International Youth Korfball Day in England
The Kent and Medway Schools Korfball Tournament and the Inter-Clubs under thirteen & under sixteen Korfball Tournament 2013
The Kent Korfball Association (KKA) hosted two Korfball Tournaments on Saturday, 15 June 2013 to celebrate the International Korfball Federation (IKF) Day of Youth. The schools’ tournament consisted of six schools entering fourteen teams between them, eight in the under 9 age group and six in the under 11’s.
The Inter-club under 13 & under 16 tournament comprised four clubs – KwiekVicta (KV), Bearsted, two teams from Tornadoes with a fifth being a combined Kingfisher and Tornadoes team.
The KKA were honoured to have the Deputy Mayor of Medway, Councillor Mrs Jane Etheridge, and her consort Mr David Etheridge, attending during the afternoon session to watch games and present the medals.
The matches were played at Rainham School for Girls. The under 9s played in two pools with the two pools in the afternoon session being changed to enable teams of similar ability to play against each other. The under 11 teams played a ‘round-robin’ competition. The under 13 & 16 matches were also played as a ‘round-robin’ competition.
The players had to battle against some wet and blustery weather conditions which made passing and shooting a challenge. All the teams were highly motivated which resulted in some very competitive and hard-fought games. This, in turn, made the final results very close with the final positions being decided in some cases by goal difference.
It is very encouraging that several of the schools taking part now include Korfball within their respective national curriculum PE syllabuses as an invasion sport. Also, several of the Under 13/16 players will be taking Korfball at GCSE, A2 and A level.
The final results were:
Under 9s: Offham Hotshots, Bligh Bears, Horsted Hurricanes, Bligh Cubs, Parkwood Panthers, Barming, Halling Hurricanes and Offham Shooters.
Under 11: Offham Hotshots, Parkwood Panthers, Barming, Horsted Hornets, Halling Hawks and Offham Shooters.
Inter-Club Under 13/U16s: Tornadoes, KwiekVicta (KV), Bearsted, Tornadoes Diablos, Kingfisher/Tornadoes Storms.
The KKA was delighted that the Deputy Mayor was able to attend the tournament and was very appreciative of her support and encouragement to the schools, teachers, coaches, players and parents.
I would like to thank all the members of the various clubs for helping with the arrangements on the day and making the tournament such a success.
Jackie Hubbard
Kent Korfball Development Officer
