On Thursday 25 June, the IBSA Goalball European Championships Lounge was opened in Kaunas, Lithuania, ahead of next month’s event which will take place on 5-12 July. Fourteen trees – as many as the countries participating in the European Championships – were decorated in a knitted tree graffiti style.

The Lounge will advertise the Championships for the whole period, and volunteers will give the public the chance to try out goalball with eyeshades each day before and during the tournament. The Lounge is close to the Championships’ hotel and is also meant to become a meeting, relaxation and social area for participants.

“The Lounge looks like the trees are wearing sweaters, made in national colors of all participating countries. It’s a kind of tree graffiti. We know it is unusual way to advertise sports event but it works – it attracts passengers’ attention and is also made in a way to be informative for blind and visually impaired people”, - said Linas Balsys, President of Lithuanian Blind Sports Federation.

The IBSA European Goalball Championships will take place in Kaunas, Lithuania, Sabonis Basketball Hall and Kaunas Sports Hall, between 5-12 July and will act as a qualifier for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The participating men‘s teams are: Lithuania, Spain, Turkey, Germany, Czech Republic, Finland, Belgium, Slovenia, Sweden and Ukraine. Featuring women‘s teams: Russia, Turkey, Israel, Finland, Germany, Ukraine, Spain, Denmark, Sweden and Greece. Organizers are expecting approximately 280 participants from 14 countries.

The 2015 IBSA European Goalball Championships are under the patronage of the H.E. Dalia Grybauskaite, President of Lithuania.

More information at www.lasfinfo.lt/en/