“Incredible. Unique. Life-changing. Unforgettable.”

Just some of the words used by our members, old and new, to describe our magical korfball; the best sport you’ve never heard of and the game tackling sexism in sport.

Korfball is a mixed team sport devised by a Dutch schoolteacher, Nico Broekhuysen in 1903. Broekhuysen taught in one of the first mixed sex schools in Amsterdam, and wanted a game that both boys and girls could play. The rules are designed so that there were no advantages gained in height, sex or physical prowess.

How do you play?

Korfball is played by two teams of 8 on a court, with four females and four males on each team. The object is to score more goals then the opposition, which players do by working together to move the ball up the pitch quickly.

As dribbling is forbidden teams must instead rely on quick passing and intrinsic movement to get into shooting range. There are no fixed positions in korfball and players are required to alternate between attack and defence every time two goals are scored.

Shooting quickly is also a must in this game because unlike basketball or netball (where you can just shoot no matter what), in Korfball you can be defended which means your shot won’t count. There are 3 criteria that are met to make an attacking player defended. The defender must be:

  1. Between the attacker and the basket
  2. Within arm length of the attacker and are looking at them
  3. Actively trying to block the ball.

To get a feel for the game check out this highlight video

 

Korfball at the University of Leeds

At the University of Leeds we have a really exciting inclusive society that is always looking for new members to join.

We have 3 teams representing the university this year and each team plays competitively throughout the year in local leagues. We also have the opportunity to compete against the top 16 universities in the country at the BUCS national tournament!

But it isn’t all as serious as it sounds at the University of Leeds Korfball Club. We welcome everyone who just wants to play and train socially. Throughout the year we have countless socials and weekends away to celebrate and play some friendly Korf against other universities.

We also have a yearly trip to the Netherlands where we take part in an international tournament called Attila. We spend two days in Amsterdam sight-seeing and two days in Eindhoven korfing around, a trip which is open to everyone for a great weekend away. It’s as much about the sights and scenes as it is the Korf.

 

Not only is Korfball a fun sport to play, it is a great way to keep fit so if you want to try something new then come along to one of our training sessions. Our training takes place on Wednesdays at 5-7pm and Thursday 7-8pm both at The Edge in Sports Hall 2.

To find out more about what we’re up to, you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat (leedsunikorf), and Instagram

On 2nd December we will being doing an Instagram takeover of the Leeds sport page (leeds_sport) for our BUCS prelim qualifiers so please tune in to see some live Korf.

Shairb