Bay Area students competing for spot in National Braille Challenge

TAMPA, Fla. - Twenty-eight Bay Area students who are blind or visually impaired are going head-to-head Friday in the 2024 West Florida Regional Braille Challenge in Tampa. 

Competitors from first to 12th grade will showcase their braille skills and battle for a spot at the Braille Challenge Finals this summer in Los Angeles. The top 51 students will be invited out of more than 800 students who participate in one of 57 regional competitions.

Parents, teachers, and friends will be cheering students on Friday as they furiously type away on their braillers and quickly glide their fingers along braille dots during a day of fierce competition. 

Courtesy: Braille Institute

The Braille Challenge touts itself as the only academic competition of its kind in North America and the U.K. for students who are blind or visually impaired. 

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"Braille Institute developed the Braille Challenge to promote the importance of braille literacy," the organization said in a news release. "It motivates students to practice and hone their braille literacy skills, which are essential to academic and employment success." 

According to the National Federation for the Blind study in 2016, only 32% of those with a visual disability attain a high school diploma or GED, and less than 16% of adults attain a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Courtesy: Braille Institute

"Knowing braille gives those who are visually impaired a gateway to independence," Braille Institute CEO Jim Kales said when announcing the winners of the 2023 finals. "We celebrate and recognize the importance of braille reading and writing. These students are all winners and such an inspiration to us all."

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At nationals, contestants will compete at five levels: apprentice through varsity, in five different categories of braille literacy, including reading comprehension, spelling, speed and accuracy, proofreading, and tactile charts and graphs.

Courtesy: Braille Institute

Friday's regional competition in Tampa features a "Pizza Braille Party" theme, including hands-on activities with pizza dough, edible fractions, and a pizza garden. The event also features a family workshop focused on teaching daily living skills to children who are blind or visually impaired.

Regional competitions in Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, and Tallahassee will follow in February and March. Learn more here.