What is korfball?

Korfball is a mixed gender team sport, originating from The Netherlands, played by teams of eight players – four women and four men.  The game blends parts of netball, basketball and handball, with the aim of the game being to shoot the ball through a basket (the korf) that is 3.5m above the ground.  Players alternate between attacking and defending, and there are no set positions, giving everyone the chance to be involved in all aspects of the game.

No expensive equipment is required to play the game (just normal gym kit is required), so why not come along and try out korfball with Manchester Hawks!

Where is korfball played?

In korfball, players can go behind the post and the ball can be shot from any position around the post. The court is made up of two halves, each with a korfball post

How is korfball played?

Below are the main rules of korfball presented by Korfball New Zealand
(Rules of Korfball (korfballnz.co.nz))

In korfball, girls can only mark girls and boys can only mark boys

What positions are there in korfball?

Korfball is an extremely dynamic sport and there are no set positions. There are however common styles of play which teams adopt. Watch the videos below to learn more about these strategies

Attacking style 4:0 – attacking players are in the four corners of their half of the court

Attacking style 3:1 – one attacker takes the rebound position in the post, and the other three pass/shoot

Attacking style 2:2 – One attacker takes the rebound position, whilst another takes the ‘feed’ position (an assisting position in front of the rebound attacker). The other two attackers pass the ball between themselves and the player in the feed position to get a good shooting position

Here is a more in depth video about the ‘feed’ position:

What type of shots are there in korfball?

In korfball, players use a variety of shooting techniques to score goals by getting the ball through the opponent’s korf (basket). Below are some videos of commonly used korfball shots

Static short/long shots

Using the feed position, players can run past their defender and take a running in shot:

If contact is made on a shot, the attacking player will be awarded a penalty. This is a free shot with no defender, and it’s often taken like this:

How do you stop these shots in korfball?

When playing korfball as a defender, you have the ability to stop your attacker from shooting. If you are actively marking the ball with your hand, and you’re within one arm’s length of the attacker, they cannot shoot the ball. If they do, the referee will blow the whistle and the ball will go to your team. Watch the video below to see an example of this: