Harry Nickerson

Competing Blind at Gymnastics Nationals

Before goalball, I was a competitive gymnast. I trained for years and qualified for the Canadian National Championships - competing against fully sighted athletes while legally blind.

Gymnastics as a blind athlete requires constant adaptation. I memorized the exact number of steps to each apparatus. For floor routines, I counted ceiling tiles and used the sound of the crowd to orient myself. On beam, I relied entirely on muscle memory and spatial awareness - one miscalculation could mean a fall. Vault required trusting my run-up completely, hitting the springboard at full speed without being able to see it clearly.

My coaches developed verbal cues and tactile markers to help me train safely. We would walk through routines together, with them guiding my body positioning until I could feel when a move was correct. Competition was intense - I had to trust my preparation completely because I couldn't watch other competitors or visually gauge the equipment.

That gymnastics training gave me the body awareness and athletic foundation that helps me excel in goalball today. The discipline of trusting your body when you can't rely on your eyes translates directly to a sport played entirely by sound.