The Great Day Out

Canterbury Contingent tries out new Beach Korfball rules

Four enthusiastic teams got together to trial the new Beach Korfball rules published recently by the IKF. (You can find the rules here)

For this group of players, Beach Korfball, is relatively new, but has been played in Europe for nearly 10 years. The newly published rules will provide commonality in game play, and with some unique extensions Beach Korfball should prove to be quite a hit.

Beach Korfball

There are two fundamental differences with this small court game. As there is no 'other half' to the pitch, an intercept by a defender forces the players to pass the ball to a corner to simulate a turnover. What is exciting in this is that from the corner, the player (having just become an attacker) can immediately shoot for goal. A successful shot from a corner credits the team with 2 points.

Since the long shot becomes a real scoring opportunity, defenders must now be on their toes. Obtaining and maintaining a good defence becomes paramount when the scores are tight.
Playing non-stop in the hot sun also requires frequent rest breaks, so the substitution rule has been relaxed to allow revolving substitutes. This also expands the opportunities for more playing time by more people, and prevents 'bench sitters'.

General Opinion

Those involved reported a very enjoyable day playing. Being a tournament day focussed on the Social as opposed to the competition, meant that teams could introduce new players. Those players had time to try things out, and a real opportunity to learn the strategy of good Korfball play.
A round robin format was used, with four games played before, and two after, a barbeque lunch. The scores are irrelevant (can anyone remember them anyway?!?) as players really had to come to grips with the game style. Lunch allowed everyone to discuss the strategy of playing the format, and how to improve both the attack and defence.

Grabbing the rebound

Overall, people enjoyed Beach Korfball, and many reported their preference in this style over the more traditional Outdoor Korfball format. With the smaller playing field, and the higher paced game, the experienced players felt they actually played more Korfball.

Its probable that the Canterbury teams will adopt this format for the summer season. And to this end, another tournament is being planned for early February 2001 to prepare everyone for the indoor Winter season.

Thanks must go to the Organiser, Ngaire Smith; to the refs who quickly up-skilled for the day, Ewout van Bruchem, Ursula Cheer, Ngaire Smith, and Ian Harding; and also to Neil Macbeth for swapping his team colours for an apron, and keeping the lunch fires burning.

We also cannot forget the players, who were willing to give the refs a bit of time to learn the game play as well.

It was also great to meet Kirsty Prentice (Oxford City Korfball Club), on a working holiday from Britain, who flew down from Wellington especially to join in. We are working hard to convince her to come to Christchurch for the 2001 season!