Shortly before my second year of college, I received a few orientation and mobility lessons for learning how to navigate with low vision and a blindness cane. These lessons were helpful for learning general travel skills, but I noticed they didn’t get into specifics about navigating college campuses or using university resources available for students with vision loss. One lesson that would have been really helpful is knowing how to navigate sporting events and the large campus arena, so I’ve created the College O&M series to share my most-used tips and strategies for learning about this topic and others. Here are my tips for attending college games and sporting events as a person with low vision who uses a blindness cane.
Disclaimer
I am not a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS), and I strongly recommended working with a COMS from the state department for visual impairment or vocational rehabilitation to determine the appropriate mobility solution for individuals. The tips and strategies shared throughout this post are informed by my lived experiences using a blindness cane (white cane) on my college campus.
Bringing a blindness cane to game day
When attending sporting events, I prefer to bring a six-section collapsible blindness cane rather than my standard four-section cane. A collapsible cane folds down to a much smaller size, which makes it easier to store once I have found my seat and no longer need it for navigation. Since sporting events often involve tight seating areas, limited legroom, and crowded aisles, having a cane that can be securely stored away from aisles is a major advantage.
For students who attend sporting events or school events regularly and want a creative way to stand out, I also recommend considering custom-colored canes or choosing canes that incorporate school colors. I use a custom cane in my school colors not only to show school spirit, but also because high-contrast coloring can make the cane more visible to others in dim lighting, which is common in arenas before and after games, and also stands out from the light-colored bleachers. My school colors are dark green and gold, and over the years I have had a solid yellow cane, a yellow cane with green segments, a golden yellow cane with a green bottom segment, and a white cane with a green segment on the bottom.
While I haven’t gone to game day at my brother’s current university (yet), his school colors are light blue and white, a perfect match with the Ambutech HiLite blue cane! I have a HiLite cane in another color with a marshmallow tip and love the super vibrant colors.
Related links
- How To Order Custom Colors for Blindness Canes
- Ten Things To Know About Going To College With A Blindness Cane
- Seven Places I Don’t Take My Blindness Cane
Ask about ADA entrances and seating
College stadiums and arenas can be overwhelming, especially if they span multiple levels or have complicated layouts. Before attending an event for the first time, I always ask building staff or accessibility offices about ADA entrances, elevator locations, and accessible seating options. This is particularly important for students with low vision who may have difficulty navigating stairs, uneven surfaces, or dim lighting. If attending games with assigned seating, it is also helpful to take a screenshot of the seating location for easy access.
Many universities post accessibility maps, seating charts, and ADA information online. Searching for the building name along with terms like “ADA” or “accessibility” can be helpful, but calling ahead often provides more specific, practical guidance. Student disability services or campus accessibility offices may also be able to provide tips for navigating the venue.
Traveling to the stadium on game day
The first few times I went to events at the stadium, I used a GPS app on my phone to get walking directions from my dorm to the stadium, which was about a fifteen-minute walk. Disability transportation services are not reliably available for students on game day, so I would sometimes use other strategies like taking the campus shuttle so I didn’t have to walk very far, or walk with a friend who could help me navigate crowds.
Another helpful strategy I have used is visual assistance apps like Aira and Be My Eyes; my college is now an Aira Access location, so anyone on campus can use the Aira app free of charge to navigate indoor and outdoor environments. I would use these types of applications for tasks like reading signs, helping me spot arena staff, or figuring out how to get to seating areas. Human assistance applications are more helpful than AI-powered applications in these situations, because I find it helpful to get environmental information in real time and often have to account for crowds or other barriers that might not otherwise be detected.
Disclaimer: I previously received free Aira service through a now-defunct program for college students in 2018/2019 and spoke at an Aira-sponsored event in 2018.
Related links
- Building Identification: College O&M
- Reporting Accessibility Issues: College O&M
- Using Aira With Low Vision
If possible, tune into an audio broadcast of the game
One of the most helpful tools I’ve used at sporting events is a live audio broadcast of the game, which I first learned about when watching a baseball game many years ago. Listening to play-by-play commentary provides critical context about what’s happening on the field or court, especially when it can be hard to see what is going on or if the person sitting next to me doesn’t talk much about the game. Many universities stream audio broadcasts for free through their athletics websites or local radio stations; I shared an example of the information for my college below.
For listening to games, students may prefer to wear a single earbud, wear wireless earbuds, or use bone-conducting headphones to listen to games while still engaging with friends or being aware of surroundings. Audio can be streamed through radio apps or directly from the athletics website on a smartphone.
Related links
- Watching MLB Baseball Games With Low Vision
- Live Events – George Mason University Athletics (gomason.com)
- 8 Myths About Audio Description
Store canes where they can’t easily be tripped over
Storing a blindness cane properly during a sporting event is essential for safety. Leaving a cane on the ground or in the aisle/walkway areas is not ideal, as it can easily become a tripping hazard or get damaged. I have also had both my own blindness cane and canes that belong to my friends start rolling on the ground and become stuck in the opening of the bleachers, which I had to retrieve by myself!
Some safer storage options for storing blindness canes (white canes) during sporting events include:
- In a backpack or small bag kept under the seat
- Behind me against the chair back
- In my lap during seated portions of the game
- Fully collapsed and secured behind my chair
If I need to move quickly while standing, I will hold my cane extended against my shoulder, though I try to avoid this whenever possible since I can’t use the wrist strap of my cane if I am playing in pep band. Many of my friends with rigid canes that do not collapse will lean their cane against their shoulder or find a way to securely store it underneath their seat so that it will not roll into the aisle or a walkway; one of my friends would secure their cane with a book since they could not bring their water bottle inside the stadium.
Related links
What to wear to sporting events
While each school varies on how students typically dress for a sporting event, many students at my university will dress casually and in school colors for basketball games and similar events in lightweight items that can be easily layered or removed, such as a t-shirt or hoodie. Since there are lots of bright lights at events and I am sensitive to light, I wear a dark green hat and a pair of sunglasses to help block out the lights and decrease eyestrain, as well as a college t-shirt and other comfortable clothing that’s part of my band uniform. Some students may find they don’t need to wear a hat to help with blocking out lights, however I have found that having my hat on helps with blocking lights that are behind me.
In recent years, many of my friends with low vision have started wearing smartwatches for games, which they have used for pulling up digital tickets, getting alerts/notifications about the game, getting directions, or just quickly checking the time. One of my friends also used their smartwatch to control the volume of the audio game commentary so they didn’t have to grab their phone.
Related links
Join the pep club or (even better) the pep band!
For students who are looking for a fun way to make friends and get great seats for games and other sporting events, joining the pep club can be a great option, since students often show up before peak times for admission. Pep club members often get priority seating at games, early admission times, and have more predictable routines for navigating game day, as well as the opportunity to connect with current students/alumni and show their school spirit. This is also a great strategy for larger universities that have ticket lotteries or a limited number of student tickets.
Another option for students that play an instrument is to join the pep band or athletic band, which plays in the stands at different games and events. Depending on the college, the pep band may be considered part of the marching band and may require a separate audition, or the pep band may be its own ensemble. I played in the pep band as an undergrad and met several of my closest friends, plus I could go to as many home games as I wanted!
Related links
- How I Play In GMU Green Machine/Pep Band With Low Vision
- Marching Band and Low Vision
- My Favorite Tips For College Sibling Weekend
More tips for navigating college game day and sporting events with a blindness cane
- Make sure to learn the school fight song and any other fun game day traditions! I share more about this process in Creating Audio Description For College Fight Song
- Another strategy I use for following along with game updates is to check stats on my phone; I typically use Google or Bing to view a real-time scoreboard in large print on my phone by searching “(college name) (sport) today”
- Many stadiums require attendees to have clear bags or have other restrictions about what can be brought to the stadium; make sure to check in advance.
Published May 25, 2020. Updated September 2025