GREAT Britain beats Switzerland in final of inter-boat Dutch korfball tournament

GREAT Britain was crowned Korfball champions in a Clipper Race inter-boat tournament in Den Helder, The Netherlands.

 Following on from the successful rugby tournament in Derry-Londonderry, a series of matches were organised of the game that was invented by the Dutch. 

Teams entered from Invest Africa, OneDLL, Derry~Londonderry~Doire and one made up of Clipper Race staff, and Switzerland made the final, losing to GREAT Britain. 

Local players led by volunteer Immie Greveling also joined the teams to help coach at the Willemsoord venue. 

Just like the World Cup, several stages of penalty shoot outs took place to decide the winners where there were draws.

The two teams that made the final were presented with beers from local brewery, Helderse Jongens, and a Mercy Ships bear as a thank you for raising funds for the hospital ship charity during the tournament. 

Ionie Robertson, playing for GREAT Britain, said: “It was pretty cut-throat out there and I loved how competitive everyone was, but I was particularly surprised at how keen to win the Clipper Race HQ team were. 

“The game was much faster than we were expecting and you had to think very quickly.” 

Korfball is a Dutch ball sport with similarities to netball and basketball. The objective is to throw a ball through a basket that is mounted on an 11.5 foot high pole by passing – no dribbling is allowed.