Stand Tries: Korfing

Mike, Korfball Captain and generally supreme player:

Let me tell you a story about a young, Dutch, early twentieth century schoolteacher called Nico Broekhuysen. Now, Nico Broekhuysen was a young, Dutch, early twentieth century schoolteacher with a dream. Nico dreamed of a sport based on gender equality, where men and women could compete in the same game on an equal footing.

The result of some sporting experimentation with his co-ed class was the fast-paced, high intensity game of “Korfball”. By including a rule preventing guys defending girls and girls defending guys, Nico ensured that the natural height/strength disparity didn’t matter. Korfball is the only true gender-equal sport in the world, and this is the key to its vast popularity in the Netherlands and rapid expansion in recent years across many countries. The mixed gender atmosphere avoids the laddish-ness or cattiness sometimes associated with other sports, and creates a really friendly environment.

Korfing hard

To give you an idea of what the sport looks like, here’s a clip  of the Netherlands and Chinese Taipei korfing away in the World Cup – But before you watch the video, here’s a quick rundown of the most important rules:

•  You cannot run with the ball.
•  You cannot shoot if someone is standing in a blocking/defending position.
•  You cannot block/defend players of the opposite gender.
•  No barging/ pushing (be nice!).

Because of these rules, Korfball is all about moving around the court as a team, making use of the guys and the girls to create space for shots. Enjoy!

Katie, korfing virgin:

Generally speaking, sports and I have a rocky relationship at best, so I was a bit apprehensive about attempting to learn how to play Korfball.  After a quick perusal of the Wikipedia page to figure out what I should be expecting, I headed over to the sports centre to give it a go.

If I only had one word to describe Korfball, it would be ‘friendly’.  It’s the only sport I have encountered where the opponent guarding you actually introduces him/herself and chats to you (although I would imagine that in competitive games this would be less common). I was immediately impressed with everyone’s welcoming attitudes, and willingness to teach me more about the game, despite my obvious athletic shortcomings.

Korfball is unique in that it was created so that men and women could play together, without the game getting too aggressive.  For still having trouble imagining it, I would say that is a more courteous form of basketball, because of the specific rules to ensure that it is not a contact sport.  Sometimes, these rules can get a bit complicated, and just when I thought I’d finally figured out the game, there would be another rule and I’d get confused all over again.

The most impressive part of my experience was how lovely everyone on the team was.  They are truly open to gaining new members, and making sure that anyone feels comfortable at their practices, and because korfball is still gaining popularity around the world, it is much easier for people new to the game to join in. A lot of the team is still learning how to play!

So, if you’re looking to get into a new sport, but are worried about being a newbie, korfball is the one for you.  They practice Mondays at 3pm and Thursdays at 2.30pm in the sports centre, so feel free to just turn up or email captain Mike at mf37. Happy korfing!

Are you a member of an interesting or unusual society or sports club? Drop us an email to tell us about yourselves and we could send someone along to try you out!

Images courtesy of St Andrews Korfball Club