Hi all,
You'll be relieved to hear that shades aren't being banned after all.
Below is a copy of a post I just made on the IBTA Facebook group.
Cheers,
N.
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Update on shades/blindfolds
Hi all,
I'm Nikhil, a B1 player from the UK. I'm new to this group, as I hadn't
come across it until recently, but I'm very interested in the international
development of blind tennis.
I gather there was, just a couple of weeks ago, a rumour that IPC and IBSA
were about to stop using shades/blindfolds in all VI sport, and that their
use would, essentially, be banned going forward.
I found that somewhat alarming, since, at least in the UK, recent
experience is that the standard sight test cannot distinguish between a B1
and a low B2, even in the absence of deliberate cheating. UK officials
are, apparently, also of the opinion that even the most stringent IBSA test
is unable to prove that many low B2 players are not, actually, B1, if the
player concerned claims he/she cannot count fingers etc. and sticks to that
during the test.
Well, I'm glad to be able to report that I've now had fairly defininte
confirmation of the situation. I've had it, direct from a reliable
contact, that IBSA are unaware of any move to stop using shades, and would
not be supportive of any such move. In fact, as recently as a month ago,
IBSA were holding a very firm line on the use of shades in equestrian, in
which even B2 and B3 participants have to wear shades.
So, the bottom line seems to be that the use of shades/blindfolds in the B1
category of VI sport is set to continue, with no change in sight.
I hope this helps.
