Korfball

Korfball (Dutch: korfbal) is a ball sport, with similarities to netball and basketball. It is played by two teams of eight players with four female players and four male players in each team. The objective is to throw a ball into a netless basket that is mounted on a 3.5 m (11.5 feet) high pole.

This article is about Korfball. For the "mini-baseball" game, see Corkball.
Korfball
Outdoor korfball match in the Netherlands
Highest governing bodyInternational Korfball Federation
First played1902
Characteristics
ContactLimited
Team members8 per side: 4 male players and 4 female players
Mixed-sexYes
TypeTeam sport, ball sport
EquipmentKorfball
VenueKorfball court
Presence
OlympicDemonstration sport in 1920 and 1928
World Games1985–present

The sport was invented by Dutch school teacher Nico Broekhuysen in 1902. In the Netherlands there are approximately 500 clubs and more than 90,000 people playing korfball. The sport is also played in Belgium and Taiwan, and in nearly 70 other countries.

History
Korfball match at the 1928 Summer Olympics in the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam

In 1902, Nico Broekhuysen, a Dutch school teacher from Amsterdam, was sent to Nääs, a town in Sweden, to follow an educational course about teaching gymnastics to children. This is where he was introduced to the Swedish game "ringboll". In ringboll one could score points by throwing the ball through a ring that was attached to a 3 m pole. Men and women played together, and the field was divided into three zones. Players could not leave their zone.[1][2]

When Broekhuysen returned to Amsterdam he decided to teach his students a similar game. He replaced the ring with a basket (for which the Dutch word is korf or mand), so it was easier to see whether or not a player had scored. Broekhuysen also simplified the rules so that children could understand and play the game. Thus korfball was born. The main idea was the same as ringboll, but the new sport now stood on its own.

The oldest still existing korfball club never to have merged with any other club is a Dutch korfball club H.K.C. ALO from The Hague, Netherlands. H.K.C. ALO was founded on 1 February 1906.[3]

Korfball was featured as a demonstration sport in the Summer Olympics of 1920 and 1928.[4]

Members of the International Korfball Federation

The International Korfball Federation was founded in 1933 in Antwerp, Belgium.

Korfball is played in 69 countries including the United States, China, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Greece, Serbia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, India, The Netherlands, Belgium, Nigeria, Morocco, Ghana, Russia, Germany, Taiwan, Turkey, Hong Kong, Portugal, Pakistan, India, Sweden, Hungary, Philippines, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, France and Romania.[5]

In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, on March 1, 2022, the International Korfball Federation announced that the Russian Korfball Federation would not be invited until further notice to any international korfball competition. This implied effectively that no Russian athletes shall take part in any international korfball event. Furthermore, the Russian Korfball Federation shall not be eligible to bid for the hosting of any IKF event until further notice, and no IKF events were planned in Russia.[6]

It is growing in popularity in the U.K., and is referenced in a song by the band Half Man Half Biscuit entitled "Joy in Leeuwarden (We Are Ready)" on their 2011 album 90 Bisodol (Crimond).

Korfball has been played in the World Games since 1985. IKF World Korfball Championships have been held every four years since 1978. The leading nations are the Netherlands, Chinese Taipei, and Belgium.

Hong Kong hosted its first international tournament, the IKF Asia Oceania Korfball Championship, in 2006. New Zealand hosted the IKF Asia Oceania Youth Korfball Championships in 2007.

Rules and regulations

Equipment
Korfball field diagram -en

Korfball is played inside in winter and outdoors in spring, summer and autumn.

The size of the indoor court is 20 m × 40 m (22 yd × 44 yd), as are most outdoor courts. The court is divided into halves called zones. In each zone is a 3.5 m (11 ft) tall post with a basket at the top. This is positioned two-thirds of the distance between the center line and the back of the zone.[2]

The ball is very similar to the one used in association football, with a circumference of 68.0-70.5 cm (or diameter of 21.75-22.45 cm), a weight of 445-475 grams, and a bounce height of 1.10-1.30 meters when dropped from a height of 1.80 meters.

Team

A korfball team consists of eight players: four female and four male.[7]

Match
Korfball match in the Netherlands

An international korfball match typically consists of two halves or four periods, with the length varying depending on the competition. When the match consists of halves, the duration is typically 25 minutes, with periods typically between 7 and 10 minutes, with a one-minute break between the first and second periods and between the third and fourth periods. At half time the break is five or ten minutes.[7]

Four players of each team are in one zone and the other four are in the other zone. Within each zone, a player may only defend a member of the opposite team of the same gender.

At the beginning of the match, one team chooses a particular half of the court. That half will be that team's defending zone, with "their" basket in it. Players score by throwing the ball through the opposing team's basket. After two goals, the teams change zones: defenders become attackers and attackers become defenders. In between those zone-changes, attackers cannot set foot on their defending zone or vice versa. At half time the teams swap halves of the court.

The rules prevent physical strength dominating the game. Blocking, tackling, and holding are not allowed, nor is kicking the ball.

Once a player has the ball, that player cannot dribble or walk with it; however, the player can move one foot as long as the foot on which the player landed when catching the ball stays in the same spot. Therefore, tactical and efficient teamwork is required, because players need each other in order to keep the ball moving.

A player may not attempt to score when defended, which occurs when the defender is in between the opponent and the basket, is facing his/her opponent, or is within arm's length and attempting to block the ball. This rule encourages fast movement while also limiting the impact of players' height compared to their opponents.

International tournaments

World Games
Main article: Korfball at the World Games

The national teams competition organized by the International World Games Association has been played roughly every four years since 1981.

YearHostChampionSecond placeThird place
II Details 1985 United Kingdom  Netherlands  Belgium  United States
III Details 1989 Germany  Netherlands  Belgium  West Germany
IV Details 1993 Netherlands  Netherlands  Belgium  Germany
V Details 1997 Finland  Netherlands  Belgium  Chinese Taipei
VI Details 2001 Japan  Netherlands  Belgium  Chinese Taipei
VII Details 2005 Germany  Netherlands  Belgium  Czech Republic
VIII Details 2009 Taiwan  Netherlands  Belgium  Chinese Taipei
VIII Details 2013 Colombia  Netherlands  Belgium  Chinese Taipei
IX Details 2017 Poland  Netherlands  Chinese Taipei  Belgium
X Details 2022 United States  Netherlands  Belgium  Chinese Taipei
XI Details 2025 China

IKF World Korfball Championship
Main article: IKF Korfball World Championship

The national teams competition organized by the International Korfball Federation has been played roughly every four years since 1978.

YearHostChampionSecond placeThird place
I Details 1978 Netherlands  Netherlands  Belgium  West Germany
II Details 1984 Belgium  Netherlands  Belgium  West Germany
III Details 1987 Netherlands  Netherlands  Belgium  Great Britain
IV Details 1991 Belgium  Belgium  Netherlands  Chinese Taipei
V Details 1995 India  Netherlands  Belgium  Portugal
VI Details 1999 Australia  Netherlands  Belgium  Great Britain
VII Details 2003 Netherlands  Netherlands  Belgium  Czech Republic
VIII Details 2007 Czech Republic  Netherlands  Belgium  Czech Republic
IX Details 2011 China  Netherlands  Belgium  Chinese Taipei
X Details 2015 Belgium  Netherlands  Belgium  Chinese Taipei
XI Details 2019 South Africa  Netherlands  Belgium  Chinese Taipei
XII Details 2023 Chinese Taipei

IKF U23 World Korfball Championship
Main article: IKF U23 World Championship
  • 2008 Kaohsiung, Taiwan – Winner: Netherlands
  • 2012 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain – Winner: Netherlands
  • 2016 Olomouc, Czech Republic – Winner: Netherlands

Continental championships

IKF promotes four continental championships: European Korfball Championship, All-Africa Korfball Championship, Pan-American Korfball Championship and Asia-Oceania Korfball Championship.

Europa Cup for Clubs

Every year the IKF organises the Europa Cup for national champions (clubs). The Europa Cup was organized for the first time in 1967, and was won by Ons Eibernest from the Netherlands. The winner of the last edition was Fortuna/Delta Logistiek, which won the 2020 edition.

PKC from Papendrecht, the Netherlands, have won the championship the most times, a record 12 wins in total.

Until now, the winning team was either from the Netherlands or Belgium, with respectively 45 and 6 Europa Cups. The only club from the United Kingdom to reach the final was Mitcham Korfball Club from London. Mitcham lost the final against Catbavrienden from Belgium in 1998.

Beach korfball

For beach korfball, the rules of the game differ slightly from those of regular korfball. Each team has 4 starting players and up to 4 substitutes. The field of play is 20 metres by 10 metres, and goals are to be placed 4 metres from the end line. Matches consist of two halves of 6 minutes with a 1-minute rest.[8]

Each team has 4 players in the field, two men and two women. Players can be substituted at any time. Furthermore, if a goal is scored from a 2-point zone, a two-point goal is awarded. Free shots can both be executed at the standard Free Shot line, or at the spot where the fault was made by the opponent.

The current Beach Korfball World Champion is Poland, who won the World Beach Korfball Championship in Nador, Morocco in 2022. 13 teams were represented with Portugal taking silver and Belgium bronze.[9]

IKF World Beach Korfball Championship 2022
YearHostChampionSecond placeThird place
I Details 2022 Nador, Morocco  Poland  Portugal  Belgium

IKF Beach Korfball World Cup (Regional)

Year Region Host Champion Second Place Third Place
I 2017[10] Europe The Hague, Netherlands Netherlands Portugal Belgium
II 2018[11] Europe Blankenberge, Belgium Belgium Portugal Poland
III 2019[12] Asia Hong Kong Chinese Taipei China Hong Kong
IV 2019[13] Europe Bonson, France Portugal Netherlands Belgium
III 2023 Europe Wrocław, Poland TBD TBD TBD

Cultural references

Korfball is the theme of the song "Joy in Leeuwarden (We Are Ready)" on the album 90 Bisodol (Crimond) by Half Man Half Biscuit.

See also

References
  1. Koninklijk Nederlands Korfbalverbond. "History of korfball" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  2. "korfball". Webster's Sports Dictionary. Springfield, Mass.: G&G Merriam Company. 1976. p. 248.
  3. "Sports On Call - Information You Can Access On One Call". Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  4. Jurryt van de Vooren. "Forgotten Sport-heroes: Nico Broekhuysen" (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  5. "What's korfball? And why is it gaining popularity in Birmingham, Alabama?". Here and Now. WBUR. 5 April 2022.
  6. "No Russian athletes in international korfball events". 1 March 2022.
  7. IKF. "Complete Rules of Korfball" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  8. "Documents". IKF beachkorfball. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  9. "Poland is the first World Beach Korfball Champion". IKF beachkorfball. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  10. "IKF OEBKC 2017 - Day 2 (Semi-finals & Finals): Updated results". IKF beachkorfball. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  11. "IKF Beach Korfball World Cup 2018: Day 2 - Programme, Results & Ranking". IKF beachkorfball. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  12. "Chinese Taipei: 1st IKF Beach Korfball World Cup (Asia) Champion!". IKF beachkorfball. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  13. "IKF BKWC (Europe) 2019: Recap day 2". IKF beachkorfball. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
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