo, football and goalball tournaments being held as qualifying events for the 2024 Paralympics.

The summer event marks the first time the World Games has been hosted in the UK.

More than 400 volunteers are needed for tasks such as helping with classification, assisting athletes and spectators, and creating media content.

The seventh edition of the contest is being hosted in Birmingham after a joint bid from British Blind Sport, Birmingham City Council, UK Sport and the University of Birmingham

Venues are primarily Birmingham-based, including the University of Birmingham's Edgbaston campus, but athletes will also compete at Coventry Building Society Arena, the University of Wolverhampton's Walsall Campus, and in Warwick.

"Birmingham is a proud sporting city as we saw when it successfully hosted the Commonwealth Games last year, and there are so many volunteering opportunities for people in the community to be part of another great festival of sport," said Ms Barker.

Power of People Ltd, which is managing the volunteer programme on behalf of Sport Birmingham, said it was looking for volunteers available for six shifts or more throughout the duration of the event.