This year is the 20th anniversary of Nottingham Korfball Club. I started playing korfball at university and when I moved to Nottingham in 1999 for my first job, I knew nobody, so when I discovered that there was a korfball club that played just down the road, I was delighted. One of the great things about korfball is that it is, as far as I know, the only genuinely mixed sport. There are others than can be played with men and women, but korfball has to be. As a result it does provide a ready-made, nicely gender balanced social group. To celebrate the anniversary there was a 'do' on Friday evening and lots of former players who've moved away or who, like me, haven't but no longer play. It was lovely to see folks who I haven't seen for years in some cases and A and I enjoyed a rare night out. Like many other people there, we met through korfball and there are now quite a few of the next generation who are playing, like K & M.
Today was the annual Nottingham Korfball Tournament, which had, during the lunch break a celebratory match with two teams of Nottingham players, past and present. It was really good fun and, not really surprisingly given who was playing, very competitive. I was extremely chuffed to score against an old friend who used to play for our 1st team in the national league when I was in the second team in the local league when we played. When getting ready this morning, M in particular was really rather grumpy to be going along to a korfball tournament where she wasn't going to play. It was only when I suggested that there was a small possibility that she *might* be able to play for a little while for part of the celebration match that she quickly cheered up, changed and got ready to leave in a very short time. When we asked about it when we arrived, it wasn't clear if it would happen, but in the end, after another of the juniors (another next generation korfer) thinking she might join in so she and M could mark each other opting out, it was 15 adults and one 8 year old playing. The plan had been for her to play for a few minutes and then be subbed off again, but all the other women disappeared, so she stayed on for much of the second half. E, who she was marking was absolutely fantastic, and with some coaching from the sidelines, M did really well and the play went on around her quickly, while including her whenever possible, to the point that she didn't realise that they'd been compensating for her being there at all. So to any of you who were involved, who might be reading this a big Thank You! :-) She was eventually subbed off when we changed ends, because the posts juniors of her age group use are considerably shorter than the full-sized ones and she really wouldn't have stood a chance.
Unfortunately not long after she was subbed off, I was helped off the pitch, having felt as though I'd been hit really hard in the calf by a hockey ball, when according to the handy A&E doctor (there seem to be rather a lot of doctors who play korf), I've probably torn the muscle a bit - ouch. Thanks, also, to D, for driving the girls and me home, as I really don't think it would have been wise for me to have done so. Anyway apart from my ignominious end to the match, I really enjoyed it and in some ways it put me in mind of the Blow the Dust Off Your Instrument orchestral day that I did a couple of months ago.
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