Croydon’s having a Korfball

Ask someone to name a sport and no doubt you will get the same old standard answers; football, tennis, cricket, rugby, netball, basketball etc. but tucked away in a few small pockets of Croydon you will meet a group that may give you an answer you have never heard of before… Korfball!

So what on Earth is Korfball? Well to answer that let's start at where on Earth. Korfball originates from the Netherlands, where the literal translation of the work ‘Korf’ is ‘Basket’ but although it shares similarities to basketball there are plenty of differences too.

How to play: A team is made up of 8 players split into two sections of 4. The biggest difference and arguably biggest attraction of the sport is that it is mixed sex, so 4 male and 4 female players in each team (2 of each in each section). You pass and shoot with your hands, just like basketball but you can’t run or dribble with the ball. The game is much faster than netball so while you can’t travel with the ball, the game moves so quickly it rarely stays still anyway. The other big difference is the defended rule, if you are being actively defended, you are not allowed to shoot – a big part of the game is beating your marker and creating space for a shot.

As with most sports, the aim of the game is to score more than your opponents, by scoring into the Korf, which is on a 3.5m high post. There is no backboard like in basketball so takes a certain amount of technique to get the ball into the basket.

A paragraph and a bit really doesn’t do the sport justice, the best way to really see what it’s about is to either come along to watch or even better giving it a try yourself!

Croydon Korfball club is one such place that is always delighted to welcome new members of the korfball family. We offer two completely free sessions to give you a taste of the sport and we are open to absolutely anyone, whether you are a youngster, senior or anywhere in-between! All of our training and home matches take place at Royal Russell School opposite Coombe Lane tram stop. Training is Thursday nights from 8-10pm while our matches are nearly always on Sundays although times can vary.

If you would like to find out more about us, or are interested in joining us to try it out you can learn more at our website www.croydonkorfball.com, feel free to contact us using our contact page or even just turning up to a training session to see why we have a reputation as the friendliest, family club in the country!