The 2026 Tiro en Braille Tournament: Competitive parity crystalizes as four different institutions reached the semifinals

The 2026 edition of the Tiro en Braille Annual Tournament is in the books. The fifth tournament was as exciting as any of the previous four tournaments. The championship matched witnessed the UG Apicultores Team winning their second consecutive championship. Indeed, the final match against BCENOG Kikinas was a rematch of the 2025 championship game. However, this time around, Apicultores achieved a landslide victor which left little doubt about which is Tiro en Braille’s undisputed powerhouse.

The 2026 tournament witnessed several novelties. For the first time in its 5 year history, a team from outside Guanajuato Capital competed in the tournament, as this year we were honored by the presence of a team from CESEE León. Also, the 2026 edition reinforced the fair game components as Goalball masks were introduced, assuring that all players are equally blind-folded, a debate that long hung around. Additionally, two red “silence please” boards were introduced with the aim of asking attendees to keep silent during each of the possessions. The result was a much more silent tournament which allowed players to hear the balls and their leaders (the so-called Lazarillos).

Two institutions had historically dominated Tiro en Braille -Universidad de Guanajuato (UG) and Benemérita y Centenaria Escuela Normal Oficial de Guanajuato (BCENOG). This year, both institutions reached the final, once again. However, we consider that the fact that ENSOG’s Ardillas 2 team and UPN 111 Latidos reached the semifinals evidences a growing competition.

This year the top scorer of the tournament was Ana Paulina from Ardillas 2, who managed to score 178 points. Moreover, she drilled three consecutive penalty shots, making it only the second time (the first was in 2023) that a player nailed three consecutive penalty shots. Hats off to Ana Paulina! The 2026 tournament recorded for the first time ever the points gained by the so-called Gladiators. This year, María José (Majo) gained the top Gladiator award, collecting 60 grabs.

As it has been the case in previous tournaments, Bere and Toño were awarded as the top disabled female and male players respectively. Diego, from Kikinas was awarded as the top non-disabled male player of the tournament. Finally, a new award, introduced in 2026, went to Ardillas 2 for the team that promoted Fair Play throughout the tournament.

For the second straight year, the award ceremony was held at Guanajuato’s State Congress (Legislature). However, this year the ceremony was held in the main room in front of the 36 state deputies. This reality demonstrates the consolidation that Tiro en Braille has achieved. Indeed, at the moment of writing these lines, there is an initiative in the State Congress to recognize both Tiro en Braille and Goalball within Guanajuato’s State sports catalogue. Shall this initiative (state bill) pass, Tiro en Braille could be soon played in all 46 municipalities that make up the state of Guanajuato.

I would like to express our gratitude to the 22 small and mid-size enterprises that sponsored gifts for our top teams and the MVP players. Also, our deepest gratitude to our jersey sponsor, Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE) and to our global partner, UNESCO.

Daniel Añorve Añorve

Project Leader

June 8th, 2026.