A Short Student Guide to Korfball

Korfball?!? Haven't heard of it?

Well, I hadn't before university either but here's your short guide to the sport which is like basketball, like netball but as everyone who has played it agrees, Korfball is so much better!

Korfball was a sport invented in 1902 by a teacher from Amsterdam called Nico Broekhuysen.

The game was designed so that Broekhuysen could allow all his pupils to play at the same game at the same time regardless of gender, hence the mixed teams.

The game is constructed so that both boys and girls are able to compete on an equal footing with teamwork (instead of height or strength) being the primary deciding factor in whether the game was won or lost.

Korfball is played by two teams of 8 (4 men and 4 women in each) on a rectangular pitch 40m by 20m (although smaller sizes are sometimes used).

This pitch is divided into two halves so that each end is square.

At either end, there is a goalpost supporting a cylindrical basket (called a 'korf'; the Dutch word for basket) which is 3.5 m from the ground which is about 45cm higher than a netball post.

Here's sport as an elaborate excuse for socialising ... it's pacier than netball; so are the drinks afterwards

The Sunday Times

With no backboard, arguably Korfball requires more skill than basketball.

The ball itself is actually similar to a soccer ball though handled with your hands!

There are two zones or divisions on the pitch, one defence and one attack, with each division occupied by two men and two women from each team.

Each division is limited to half the court with players unable to cross the halfway line.

These divisions swap over after every 2 goals are scored, so everyone must be capable of both attack and defense.

Hence there are no set positions as these are changed frequently and this gives Korfball a lot of variety during games.

Action consists almost entirely of passing the ball by hand from person to person.

Passing and movement form the basis of the game with attackers using changes of speed and direction, combined with team tactics, to try to lose their defenders in order to create a shooting chance.12»