Fort Wayne 2019: IBSA Goalball and Judo International Qualifier

For the first time, in 2019 IBSA could not find a suitable host for a full edition of the IBSA World Games.

Instead, goalball players and judoka got the chance to travel to Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, for a Paralympic qualifier.

Despite not having the full sport programme, organisers still pushed the standards higher for future events.

Crucial to this was the full live broadcast of both judo and goalball competitions, with commentary and audio description, so viewers from all over the world could tune in to follow their favourite teams and athletes.

Fort Wayne 2019 raised standard for multisport IBSA competitions

Lithuania and China won the men's and women's goalball competitions, held at the Turnstone Centre and Indiana Tech University.

In judo, history was made at the Grand Wayne Convention Centre with the debut of the mixed team competition at an IBSA Judo event, won by Ukraine.

Fort Wayne 2019 would go on to win national awards for tourism and achieve international recognition. The event also left a mark on the local community with auditory pedestrian crossings installed for people with visual impairments and a large number of volunteers signing up to help Fort Wayne 2019 run smoothly.