What is Korfball?

Korfball (literally “basketball” in Dutch) is comparable to netball and basketball.  It is played by two teams of eight players, with four men and four women on each team.  Men can only mark men, and women can only mark women.  The pitch is divided into two halves, attack and defence, with each zone occupied by a “division” of two men and two women from each team.

A short introduction to Korfball:

The aim is to win by scoring the most goals, or korfs, by shooting successfully into the basket.  The baskets are 3.5m high, and set one-third into the court at each end, so it is possible to shoot from all the way around the post.  The post is much higher than a basketball net or netball post, which means that ‘slam dunking’ is out of the question.  However a ‘running in shot’ is possible, which is a fundamental shooting type you will be taught at training. You cannot ‘dribble’ with the ball, but the restrictions on travelling are less severe than netball, in that you can take a couple of steps as you catch the ball.

Korfball has a couple of unique rules.  Firstly, after every two goals scored, the two divisions switch ends so that attack becomes defence, and defence becomes attack.  This means that korfball is an all round sport – with every player skilled in both shooting and defending.

Secondly, it is a foul if a player shoots whilst being defended by a player on the opposite team.  To be “defended”, a member of the same sex from the opposite team must be between the shooter and the post, within arms length, and have their arm up to defend the ball.  This means that korfball is very fast-paced as players try to out-manoeuvre their defenders in order to create a shooting chance.

For a better understanding, come along to a training session. Further details of the clubs activities throughout the year are emailed out to our Mailing List.