MAXIMUM PADEL SUPPORTS KORFBALL

Korfball (Dutch: Korfbal) is a mixed gender team sport, with similarities to netball and basketball.
A team consists of eight players; four female and four male. A team also includes a coach. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1902 by Nico Broekhuysen. In the Netherlands there are around 580 clubs, and over a 100,000 people playing korfball. The sport is also very popular in both Belgium and Taiwan, and is also played in 54 other countries.


Rules
Korfball is played indoors and outdoors. The size of the court is 20 x 40 m (22-44 yd). The court is divided into halves called zones. In each zone is a 3.5 m (11.5 ft) tall post with a basket at the top. This is positioned two thirds of the distance between the center line and the back of the zone. A korfball match consists of two periods of 30 minutes, with a break of 10 minutes in between periods. Every team has their own coach, who can switch players during a match, negotiate with the referee, create the formation for the match and keep up the team's spirit.
The ball is similar in size to that used in football (soccer), but with more grip and bounce. At the beginning of the match one team chooses one half of the court. That half will be their defending zone, with 'their' basket in it. Players score by throwing the ball through the opponents'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 teams swap halves.
Two men and two women of each team are in one zone, and the others are in the other zone. During the match they cannot switch zones Men and women play side-by-side, but duels are man to man and woman to woman. However, it is allowed for a player to switch among opponents whom he/she is defending, as long as they are of the same sex.
Each team tries to score using tactics. The rules prevent physical strength dominating the game. Blocking, tackling and holding are not allowed, nor are kicking or punching the ball. Once a player has the ball, one cannot dribble, run or walk with it, however, one can move one foot as long the other remains on the same spot. Therefore tactical and efficient teamwork is required, because players need each other 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, is at arm's length and attempting to block the ball.

History
In 1902 Nico Broekhuysen, a Dutch school teacher from Amsterdam, was sent to Nääs, a town in Sweden, to follow an educational course about teaching gymnastics to children. This is where he was introduced to the Swedish game 'ringboll'. In ringboll one could score points by throwing the ball through a ring that was attached to 3 m pole. Men and women played together, and the field was divided into three zones. Players could not leave their zone. ^[1]
Broekhuysen was inspired and when he returned to Amsterdam he decided to teach his students a similar game. He replaced the ring with a basket (for which the Dutch word is "korf" or "mand"), so it was easier to see if a player had scored or not. Broekhuysen also simplified the rules so children could also understand and play it. Korfball was born. The main idea was the same as ringboll, but it now stood on its own.
At first there was quite some controversy about the sport, because the players were of both gender. Several sports journalists refused to even pay the slightest bit of attention to the new sport. Korfball-players were accused of being immoral. Even the sportswear was criticized because even the women were showing bare knees and ankles, which was unthinkable at that time. A newspaper even wrote: "Korfball is a monster that spreads its claws to all sides". Yet korfball was featured as a demonstration sport in the Summer Olympics of 1920 and 1928. ^[2]

International Korfball
Korfball is played in 57 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Serbia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, India, the Netherlands, Belgium, Russia, Germany, Taiwan, Turkey, Hong Kong, Portugal, Pakistan, Sweden, the Philippines, Italy, France and Romania. It has played as a demonstration sport in the Summer Olympic Games in 1920 and 1928.
The International Korfball Federation was founded in 1933. Korfball has been played in the World Games since 1985. IKF World Championships have been held every four years since 1978. The leading nations are Belgium and the Netherlands. The oldest still existing korfball club to never have merged with any other club is a Dutch korfball-club H.K.C. ALO from The Hague, Netherlands. H.K.C. ALO was founded on February 1, 1906.
Hong Kong hosted its first international tournament, the Asia Oceania Championship in 2006. New Zealand hosted the Asia Oceania Youth Championships in 2007.




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