Obscure Sports: Korfball

When I first heard about the sport of Korfball, I immediately thought of some sort of sport played in outer space.  In reality, Korfball is one of the only sports in which men and women play together.  It's a lot like basketball except that the baskets do not have backboards and there is no dribbling.

It is played by two teams of eight players with four female players and four male players on each team.  The objective is to throw a ball into a netless basket.  

The game is played in two halves or four periods, with the length varying depending on the competition. When the match consists of halves, the duration is typically 25 minutes, with periods typically between 7 and 10 minutes, with a one-minute break between the first and second periods and between the third and fourth periods. At half time the break is five or ten minutes.

Four players of each team are in one zone and the other four are in the other zone. Within each zone, a player may only defend a member of the opposite team of the same gender.

At the beginning of the match, one team chooses a particular half of the court. That half will be that team's defending zone, with "their" basket in it. Players score by throwing the ball through the opposing team's basket. After two goals, the teams change zones: defenders become attackers and attackers become defenders. In between those zone-changes, attackers cannot set foot on their defending zone or vice versa. At half time the teams swap halves of the court.

The rules prevent physical strength dominating the game. Blocking, tackling, and holding are not allowed, nor is kicking the ball.

Once a player has the ball, that player cannot dribble or walk with it; however, the player can move one foot as long as the foot on which the player landed when catching the ball stays in the same spot. Therefore, tactical and efficient teamwork is required, because players need each other in order to keep the ball moving.

A player may not attempt to score when defended, which occurs when the defender is in between the opponent and the basket, is facing his/her opponent, or is within arm's length and attempting to block the ball. This rule encourages fast movement while also limiting the impact of players' height compared to their opponents.

The sport was invented by Dutch school teacher Nico Broekhuysen in 1902.  The sport is popular in the Netherlands with approximately 500 clubs and more than 90,000 players.  It is also played in Belguim and Taiwan.

The international governing body for Korfball is the International Korfball Federation.  

The sport is not known in the United States; however, the United States Korfball Association (USKA) promotes this century old "cousin" of basketball.  

Watch a game here:  https://youtu.be/GDOfMnqgs64