The Club
Crewe & Nantwich Korfball Club (CaNKorf, for short)
was formed in 2008 to give local people the chance to
play korfball. The club has a thriving junior section, and
an adult section too!
Training
Junior training is at South Cheshire College (Crewe)
every Tuesday from 6.30-7.30pm, including during
school holidays. Adults train on Tuesday too, at Malbank
in Nantwich.
Cost
Membership of the club is free!! Training sessions for
juniors cost up to £2 each, check with the club directly
for special introductory rates.
What is korfball?
Korfball is a ball sport played by mixed teams (four boys
and four girls per team). It’s played with a ball about the
size of a football, and involves lots of throwing, catching,
and shooting into a really high basket. If you imagine
crossing basketball and netball you’ll get a fair idea of what
korfball looks like, but it’s actually quite different to both. It’s
fast moving, skilful, non-contact and involves lots of
teamwork. A short introduction to the rules and history of
the game is available on Wikipedia, and there are plenty of
nifty bits of footage out there – try searching on Youtube.
Trying to sum up the game in a four point nutshell:
•Boys mark boys, girls mark girls (2 boys and 2
girls play for each team in each half of the pitch).
•Attack in one half of the pitch – defend in the
other. Switch roles every 2 goals.
•Shoot from anywhere (in your attacking half) into
a basket on top of a 3.5m high post.
•No running with the ball – so lots of “passing and
moving”.
So, put simply, korfball is great! It is also really
easy to learn how to play and beginners (kids and
adults alike!) are always welcome.
The Game
Korfball was invented by a Dutch school teacher in 1902. He
wanted a team sport that the boys and girls in his school
could play together on equal terms, and that would
encourage team-work and co-operation. He called the game
korfball after the Dutch word for basket, ‘korf’. Korfball is now
played by both adults and juniors throughout Europe and the
rest of the world, and continues to grow rapidly.
What do you need to play?
You don’t need any special equipment to play korfball – just a
regular pair of trainers and sports clothes, like you might
wear to a PE lesson in school. The halls we train in can get
quite warm so most players wear shorts and a t-shirt (it’s not
a high fashion sport. It’s a really good idea to bring some
water to drink during the breaks too.