Matthew Bartley looks to strengthen culture and relationships in King’s athletics, using goalball experiences as a precedent.
Matthew Bartley has had a busy start this academic school year. The new King’s athletic director was hired in August 2025 and along with learning the ropes of his new position, Bartley is heavily involved in the goalball community. He’s the head coach of Canada’s Youth National Team and the assistant coach of the Men’s National Team.
After sitting down with Bartley in his freshly painted office in the King’s gym, he told me about the first time he discovered goalball. It was 13 years ago, during his undergraduate studies at Dalhousie, when he came across a poster for local refereeing.
“I wanted to fulfill a need for help by [assisting] a group that does not have vision,” Bartley said. “After a while, I realized it was much more than that.”
Goalball is a fast-paced Paralympic team sport for visually impaired athletes. It was invented after the Second World War, which left some soldiers with visual impairments. Each team consists of six players, with three on the court at a time, who try to roll a 1.25-kilogram ball with bells inside of it into the opponent’s net. Players use sound and touch to orient themselves on a tactile court, with all players wearing eyeshades to ensure there’s a level playing field.
“They use similar lines as a volleyball court, with the net stretching nine metres on both sides,” Bartley said. “The teams are required to slide and block their net, and roll the ball using a bowling motion to the opponent’s net.”
After learning more about the game, Bartley discovered a passion for helping the visually impaired and, in 2014, received his referee certification. He said this allowed him to travel the country for different tournaments and gain a better understanding of the game.
Bartley eventually worked his way up from coaching recreational teams to winning nationals with Team Nova Scotia. He said this experience made him take goalball more seriously and led him to where he is now.
This past year, Bartley accompanied the Men’s National Team to São Paulo, Brazil, to compete at the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Goalball Americas Championships, from late July to early August.
“That was my first taste of international competition, which will be a memory forever,” Bartley said. “And we did what we needed to do as a team.”
This tournament was a huge deal for the men’s team, as they finished fourth overall, securing a spot at the IBSA World Championships in June of this year, which will be hosted by China.
“We beat the U.S. for the first time in 12 years, which was a huge motivational push,” Bartley said about the Brazil tournament. “It was a very rewarding experience.”
In early November, Bartley went with Canada’s Youth National Goalball Team to the Youth Parapan American Games in Chile. After a hard-fought battle throughout the tournament, the team managed to win bronze in a 10-9 game against Mexico.
After attending these major games on an international stage, Bartley said he would like to bring elements of high performance sports to King’s.
“Seeing the logistics of the opening ceremonies, organizing large group meals, team meetings and the travel associated with all of this is a hopeful piece I would like to instill here,” Bartley said. “I would also like to see relationships being built off the courts and fields as well.”
“I harp on culture and relationships,” Bartley said, adding that he wants to prioritize this within the King’s athletics community.
“My favourite memories were the ones shared with the players,” Bartley said. “Traveling internationally is a unique experience that not all teams get to have, and enjoying every moment of it is more important than winning games.”
Bartley said he now looks forward to the Men’s World Championships in June and the Youth World Championships in Kazakhstan coming up at the end of this year.
As the interview came to an end, Bartley told me he’s had time to reflect on what this all means to him. He said he never would have imagined that seeing a poster 13 years ago would give him all of these experiences.
“I’m glad I didn’t know that it could lead to this,” he said. “I just got into it because I thought a group needed help, and it led me to international travel and unforgettable memories.”