Brief History of Korfball in New Zealand

Early Introduction

Snow falls
Through the efforts of KDG members during the late 1980s, korfball was introduced as a physical education module to as many as 100 secondary schools throughout the country. It reached the stage where a regular annual tournament was held in the South Island with up to 16, mostly school teams, taking part. In 1988 and 1989 teams of Australian youth korfballers visited New Zealand, toured the schools and participated in the tournaments, where their greater experience and international exposure saw them prevail over the local teams.

Also in 1989 Dutch international korfballer Elma Bucher visited New Zealand for an extended period. She travelled the country with poles and baskets conducting training sessions and clinics at schools and universities in Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton and Timaru.

Because all progress was dependent on the remote assistance of the IKF or KA and on a few key individuals rather than any self-sustaining organisation, the momentum achieved by the KDG was not maintained beyond the early 1990s. As a result, korfball activity within schools declined by the latter half of the decade.