Audio describers at CUFC help visually impaired people watch the game (Image: Audio for All) Group 28 Sign up to our free email newsletter to receive the latest
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Football games that you've taken for granted. But for people who are blind or visually impaired, a massive part of match day is lost, with gaps that typical commentary cannot fill. That's where Audio For All comes in. Volunteers who are Cambridge United Football Club fans offer an audio description service so that fans who might otherwise struggle to follow the game can feel the full highs and lows of the 90 minutes. Neil Cornwell, who lost the sight in one eye in an accident when he was younger, is among the volunteers helping everyone 'see' CUFC games. He told CambridgeshireLive how the audio description differs from typical sports commentary as you are 'describing everything that's happening'. Read next: Robots helping Cambridgeshire woman recover after stroke at work He added: "That's not just the action on the pitch – it's weather conditions, are the floodlights on, what's happening around the ground. It's everything that you and I take for granted because we've got reasonably good eyesight." The group of volunteers formed in 2011 after the mother of a teenage boy who was losing his eyesight due to a degenerative condition got in touch. The club had an audio description kit hanging around from an earlier initiative that fizzled out, and so from that day forwards CUFC fans have been offering the service. Zoe Harvey's son Lucas using the headpiece during a game (Image: Zoe Harvey) Though they are CUFC fans, Neil says that they have to be fair and not let their feelings get in the way of their description – they're describing the match for away fans as well as those on home ground. He added: "If an opposition player kicks an absolute screamer from 30 yards into the top corner, you have to say, 'that was an absolutely fantastic goal'." Another difference between typical commentary and the audio description service is that it focuses more on where the ball is, rather than on players' names. Neil added: "Somebody who hasn't got good eyesight or, in some cases, any eyesight at all, is far more interested in knowing that the ball is in the left back position or it's in the centre circle than 'Fred Smith has got it'." The kit itself consists of a shortwave radio which the describers, who work in pairs, use to broadcast their description. Anyone who needs the service can pick up a receiver with either single or double headphones, allowing them to either focus entirely on the description or to hear part of the atmosphere in the stands too. This has been helpful for other fans using the service, including those who have sensory issues or who are autistic. The description gives them a different way to interact with the game, while still being in the stands with
Friends and family. Zoe Harvey, who is visually impaired and uses the audio description, said: "Audio description helps myself and other fellow fans who struggle to see any aspect of the game by providing a real time detailed description of everything that is happening on the pitch. Not only the game play but anything additional within the ground I may not be aware of, this in turn allows me to be a part of the crowd and enjoy the highs and lows in the same way a fully sighted fan can and means I'm not excluded." Neil says he has been surprised and disappointed to learn that audio description isn't provided as standard across clubs – he says that only about half of professional clubs offer it. He added: "I do find it sad in this modern day and age where we're supposed to be all-inclusive. CUFC is one of the few clubs who offer audio description (Image: Cambridge News) "But looking at it from a purely cynical and commercial point of view, it's getting more people through the turnstiles. They're paying for a ticket, they're buying a programme, they're putting money into your club. So why would you not want to get as many people as possible coming in?" Despite his disappointment that more clubs don't offer the service, Neil says that he finds the work he and fellow volunteers do to be very rewarding. "You can go home and think, 'I've made a difference to someone'," he says. "It might have been a dreadful game, we may have lost, but they've had a good day. And that means everything." READ MORE:
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