Think of that critical moment in a gym when thousands of people jump to their feet at the same time and hold their breath.
What if you can't see the action on the field and can only guess what's causing the excitement in the stands?
VolleyVoice Accessible Tribune Project enables visually impaired sports fans to independently follow volleyball matches with live descriptions and professional narration.
The project, supported by the Borusan Sustainable Benefit Program, aims to enable visually impaired audiences to follow the rhythm of the game moment by moment by transforming the sounds in the hall into visual descriptions.
We heard from the VolleyVoice team and project participants how the project came to be, how the match narrative transformed and what changed in the stands.
VolleyVoice Social Media and Reporting Coordinator İbrahim Ünsal, Communication and Expression Coordinator Nihan Cabbaroğlu and project participant Bedirhan Güzel talked about the origins of the project, the difficulties they faced and their future goals.
IT IS POSSIBLE TO EXPAND TO OTHER SPORTS
İbrahim Ünsal
- Could you briefly introduce yourself to us?
I am the Izmir provincial representative of the Association of the Visually Impaired in Education. I am closely interested in sports, especially volleyball, and I am a founding member of the VolleyVoice Accessible Tribune Project.
- How did your relationship with sports and especially the tribune culture begin? How did your passion for sports take shape despite the obstacles?
I followed football regularly for many years, and starting from 2008, I started to follow the Olympics closely. However, what really strengthened my bond with the tribune culture and my passion for watching live matches was my discovery of volleyball. After I started following volleyball, it became much more important for me not only to watch the matches but also to be a part of the hall atmosphere and the stands.
- From what need or experience did the idea of "Accessible Tribune" arise?
I came across the European Women's Volleyball Championship held in Ankara in 2019 by chance on television. Its excitement and atmosphere impressed me greatly. I wanted to be a part of the constant energy and collective spirit in the volleyball stands. However, I knew that the tribune experience would be incomplete for me without a live narration that would allow me to follow the game instantly and in detail. This is where I felt the need for an "Accessible Tribune": There was a need for a tribune experience where visually impaired volleyball fans could not only be in the hall, but also actually follow the game.
- What happened from the first idea of the project to its implementation? How did you bring the right people together?
The project was not shaped around a single person. The paths of people who saw similar needs and approached volleyball and accessibility from different perspectives crossed paths. Our common point was that visually impaired spectators could have a more independent and qualified experience in the stands. The idea was simple at first: How can a visually impaired spectator follow the match more effectively in the hall? To bring this to life, we had to think about many issues together, from narrative style to technical infrastructure, from communication with organizations to participant experience. As everyone put forward their own experience and expertise, the project turned into a concrete structure.
- Do you have an idea to move the project to other sports such as football or basketball?
Our goal is not to be limited to volleyball. When we gain the momentum we want, we want to carry the model to basketball and football. Our basic approach is very clear: There should be no sports competitions that are inaccessible.
- How exactly does the visually impaired viewer's experience change during the match? What gap does the announcer's narrative fill?
Without description, in the stands you mostly hear the reactions of the audience, screams and hall announcements. These give the atmosphere but do not tell what is happening on the field. Which team had the ball, who made the attack, who served, who took the defense, who made the block; It is not possible to follow the flow of the game properly without knowing these. The announcer's narration exactly fills this gap.
- Does the project only reach the audience in the hall, or can a structure be established that visually impaired people who follow the match from afar can also benefit?
Currently, the project primarily reaches the participants in the hall. However, when the necessary financial and technical means are provided, this narrative does not have to be limited to the audience in the stands. We want to expand this access as much as possible in the long term.
- What kind of structure do you want "Accessible Tribune" to turn into in the future?
As we say in our motto, I want there to be no sports competitions that are inaccessible. I dream that over time, the “Accessible Tribune” will become a natural part of sports, rather than a project implemented only in certain matches. Our biggest goal is to reach different branches and more people with this journey we started in volleyball. Borusan Sustainable Benefits Program has been very special for us in reaching this stage of the project. Thanks to the program, we have updated our technical infrastructure and continue to strengthen VolleyVoice's corporate structure with supports such as resource development, social impact measurement and mentoring.
EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO FOLLOW A MATCH
Nihan Cabbaroglu
- How did your paths cross with the “Accessible Tribune” project?
We actually came up with this project together. One day, after a match I was covering, I received a message on social media: "Mrs. Nihan, we are visually impaired and we follow volleyball matches. If possible, could you remind us of the score a little more often while narrating the match? This way, we can follow it more easily."
Thereupon, I started reminding the score more frequently and thus our paths crossed with the visually impaired volleyball audience. A stage of the Nations League was to be held in Istanbul in 2025. We met with this community before. “We want to follow this match from the living room, how can we follow the narrative?” they said. We thought about everything together, from narrators to descriptive narration and the headphone system, and created the project. We have been continuing on this path for about a year and a half.
- You have a high-energy narrative style that draws your audience into the game. When you started narrating matches for visually impaired viewers, what did you change in your narration style?
I have been covering matches on television for many years, but I never thought that there would be visually impaired people among the audience. After meeting this community, I developed sensitivity on this issue. While giving descriptive explanations for the visually impaired, I try to convey the position of the ball more clearly.
While accompanying the video on television, here it is necessary to reenact the entire match with sound: It is necessary to convey details such as where the ball went, how the player hit the ball, how far the ball went out, from which side of the field it came. While doing this, you should not miss the momentary excitement. Volleyball is a very fast sport; It is necessary to both maintain the tempo of the play and ensure that the listener can visualize the play in their mind.
- What was the most difficult thing for you when explaining a position to someone blind?
The most difficult thing was to describe the position by choosing different words while trying to keep up with the pace of the game. You need to use more than one word for a good description, but in volleyball, a position sometimes takes place in a tenth of a second. At first, I had a hard time fitting all the words into that space. For this reason, I first explained the action itself and began to describe in more detail how the position developed during the next game. Narrating with descriptions is a great exercise for sports narration. In the announcer trainings, we were asked to describe the room, place and environment we were in. It's a little more difficult than normal narration, but it was also a pretty good exercise for my television narration.
- What kind of feedback did you get from your listeners? Were there any directions such as “It would be better if you described it this way”?
There were people who wanted me to describe a little better how far the ball went out or how the shot was made, so I paid attention to that. In general, the participants say that they really like my energy and rhythm. Since there is no television image for visually impaired viewers, narration means bringing the match to life with sound and is the only way to convey the match.
Thus, my work ceased to be a profession and turned into a basic need that enables people to be sports spectators. I think everyone has the right to follow a match. I believed that I was making people's lives better with my profession, but now I see that it can turn into a tool not only to entertain but also to give people new experiences.
- What does this project mean to you, both humanly and professionally?
I believe that the joy that sports brings should be shared by everyone. As a female sports announcer, my main motivation was to believe that everyone has the right to take part in sports. In this period of my career, it is very important for me to be able to bring this excitement to those who cannot access sports. Taking part in such a project means that the experiences I have had so far gain meaning. It is very valuable for me to be able to share the experiences and gains I have gained from my professional life with a disadvantaged group.
OPPORTUNITY TO SOCIALise
Bedirhan Güzel
- As someone interested in sports and volleyball, what meaning does this project have for you?
I think that visually impaired people should be included in society with this and similar projects, not only in volleyball but in all sports. For this reason, I think that the project is an important opportunity for a visually impaired person to socialize beyond watching a descriptive match in the hall.
-What kind of difficulties did you experience while following sports competitions?
As a visually impaired person who has followed basketball and football matches from the stands as well as volleyball, I can say that I have become a completely externally dependent individual. During basketball and volleyball matches, when the announcer in the arena did not say anything, I had to interpret what was happening only based on the reaction of the fans, and most of these were misinterpretations.
For example, when a fan enthusiastically applauded a good move in a volleyball match, I could interpret this as a point over. In football, it is not possible to get an idea about the match unless someone next to you tells you what is happening in the match. In addition, the entrances and exits to the stands are not accessible enough for a visually impaired person to move alone.
- When you followed an indoor volleyball match before, which parts of the game did you miss?
In the best case scenario, when I'm sitting close to the court, I can hear the ball hit the net, the block, or even outfield. I can also follow who the point went to and the score based on the reaction of the announcer and the fans. However, I have no idea how the score developed, how the players reacted and what the fans reacted to and why.
- How did following the match with the announcer's narration change the game for you?
First of all, I realized that I now had control over every aspect of the room. Having it explained by a professional announcer was of great benefit in terms of where and what point to focus on at the right moment. Now that I have control over the entire game instead of guessing, I can react more harmoniously. This allowed me to integrate with the atmosphere more and enjoy the match I watched much more. I think one of the most important achievements was that the announcer coordinated us with the stands and shared the excitement of the hall.
