After the goalball team took second place in their Fort Wayne tournament, both the Goalball Club and team will participate in a Michigan goalball tournament on Feb. 20 and 21.

According to sponsor Dave Romano, this tournament is a huge one that has been going on for many years, sanctioned by the United States Association of Blind Athletes. The event will be held in Warren, Michigan, where over 40 teams from all over North America will participate in.

Participating in this tournament will qualify the goalball team for the national competition, to be held in Fort Wayne this summer. The girls’ team will have Amanda Dennis, the starting center for the US Women’s’ National Goalball Team, play with the team during this tournament.

“It’s amazing. We got Amanda Dennis. She is literally the best goalball center in the country, and she will be playing for our team before she is going to participate in the Paralympics this summer,” Romano said. “To be around her will be kind of a cool experience for the club members and the team.”

While the team members play in the tournament, the Goalball Club members such as Allyson LaFon, Goalball Club president and junior, will try to raise more awareness about the sport itself as well as the disability of being a blind person.

“We are planning on spreading the word to middle schools and the high school.  The three main members have younger siblings we’re trying to recruit along with their friends to maintain sustainability of the club,” LaFon said.

Romano said he thought about multiple activities to raise awareness, such as a goalball game demonstration, participating in a local 5K without vision and blind awareness day.

“(The members) get to see the next level of goalball, which is a very cool experience. Seeing the different levels is exciting, because it’s a sport that people don’t see often and it’s very different.”