Former IKF Secetary General Ton Marteijn passes away at age 93

The International Korfball Federation is sad to announce the passing of its Honorary Member Ton Marteijn, at age 93 at his home in the Netherlands. Marteijn served the korfball community for about half a century, starting in the late 1940s as chairman of his local korfball club, and retiring in 1997 as Secretary General of the International Korfball Federation.
Over many years, Marteijn was a referee at the elite level in the Netherlands and internationally, following which he started as a referee teacher. He conducted courses all over the globe, with an emphasis on the United States and in Asia, including the very first referee course in India in 1985 and in Chinese Taipei in 1986. Over many years, together with korfball’s coaching education icon Adrie ”Swan” Zwaanswijk, he led the international korfball Summer course at Papendal in the Netherlands.

In parallel, Ton Marteijn started a career as a sports administrator, including Chairman of the Zeeland Korfball Association, Chairman of the KNKV South-West District, President of the Zeeland Sports Council, Exco Member of the Royal Dutch Korfball Association KNKV, and Exco Member of the Netherlands Sports Federation (predecessor of the current NOC*NSF). From 1984 until 1997, Ton Marteijn was Secretary General of the International Korfball Federation. Together with then-President Bob de Die, Ton Marteijn was instrumental in getting korfball included in the program of The World Games in 1984 and in obtaining recognition by the International Olympic Committee in 1993. He was awarded the honorary membership of the IKF in 1997.
The international korfball community will remember Ton Marteijn as an extremely committed developer of the sport of korfball across the globe, with a very clear and often uncompromising view on the direction the development of our sport would need to take. Korfball globally would be different if it were not for the many contributions that Ton Marteijn has made.
The IKF wishes his relatives strength in dealing with this loss.