Having fun
and keeping fit

Recreational Sport

One of the great things about coming to RNC is the opportunity it provides for making new friends, developing your social confidence and having new experiences that support your personal development outside the classroom.

We offer all students the opportunity to participate in fun and social, physical activities. Whether you want to have a kick around with friends, try a new sport, meet new people or improve your fitness, there is something here for you.

You can play sports outside of College time or during your timetabled Learning and Leisure sessions. Listed below are some of the sports you can take part in. This is not a complete list of what RNC can offer. If there is a particular sport that you would like to play, speak to our Sports Academy team and they will try their best to help support you to make arrangements and get other students involved.

Blind Football

a female lines up with a ball ready to shout a penalty at the goal, a male goalkeeper takes position, there is one male spectator

Blind Football is based on traditional 5-a-side Futsal but the pitch is surrounded by boards and the ball contains ball bearings to allow players to locate it by sound.

Boccia

If you haven't heard of Boccia before, it's a Paralympic sport where players aim to propel balls close to a target, a bit like bowls.

Boccia is played on a 10 metre by 6 metre court and each player is given a Touch Boccia Grid; a tactile map of the court and each player is designated an assistant plotter to place bins in the tactile map so each player knows where the target ball, their balls and their opponent's balls are.

Boccia is suitable for all levels of fitness and is particularly good for those who may have limited mobility.

Cricket

the RNC Bulldogs VI Cricket team line up for a group photo

It is hugely popular at the College and provides a brilliant opportunity for students who are visually impaired to play alongside (and against) their visually impaired peers.

The College cricket team, RNC Bulldogs, practices on a Thursday evening and plays in the UK Blind Cricket Development League.

Exercise Classes

a female student leads a fitness class in the sports hall

You will have the opportunity to attend student-led exercise classes which can be anything from circuit training to Pilates.

Personal training sessions can also be offered on request.

Goalball

a male student instructor delivers a coaching session to 3 male students

Goalball is one of the only sports with no sighted version. It was originally developed as rehabilitation for visually impaired World War II veterans.

The game is played by two teams of three players, male and female. All players wear eyeshades and the ball contains bells to help players locate it. The object of the game is to score by bowling the ball along the floor, crossing the goal line of the other team

Partially Sighted Futsal

one male player tackles another in front of goal, the goalkeeper defends goal

The game is an adapted version of Futsal and it is also sometimes known as B2/3 football. It is played by players with a visual impairment but shouldn’t be confused with blind football. Players who play partially sighted futsal will have some level of sight whilst blind footballers may have a small amount of light perception at best. Goalkeepers can be fully or partially sighted.

Tandem Club

two male tandem pilots adjust the bike seats to suit their female riders

The Tandem Club is open to all students no matter what your experience level or ability.

Tennis

We have worked alongside the Lawn Tennis Association and the Open Court Disability Tennis Participation program to develop tennis opportunities for our students.

This has included staff and students attending the Inclusive Tennis Training course and working with LTA coaches to ensure we are providing inclusive Tennis sessions that meet the needs of our students.

VI Tennis is played similarly to mainstream Tennis, but adaptions are made in terms of court size, number of bounces permitted (depending on eyesight classification) and the ball used is audible allowing players to track its location.

Tennis can be played recreationally and alongside involvement in other sports academy programmes. We deliver sessions purely for our students for enjoyment, to improve skill level and to remain active but also host events such as the NATSPEC Games which provides opportunity for competition against other NATSPEC college members.

Contact us 01432 265 725 (Main reception)
01432 376 621 (Student enquiries)

Email: info@rnc.ac.uk

Press and media enquiries to:
mediaenquiries@rnc.ac.uk

Visit us at The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC), Venns Lane, Hereford HR1 1DT

Company Limited by Guarantee No. 2367626
Registered Charity No. 1000388

Print this page Go Back to top Go

Accreditations

Accessibility Cookies Privacy

Cookies are used on this website to enhance the user experience. If you do not agree to our Cookie Policy, please update the settings on your browser.