A day at the European Korfball Championship (EKC) in Dordrecht
My day begins at 10.30 am when I am leaving my house in The Hague to catch my train to Dordrecht. Today I am going to experience my first korfball tournament ever, and what kind of tournament, THE EUROPEAN KORFBALL CHAMPIONSHIP 2016! Entering the train I find myself an empty seat. When listening to the song “Eye of the Tiger” through my earphones I am getting more and more exited for my first “meet and greet” with korfball. How would the players feel and how would it feel to play korfball anyhow?! as I have never done it myself.
When I finally arrive at my destination, the Sportboulevard in Dordrecht, and my contact person Dani shows me around, I notice that everyone is very friendly and I sense an indulgent atmosphere. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Dutch and some people say that the Dutch are one of the most friendly people in the world, but attending the EC football has changed my view a bit. People interested in or playing korfball seem to be much friendlier. You can really feel the passion they have for their sport and this is also shown in the way this European Championship is organised. The sports hall is cheerfully decorated and the atmosphere around the playing court is amazing. Crazy enough the playing court it is built on an ice rink, but has a warm ambiance created by a lightshow and music by a DJ when the players are warming up or during the breaks in the games.
Although my expectations are neutral and I hardly watched a korfball game before, the total warm and friendly atmosphere surprises me. It almost feels like a big family or at least like a big group of friends knowing each other for years, if you know what I mean? Before visiting this event I asked myself the question “what kind of game is korfball for me?” and honestly I didn’t know! Today, while attending the EKC, I ask myself the same question and you know what? I can’t believe that I like korfball that much as I do now! The mixed teams are great, you don’t see that in any other sport. Men and women truly perform equally without holding each other back. There is a lot of teamwork involved and one needs to be fast, like really fast, if you want to play this game well. You can feel their passion about the sport which they transfer to the audience.
Finally it is time to start with the first three matches before beginning with the semi-finals. Although here and there some empty seats can be spotted, the atmosphere is extremely good with lots and lots of cheers for the individual teams to feed their enthusiasm and eagerness to win. Overall the 3 matches are played with a lot of respect for the opponent. What I also find very inspiring is the mutual compliments teams made. Even the seldom negative situation seems to be discussed and settled in a friendly way. But the tension totally change when the semi-finals begin, first Belgium against Catalonia. The audience get crazy and the players too. As I first thought that korfball was only a very friendly sport, this game shows me a complete other side of korfball. The players really want to do everything to win and are putting all their energy and efforts into the match, which causes some irritations between to the teams. At one moment I actually think they are going to get physical……! One can feel the tension on the field which also makes my heart beat a little faster.
But if you really want to talk with me about my best experience with korfball, it is definitely the semi-final between Portugal and The Netherlands. The sports hall now is fully loaded with fans, the lightshow is incredible with all these flashy orange lights and for the first time I watch a full korfball match with a smile on my face. I can’t describe how it feels sitting here and enjoy the great fun people have watching the game and feeling the excitement on the field when there is an attempt to score. What a great experience!
If you want to explore this passion for the first time yourself, or just maybe once again, I would advise you to visit the Europa Cup at Sassenheim in January 2017. Maybe we will meet there, because I am definitely visiting this tournament to let korfball give me Goosebumps again!
