Blind athletes form friendships, bonds through Beep Baseball team

Kirstyn "Kiki" Smith is a founder of the Rochester Area Blind Athletes, a nonprofit in the Greater Rochester area.

The nonprofit, Smith said, is a vehicle for mental and physical health for people with vision loss. The organization also provides skill-building and education as a corollary.

"Growing up as a legally blind youth, my position was always on the bench. Beep Baseball has gotten me off of the pine and onto the field, on equal grounds with my sightless competitors and teammates," said Smith.

Smith is also a member of Rochester’s Beep Baseball team, the Rochester Area Pioneers, which formed in 2015, when the Beep Baseball World Series was held locally. Teams from around the world convened in Rochester for the event.

"Other members of the blind community and I made our first team, we came in last place. We had so much fun though. We created a network and have been doing it ever since," mused Smith.

The National Beep Baseball Association was established in 1976 in Chicago, according to its website. The sport is an adapted version of baseball where the ball makes a beeping sound, the bases make a buzzing sound, and the players –– regardless of how much vision they have left –– wear a blindfold to level the playing field.

People with vision loss rely on in-person interaction to meet and learn from other blind persons — for whom without they are left to navigate their world without perspective.

Over the past two years, in-door meetings have been restricted by varying degrees, but outdoor sports –– a social lifeline for the blind community –– has sustained.

Baseball as a lifeline

Smith was born sighted. At eight years old she was diagnosed with Uveitis, a degenerative autoimmune disease.

The progression was steady and through the years Smith eventually lost total light detection.

"I refused to acknowledge that I was blind for most of my life until I found Beep Baseball," she said.

After the team’s debut and first loss in the 2015 Beep Baseball World Series held in Rochester, Smith got the group organized to keep trying.

"In order for the Pioneers to be a part of the World Series every year, we find a way to take 15-20 visually impaired team members on the road," she said.

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Smith and members of the team created the Rochester Area Blind Athletes, a 501(c)3, to fundraise for the trips.

"The money we raise supports players' airfare, transportation and hotel at the World Series. We also host activities, like bowling, belly dancing classes or trampoline/sky dome rentals," she said.

Finding other blind persons is a challenge, Smith said. She compares it to a sighted person being identified by their alma mater's sweatshirt.

"We can’t do that. It is difficult to find others who struggle with their vision. It’s about having a group of people who live it every day," she said. "How do you know when your eggs are over easy? We learn those things from each other."

"Recreational activities like these for those who are legally blind and/or visually impaired strengthen community, encourage friendship, physical fitness, team-building and overall success in life," said Julie Hovey OCFS Associate Commissioner for the Commission for the Blind of New York State.

Building a community

Lea Werner, of Rochester, began running at the age of 50. She prefers long-distance runs and enjoys 5K marathons.

Werner, who is totally blind, works out at the gym to cross-train almost every day. Working out, Werner said, is a huge stress reliever.

"I have always been in good shape through athletics. But I have never played a blind sport until I was introduced to Beep Baseball."

Also, a member of the Rochester Pioneers, Werner said that she knew there were blind people in Rochester, but she didn't know where they were until she started playing the game.

Werner, is one of the team’s fundraisers. She said that the stores and businesses that she frequents are the team’s biggest contributors.

"I tend to go to places in my own neighborhood, I support the stores in my area. They know me, they help me,” Werner said.

Werner recommends that others who are blind and might feel isolated get to know the businesses closest to them.

"Go to familiar places, and as they get to know you. They help out because they know that you are going to keep coming back," she said.

Sharing common experiences

Helen Jones, of Brighton, is a middle-distance runner and sprinter. Throughout her athletic career, Jones competed in several world championships and in the Paralympics, a competition for people with different disabilities.

Originally from Kenya, Jones was born sighted. When she was a teenager, she developed retinitis pigmentosa.

Jones is now totally blind.

"You first lose your night eyesight and slowly and surely I lost my day sight, nobody knew one blind person back in Kenya. I was afraid to tell my parents when it was happening. It was a difficult journey," she said.

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Now, her primary role is being a mom to her superstar son, Elisha. The world of sports for Jones was her first love. "When I went to school for the blind in Kenya, I was the first woman to participate in the Paralympics for them. Running was so important to me."

As a member of the Pioneers, Jones keeps up her athletic abilities.

Athletics for the blind community is essential, she said.

“You have something in common you can talk about. Getting together, for us to play ball and run around not only helps with exercise, we share technology ideas and cooking tips."

Before Beep baseball, Jones didn’t know any other blind people in Rochester. "And then I met one person after another. My team — they supported me in my journey as a new suddenly single-blind parent."

Being part of a team

The Rochester Pioneers don’t compete alone. Sighted volunteers are an important part of their success.

Maria Fisher, of Penfield, has been a volunteer with the Rochester Pioneers for almost five years. She helps with driving people to games and practices, marketing on social media, recruitment of volunteers and players along with fundraising for the Rochester Blind Athletes.

"If you are a blind person and you went to school through an inclusion model, you probably haven't played sports. For a lot of our players, this is the first time that they have ever played for a team sport. It's exciting," Fisher said.

“There is camaraderie and there are challenges, learning to play on a team with a coach,” she said.

Fisher said that the team is just a good reminder that being blind is just one thing. "They have whole lives, they have careers, they are raising families," she said.

Regarding the reason for her love of the sport, Fisher said, "These are my friends. I am just having fun playing on a team. I was never a sports player, but now I am wanted and feel useful."

Get involved

if you would like to donate to support the team, send a check or money order to the RABA, P.O. Box 826, Webster, checks payable to the Rochester Area Blind Athletes.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Beep Baseball in Rochester NY: How to play, join, donate