Visually impaired students play curling using motion sensors

ADANA

AA Photo

Visually impaired students have been playing curling with motion sensors added to curling stones thanks to a project prepared by a high school in the Mediterranean province of Adana.

While the visually impaired students who tried the game, which was made to be audible with the sensor, liked the new system, the main goal of the school was to make the game more widespread to include more visually impaired people.

Fatih Gökçeoğlu, who is both a sports teacher at the high school and a member of the Curling Federation, has stated that floor curling is a new sport that has been spreading to both Turkey and the world.

Expressing that they held a cross-school tournament in this sport branch last year, Gökçeoğlu explained that they invited children with visual disabilities and autism to the tournament.

“Our visually impaired children played a game in the championship and were very happy there. Even a child who had a good shot said to his teacher, ‘I waited for this day for years. I waited for someone to applaud me and to be happy thanks to this applause.’ When we heard these words, we decided to work on the visually impaired,” Gökçeoğlu said.

Explaining that the disabled people came together with the teachers and students of the informatics, electrical and electronic department at the school to do this sport, Gökçeoğlu noted that they made the work concrete with the support received from the ministry.

He stated that the study could be improved much more with the supports to be given.