Brieann Baldock
Position: Centre
How long have you played goalball?
5 years.
What has been the highlight of your goalball career?
Making my first international competition, the American Championships in 2017, where the team and I qualified Canada for the World Championships by winning a gold medal. Another highlight was the 2019 Vancouver Grand Slam tournament where my team and I won gold. All of these highlights would not have been possible without the support of ASRAB and the amazing programs they have ran. I am the athlete I am today because of the support they have provided me over the years.
What are your personal and team goals for goalball?
My personal goals would be to keep pushing myself and keep up the drive and love for the sport. My team goal is to be a motivator to push my teammates to new levels and create a team morale of excellence. Also, to push our way up the national competitions and keep being a great, cohesive team that values everyone at the table.
What other sports do you play?
ASRAB has opened up so many sporting opportunities for me, growing up I played basketball, soccer, and volleyball. As I got older, these sports became too fast for me to follow with my low vision. When I was 16, I started coming out to ASRAB events such as goalball, dragon boating, blind hockey, soccer, yoga, paddle boarding, and basketball. These sports opened up a whole new world for me as a young, partially sighted Albertan who loves to be active, not only giving me the opportunity for safe and inclusive activity, but it has given me a whole new social network and opportunities to make amazing lifelong friends.
How has ASRAB helped you?
ASRAB has helped me discover the world of para sports where the sport is accommodated for my needs, sports where my vision level doesn’t matter. ASRAB has definitely empowered me over the years to strengthen the love of goalball and enjoy all types of physical activity. ASRAB has also empowered me to try new things and teach me that playing sports and activities accessibly is fairly simple, you just have to be open to trying it. ASRAB has also helped me get out of my comfort zone. I now do public speaking for ASRAB sharing my experiences as well as coaching the children’s program and getting my basic recreational coaching training in order to be a better coach to the youth/children’s programs that I am heavily involved in.
What motivates you to continue to participate in sports and recreation with ASRAB?
The variety of activities that ASRAB has offered over the years. I am also motivated to give back to ASRAB by promoting and participating in their programs. Also, the fact that I have gained so many great relationships and connections with this community of people, that truly does motivate me to not only continue to participate, but to be an ambassador in making these programs enjoyable and fun for everyone.
