Paralympic showdown
Encyclopedia
Showdown is a sport for the blind
and visually impaired which could be described as the blind communities answer to air hockey
, or table tennis
. It is growing very quickly around the world. It is also played by sighted players, but they are not allowed to participate in the International Blind Sports Federation, IBSA tournaments. Showdown is widely spread in Europe
, but it’s also played in: Africa
, asia
, north America
, and south America
. After the success of Showdown at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics
, representatives from more than thirty countries contacted the International Blind Sports Federation Showdown Subcommittee. They wanted information about equipment, blueprints, and rules so they could play this game in their country. Currently, the IBSA Showdown Sub-committee is encouraging regional and national Showdown Tournaments in an effort to have international championships which, hopefully, will lead to sanctioning by the Paralympics.
Showdown was an international success at its debut as a recreational sport during the 1980 Olympiad for the Physically Disabled in Arnhem, the Netherlands . International interest was sparked and Showdown has been played recreationally at the: 1984 Olympics for the Disabled in Long Island, USA; 1988 Paralympic Games in Seoul, Korea; 1990 World Youth Games in St. Etienne, France; 1990 World Championships in Assen, The Netherlands; 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona, Spain; and at the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, USA. Showdown is being played in countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and North and South America.
In Europe Showdown is played in at least 20 countries:
Belgium
, Bulgaria
, Cyprus
, Czech Republic
, Denmark
, Estonia
, Finland
, France
, Germany
, Hungary
, Italy
, Latvia
, Lithuania
, the Netherlands
, Norway
, Poland
, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia
, Sweden
and Turkey
.
We know that they are playing showdown in the following countries in Africa:
Ghana
, Uganda
, South Africa
, Kenya
and Morocco
.
It has however proved to be really hard to get information about How many players there are, and how much they are playing.
Very little is known about the development of the sport in Asia. In The Philippines
they started playing quite recently.
In Mongolia
they are on their way to do it. In Barein, Kuwait
they bought a table and started a few years ago. Players from Sweden have also brought the sport to the Iranian part of Kurdistan. In China
and Japan
they have been playing for a few years.
Unfortunately that’s all the information currently available about Asia.
James Mastro is teaching people how to play showdown, or Power-Showdown, as he calls it, in the U.S. He is also building tables for it, and it is currently played in 6 different states. He has expressed an ambition to hold the first American Championship during 2010. It’s still however uncirtain if he’s gonna be able to go through with it.
In Canada
There are some players around playing more for recreation. Patrick York is still trying to find sponsors for making Showdown more professional, but this has proved to be problematic, since Canada is a very big country.
Players from the Netherlands has brought the sport to Surinam.
In Colombia
they built their first showdown table and started playing showdown in December 2009. Matthieu Juglar, a showdown player from France has with enthusiasm helped them to get started.
Cyprus, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands, The Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Sweden.
The first official IBSA world championship was held in, Stockholm
, Sweden
in August 2009, and included participants from: Canada, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iran, Italy, Morocco, The Netherlands, Poland, The Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United states. The current World champions are: Sven van de Wege (The Netherlands) and Jana Führer (Slovenia).
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
and visually impaired which could be described as the blind communities answer to air hockey
Air hockey
Air hockey is a game for two competing players trying to score points in the opposing player's goal.-Equipment:Air hockey requires an air-hockey table, two player-held mallets, and a puck....
, or table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
. It is growing very quickly around the world. It is also played by sighted players, but they are not allowed to participate in the International Blind Sports Federation, IBSA tournaments. Showdown is widely spread in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, but it’s also played in: Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, north America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and south America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. After the success of Showdown at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...
, representatives from more than thirty countries contacted the International Blind Sports Federation Showdown Subcommittee. They wanted information about equipment, blueprints, and rules so they could play this game in their country. Currently, the IBSA Showdown Sub-committee is encouraging regional and national Showdown Tournaments in an effort to have international championships which, hopefully, will lead to sanctioning by the Paralympics.
Equipment
The sport is inexpensive to start up, requires minimal maintenance, and can be played in a room the size of a classroom or meeting room. The only equipment needed is the specially designed table, two paddles, a special ball containing BBs, opaque goggles, and a glove to protect the batting hand. Players track the ball by listening to the rattle of the BBs.How to play the game
The game is played by 2 players, on an oval, or rectangular table with goal pockets on both short sides. In the middle there’s a net, which is a hard screen, either wooden or transparent. The players have to wear goggles, ensureing that they won’t be able to see the ball. Their job is to use a racket to keep the audible ball out of the goal pocket on their side of the table, while trying to hit it in a way so that it’ll pass under the net, and end up in that of their opponents. A player score two points for a goal and one point when their opponent hits the ball into the screen, hits the ball off the table, touches the ball with the bat within the goal area, or touches the ball with anything but the bat. The matches are usually played in 3 sets, and the first player to reach 11 points, leading by 2 or more points wins the set. The exceptions are semifinals, and finals where it’s 5 sets instead of 3.History
Joe Lewis, a totally blind Canadian, invented the game in the 1960's. he wanted to find a sport which could be played recreationally and/or competitively without sighted assistance. Over the years, Patrick York, a Canadian athlete who is also totally blind, collaborated with Lewis on refinements to the rules and equipment.Showdown was an international success at its debut as a recreational sport during the 1980 Olympiad for the Physically Disabled in Arnhem, the Netherlands . International interest was sparked and Showdown has been played recreationally at the: 1984 Olympics for the Disabled in Long Island, USA; 1988 Paralympic Games in Seoul, Korea; 1990 World Youth Games in St. Etienne, France; 1990 World Championships in Assen, The Netherlands; 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona, Spain; and at the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, USA. Showdown is being played in countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and North and South America.
Europe
In Europe Showdown is played in at least 20 countries:
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
Africa
We know that they are playing showdown in the following countries in Africa:
Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
.
It has however proved to be really hard to get information about How many players there are, and how much they are playing.
Asia
Very little is known about the development of the sport in Asia. In The Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
they started playing quite recently.
In Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
they are on their way to do it. In Barein, Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
they bought a table and started a few years ago. Players from Sweden have also brought the sport to the Iranian part of Kurdistan. In China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
they have been playing for a few years.
Unfortunately that’s all the information currently available about Asia.
North America
James Mastro is teaching people how to play showdown, or Power-Showdown, as he calls it, in the U.S. He is also building tables for it, and it is currently played in 6 different states. He has expressed an ambition to hold the first American Championship during 2010. It’s still however uncirtain if he’s gonna be able to go through with it.
In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
There are some players around playing more for recreation. Patrick York is still trying to find sponsors for making Showdown more professional, but this has proved to be problematic, since Canada is a very big country.
South America
Players from the Netherlands has brought the sport to Surinam.
In Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
they built their first showdown table and started playing showdown in December 2009. Matthieu Juglar, a showdown player from France has with enthusiasm helped them to get started.
Championships and tournaments
National Championships and other tournaments are held in the following countries in Europe:Cyprus, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands, The Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Sweden.
The first official IBSA world championship was held in, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in August 2009, and included participants from: Canada, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iran, Italy, Morocco, The Netherlands, Poland, The Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United states. The current World champions are: Sven van de Wege (The Netherlands) and Jana Führer (Slovenia).