New Zealand ready for IKF AOKC

/in , /by

New Zealand’s team for the 2014 IKF Asia Oceania Korfball Championship (IKF AOKC) is ready for competition and will attempt to be the first from their country to qualify for a korfball World Championship.

NZ team in training game

Unofficially calling themselves The Korus, which refers to the shape of the native fern frond that is on the Korfball New Zealand logo, the team has the furthest journey of all teams to reach Hong Kong, even further than their neighbour Australia.

Most of the players in The Korus have at least four years korfball experience, which is more than previous times that New Zealand has played at international level. Ten of the members of the squad have attended international korfball tournaments before.

New Zealand’s chances have been boosted by the return of senior players Bevan Lawson and Rosa Cooper, who both spent extended periods in the Netherlands over the past 12 months, where they trained and developed their game with leading club DOS ’46. Their ranks are also boosted by ‘secret agent’ Carl Chung, who was born in Auckland but moved to Hong Kong when he was young, starting his korfball career there aged 15, before moving back to New Zealand at age 18.

New Zealand is coached by Mark Garrett, who was assistant coach of the Australian team that reached that country’s highest korfball peak with fourth place in the 1995 World Championships. Mark is still based in South Australia and has commuted monthly to run weekend-long training camps in New Zealand since September 2013.

Eight of The Korus live in Christchurch, which is still recovering from a series of major earthquakes that devastated the city four years ago. Although many sports facilities were damaged or destroyed, korfball activity has continued in Christchurch, and with new sports facilities promised as the city is rebuilt, is set to enjoy further growth.

The Korus’ team blog is here: http://korfballnzteamblog.weebly.com

Olympic Youth Development Centre includes korfball in program

/in , /by

The Olympic Youth Development Centre in Zambia will include korfball into its official program. This was announced by Mr Clement Chileshe, Director of the Centre, at the closing ceremony of the 3rd IKF All-African Korfball Championship held in Lusaka last week.

The multi-sport complex in Lusaka, Zambia, was estsblished in 2010 as part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Sport for Hope Programme. The Centre welcomes on average 10,000 children and young adults per month, with currently 16 sports on the program. The facility is unique in the region. It includes football, netball, and hockey pitches outdoors, an indoor multi-sport hall, and an Olympic-size swimming pool. The Centre runs both sport-for-all programs, which reaches out into the less developed areas of Lusaka, and elite training programs for international and Olympic-level athletes.

From now on, the Centre will be the training venue for the Zambian national korfball team, and will conduct an outreach program in the area. The Centre also welcomes teams from other countries in the Southern African region. Apart from netball, which is the second largest sport in the country, korfball will be the only sport on the program that does not yet feature on the Olympic program.

The IKF and IKF Africa are very happy to be associated with the Centre, as it provides a clear opportunity to develop korfball in Zambia and the greater region, and provides opportunities for regular training for the Zambian elite korfball players.

Les Williams re-elected as President of IKF Africa

/in , /by

Les Williams, President of the South African Korfball Federation and incumbent President of IKF Africa, has been re-elected as President of the continental body. Kaluba Kangwe, President of the Korfball Federation of Zambia, was elected Vice-President, while Tarirai Chadebah (President of the Zimbabwe Korfball Federation) retained his position as Secretary General.

Elections took place at the Annual General Meeting of IKF Africa today in Lusaka, Zambia. The meeting extensively discussed developments on the continent. All five currents member federations of IKF Africa were present. Representatives of the new korfball community in Mozambique attended the meeting as guests, while President Williams noted that active communities in Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Morocco are expected to join the IKF soon.

IKF President Fransoo was present at the meeting. He noted the success of the 3rd IKF All-African Korfball Championship as a major step forward, and announced the IKF wants to continue the close collaboration with IKF Africa and the national associations to continue the path of development while aiming for financial independence of the national associations in Africa.

Composition of the Executive Committee of IKF Africa
President : Mr Les Williams – South Africa
Vice President : Mr. Kaluba Kangwa – Zambia
Secretary General : Mr. Tarirai Chadebah – Zimbabwe
Additional member development : Bothle Mogapelwa – Botswana
Addition Member Competitions : Elsie Theyse – South Africa
Additional Member : Mzee Makawa- Malawi

Delegates at the General Meeting of IKF Africa 2014 in Lusaka President Williams and Vice-President Kangwe of IKF Africa

South Africa win gold at African Championship

/in , /by

South Africa emerged as the winners of the third IKF All-African Championship. The region’s dominant team faced serious opposition for the first time in the continent’s history, but Zimbabwe fell short of truly threatening their southern neighbors dominance, losing 21-11. The match start was very tense, with both team playing nervously. Zimbabwe played without the presence of their successful technical director Riko Kruit who had to return to his Dutch Korfball League club last night. Nevertheless, the team was surprisingly playing in control with a good defense and an excellent rebound, especially by Trevor Sanyatwa. In the attack, they however fell short, partially due to an excellently defending South African team. Zimbabwe made the first goal after seven minutes, but the South Africans evened immediately  and gradually took the lead in the game, building a 10-4 lead at half time. South Africa had a period of good shooting that brought them the lead. In the second half, quality of play dimished, especially on the Zimbabwean side. South Africa was also not that accurate, and missed a series of penalties, but nevertheless managed to expand their lead to 17-9, following which Zimbabwe lost their temper leading to a yellow card for Nesbert Matyukira. Zimbabwe loses their control in last 15 minutes of the match. Attacking errors through defended shooting many times by number 10 showing their frustration to refereestar leads to yellow card for nesbert Matyukira.

At the South African side, Werner Basson was again the top scorer, playing also strong in other roles, despite missing four penalties in the match.

After 50 minutes, the socre was 21-11 and South Africa once again the champion, and qualified for the IKF World Korfball Championship 2015.

Zambia win bronze in Africa with golden-goal win over Malawi

/in , /by

Zambia won the bronze medal today at the IKF All-African Korfball Championship in Lusaka (ZAM), after beating Malawi 13-12 by a golden goal. The result can be considered as an upset, as yesterday in the group phase of the tournament, Malawi beat Zambia with great ease (13-3). Today, the team coached by technical director Daniel de Rudder, managed to turn this result around.

Malawi started as well in the match as they had finished yesterday, taking a 5-1 lead. With good combinations and fine shooting, however, Zambia managed to turn this around to 5-7. Malawi made many fouls and defensive mistakes, and Zambia took better advantage of the speed of their women, with especially Jenny Banda playing an important role.

This forced Zambia to do two substitutions, with Getrude Kasimba bringing in more length to the team. Before halftime the difference could not be made though, leading to a 6-8 score at half time, and Zambia missing two penalties just before the break.

Aftetr halftime, a different game emerged, with Malawi taking better advantage of their length, and Kasimba making two important goals from under the post (8-8), but subsequently Malawi also missed two penalties at a crucial phase in the match, but Malawi managed to keep the lead (9-8) until the 45th minute

In the last few minutes of the regular playing time, a true spectacle emerged, with the 9-9 of Zambia by Banda, in the 47th minute a penalty by Malawi (10-9), and subsequently a missed penalty by Malawi, a Malawi goal canceled by the referee for defended shooting, a penalty scored by Zambia, another missed penalty by Malawi, a scored penalty by Malawi and a scored penalty by Zambia, evening the score just a few seconds before the end.

In the golden goal period, it was Zambia the was the lucky winner, leading to tears of happiness on one side and many tears of sadness on the other.

Watch the video of the extra time with golden goal on Facebook (link will follow once uploaded).

Europa Cup 2015 to Turnhout (BEL); Europa Shield 2015 to Bergisch Gladbach (GER)

/in , /by

The IKF Competitions Committee has reached final agreement with the Royal Belgium Korfball Association KBKB on the venue for the 2015 IKF Europa Cup Finals. These will be held 14-17 January 2015 in Turnhout-Tielen in Belgium. The organization by the KBKB was in jeopardy for a long period after the withdrawal of Boeckenberg in March. The IKF was unpleasantly surprised by the resulting situation and worked with the KBKB to find a solution, which was only finalized today. Vobako korfball club will take the challenge of organizing this at such short notice.

In the same meeting, the earlier agreement on hosting the 2015 IKF Europa Shield Finals in Germany was confirmed, where the German Korfball Association DTB allocated the hosting to the clubs of Pegasus and TuS Schildgen in Bergisch-Gladbach (near Cologne).

The IKF was unpleasantly surprised by the situation, faced by increasing lateness in bid for the European Club Competitions. While for 2015, the situation has now been resolved, the IKF has announced in a letter to the European countries that a more permanent solution needs to be found where hosts are known further in advance. For this purpose, the IKF has proposed to the European countries a reduction of the number of teams in the final round to reduce the burden on the host, and at the same time a rotation schedule for the various European countries for hosting first and final rounds of the Europa Cup and Europa Shield. Unless the European countries will come with alternative proposals, the IKF intends to convert their proposal into a Council decision in October.

 

 

South Africa and Zimbabwe to contest gold in African Championship

/in , /by

In the IKF All-Africa Championship in Lusaka (ZAM) today, South Africa secured winning the group phase by beating Zimbabwe 22-12, after leading 10-6 at half time. The match was an interesting one to watch, with good scoring by a few of the South African players, especially Werner Basson. However, passing and rebounding on the South African side was poor with the Zimbabwe team taking good advantage with numerous interceptions, but at many time in the attack being unable to circumvent the tight South African defense. Zimbabwe and South Africa will face each other again tomorrow for the gold medal match.

The two team contesting the bronze medal tomorrow also played each other today, with Malawi clearly beating Zambia 13-3. The Malawi players were taller, more athletic, and better shooters, although Zambia created quite a few good chances with smart play, but did not manage to score a lot.

IKF All-Africa Championship; results 7 August 2014 (day 2)
Malawi – South Africa       4-22
Malawi – Zambia               13-3
Zimbabwe – South Africa  22-12

Final Pool Ranking
1. South Africa   3 – 9
2. Zimbabwe      3 – 6
3. Malawi            3 – 3
4. Zambia           3 – 0

IMAG0347 IMAG0335 IMAG0336 IMAG0338 IMAG0340 IMAG0342 IMAG0343 IMAG0345_1

 

Zimbabwe and South Africa on track towards Africa final

/in , /by

Zimbabwe and South Africa are on track to securing their dominance on the African continent. The two most experienced countries showed to Zambia and Malawi that they need to count on contesting for the bronze medal.

IKF All-African Championship; results of the first day
South Africa – Zambia  25-2
Malawi – Zimbabwe      4-13
Zimbabwe – Zambia     15-4

Pool Ranking

1. Zimbabwe     2- 6 (28-8)
2. South Africa  1-2  (25-2)
3. Malawi           1-0  (4-13)
4. Zambia          2-0  (6-40)

For Zimbabwe, coached by technical director Riko Kruit (NED), the wins were all the more remarkable since they only arrived in Lusaka just a few hours before their first match due to transportation problems and a closed border. For the Zambian team, coached by technical director Daniel de Rudder (BEL), the loss against Zimbabwe was very disappointing, as they clearly had counted on having a better chance.

All matches were played at the Olympic Youth Development Center in Lusaka (Zambia), under very good circumstances and a sizeable group of fans.

IMG_2870 IMG_2861IMG_2856IMG_2868IMG_2876 IMG_2850 IMG_2851 IMG_2852 IMG_2853 IMG_2874 IMG_2873 IMG_2872

Australia announces national squad for AOKC

/in , /by

Korfball Australia has officially announced the composition of their national team for the Asia-Oceania Korfball Championship, due to be held from 17-23 August in Hong Kong. Australia, ranked second in the region, will definitely try winning the title, though regional number 1 Chinese Taipei is the clear favorite.

aus team aokc 2014

At the team photo, we can see (Back left to right) Phil Sibbons (coach), Adam Robertson, Dan Phillips, Craig Miller, Andrew Hutchesson, Josh Berney, Sam Wetherall, Patrick Branford, Jeremy Harris (Assistant Coach); (front row) Kia Rogers, Ashlee Othen, Jess Crispe, Jess Phillips, Theresa Coletti, Emily Hutchesson, Megan Marks, Jess May.

According to korfball Australia, the national team has trained in separate sessions in addition to the club training sessions. There have been training camps every 3-4 weeks on the weekend. Personal fitness, gym sessions and shooting practice of varied intensity appropriate to individual needs have been going for about 5 months.

Korfball Australia’s team have raised approximately AU$6500 through cake stalls, BBQ and a dinner. There is still the personal sacrifice of approximately AU$2600 per player for flights,accommodation and meals in Hong Kong and uniform.

Source: Korfball Australia newsletter 3 August 2014

 

Zimbabwe announces team for Africa Championships

/in , /by

The Zimbabwe Korfball Federation has announced the composition of their national team that will compete in the IKF All-Africa Championship, starting on August 6 in Lusaka, Zambia.

The team consists of the following players:

1 Marciline Chibaya
3 Shamiso Dhliwayo
4 Tafadzwa Moreblessing Jjumo
5 Roseline T Kumvekera
7 Tafara Muzvidziwa
8 Farai W Muparutsa
8 Nyasha Chikuya
10 Stabile Rutendo Ngandini
11 Trevor J Sanyatwa
12 Tamakiwa Dalton Nesbert Matyukira
14 Wisdom T Shinya
15 Lenon P Makureya

Godfrey Kwangari will be the coach that will try to beat favorites South Africa to win the African title for the first time, although also newcomers Zambia and Malawi should be beaten to reach this objective. The African champion will gain automatic entry into next year’s World Championship in Belgium.

The team and coach are advised by technical director Riko Kruit from the Netherlands. Kruit is an experienced coach in the Netherlands Korfball League and has been involved before with development work in Africa.

The team has been equipped with a totally new kit thanks to korfball club KVS from the Netherlands.