Playing by Sound: An Accessible Twist on Chair Volleyball

A few bells, a beach ball and some quick reflexes made for a fun afternoon with New Vision’s Support Services participants!

Participants sit in a circle with their hands raised as a large blue-and-white beach ball flies toward a player during chair volleyball.

Our group recently played several rounds of accessible chair volleyball at the Life Center at Morrison Methodist Church. Participants sat in a circle and worked together to keep a beach ball moving through the air — with a few adaptations to make the game accessible for players with different levels of vision.

Bells inside the beach ball jingled as it moved through the air, giving players an auditory cue to help track where it was headed. Participants with some usable vision wore blindfolds to even the playing field and encourage everyone to rely on the sound of the ball.

Participants sit in a circle with their hands raised as two colorful beach balls fly through the air during chair volleyball. New Vision staff stand among the group to help direct the game.

Players kept their arms raised and ready to make contact, while New Vision staff gently served the ball and called out the name of the participant it was heading toward.

Once everyone got the basics down, it was time to make things a little more challenging: we added a second ball! Suddenly, there were bells jingling in two directions, more balls to track and plenty of successful hits, near misses and laughter.

Two beach balls fly through the circle at once as seated participants reach up during an energetic round of accessible chair volleyball.

While the afternoon was definitely about having fun, chair volleyball also encouraged participants to practice listening, coordination, reaction time and the use of nonvisual cues. It was also a great opportunity to be active, socialize and enjoy some friendly group play.