Cardiff student joins Welsh korfball team

A Cardiff University student is about to go national with a quite niche sport.

Will Hayward has recently joined the Welsh korfball team.

It’s a fitting tribute to the work the Masters in News Journalism student has done to promote korfball in Cardiff.

Cardiff Raptors Korfball team. Will is third from right, bottom row.

“I first got involved with the sport at Cardiff University seven years ago,” says Will, originally from Northampton. “I loved it. In 2011 I started my own club Cardiff Raptors, which now has three teams.”

His appointment comes after a spell of injuries following the 2011 World Championships in China. “I got injured just after I got back. I was having surgery until the end of last year. I want to start regularly in time for the European championships next year.”

This video by Ninh Ly should explain it a little further.

So what is korfball?

The sport, a mixture of basketball and netball, originated in the Netherlands, where it has a stronger following compared to in the UK.

“You have to score through a hoop, or korf,” Will says. In reality though, it is played in a totally different way to the aforementioned sports, mainly due to the make-up of the teams.

Men and women play on the same team, with four of each per side to make an eight player team. Women’s only teams also exist. Men can only mark men and women can only mark women. “That means that even though the guys might be stronger or faster than the girls, if a girl on their team has the beating of her marker, she is the most important player,” Will points out.

There are also no set positions on the field of play. Players defend for two goals, then switch and attack for two goals, but they must stay within one half of the field. A game consists of two 30 minutes halves, with a 10 minute break between.

basketball, Cardiff Raptors, Cardiff University, Korfball, netball, sports