MK City
MK City is the name of a group of korfball clubs in Milton Keynes, who pool their strongest players to form teams that compete in leagues - specifically the SMKA league and the OKA league - and at tournaments as MK City.
Players still play for their clubs as well as MK City, allowing ambitious players to play at higher levels and to also benefit their clubs with the experience they gain. To supplement the training that its players get at their home clubs, MK City has a number of dedicated training sessions throughout the year for its squad.
What is korfball?
Korfball is an exciting sport played within a rectangular field of play, indoors most of the year, with a shorter outdoor season in the summer. Teams of four male players and four female players try to shoot a ball into a korf (basket), which is on a pole 3.5m high (higher than basketball or netball) with no backboard.
Teams of eight players divide into two sections – two male, two female in each section. Playing area consists of two large squares joined along the centre line, each square with a ‘korf’ set in one third from the back line. One section starts the game in attack and stays in one half of the pitch, and the other in defence in the other half. Sections swap roles after two goals have been scored – the attackers become defenders and vice versa.
Why play korfball?
Unlike many established sports which expect you to be a certain standard before joining the club, the MK korfball clubs actively welcome all players from absolute beginner upwards. Most UK players start as adult beginners, we teach you the rules and skills, and there will be other players there who have not been playing very long!
Great if you want to play a sport all winter, that is indoors – no freezing or getting wet on an outdoor pitch, or having matches cancelled due to weather!
Great if you want to play a competitive sport but one with a lower risk of injury than sports like football or rugby, e.g. if you have previously had injuries
Great if you like variety, because all players get to both attack and defend, rather than being stuck in a single playing position
A good way back into team sports if you currently don’t do much sport or feel unfit, since you get a break while the ball is in the other section of the pitch!
Chance to play at whatever level, or amount of travel, that you want – either just train, or play MK local league matches, or play Oxfordshire league matches, or play a tournament (usually outdoors over the summer, but sometimes indoors in the winter) which is sometimes further away, but you get to play all day rather than just one game and is sometimes followed by a party!
If you’re more interested in the social side, then the clubs have regular post-training drinks, club socials, stay overnight and party after some summer tournaments, and the MK clubs do at least one trip abroad every year to play in a tournament in Europe!
Funding
We are very grateful to the following organisations for funding us: we could not do the work we do, particularly the youth development, without this support.