Help Jess take on Bahrain!

Hey there! I’m Jess!

I’m a 23 year old from Sydney. I’m currently working as a full-time OT in a paediatric clinic and in my spare time love to play a range of sports. I also live with a vision impairment, with my right eye having reduced vision due to blind spots, and my left eye being prosthetic.

I play a sport called Goalball. Goalball is a sport designed specifically for vision impaired people, where the ball has bells inside and the court is laid out with tactile markings. The aim of the game is to throw the ball under-arm at the opposing team in the hope of getting it past them into the goal behind. You also must defend your own goal by throwing your body on the ground to block the ball. Below is a quick video description on goalball if you would like more info:

https://youtu.be/0bZ51jzmbAQ

I have been playing Goalball for 11 years now, including multiple state and national competitions, and competing for Australia in the youth division for many years. My ultimate goal is to compete for Australia at the Paralympic Games in Paris, 2024.

I have recently been selected as part of the senior Australian Women’s Goalball Team, the Aussie Belles, and will be competing in Bahrain at the IBSA Asia-Pacific Regional Championships from July 20-31st.

Unfortunately, Goalball in Australia is a completely unfunded sport, meaning any national or international competition participation is fully funded by the individual athletes. Our upcoming trip is estimated at costing around $6000 per player. To tackle this, I’ve set up this GoFundMe page in the hopes of raising money in the short time until Regionals to financially support my trip.

Please help me make my Aussie Belles debut by donating! Any amount helps and I greatly appreciate the support I have received so far!