Wales search for a new coach

Following Steve Jones’ decision to step down after a very successful period as coach of the Welsh National Team, the WKA is currently advertising for a new coach and assistant coach to ensure the continuing progress of the squad.

Full text of the advert below:

Are you looking for a new challenge? Do you have what it takes to coach a national korfball squad? Wales is a new korfballing nation but has already achieved much success under our previous coach. We were runners up in the European Bowl 2007 and were placed 24th in its first ever IKF ranking.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, experienced coach and assistant to consolidate this success and take us to the next stage. Training sessions are based in Cardiff therefore the willingness to travel is essential. Travel expenses will be reimbursed.

With ever increasing player numbers and teams in Wales, there is plenty of optimism for the future. Do you want to be involved?

For more information please don’t hesitate to contact us using the details below.
Closing date for applications 13/04/08

ianosullivan@yahoo.com Ian O’Sullivan – Chairman
susan_belfourd@hotmail.com Susan Belfourd -Secretary

Stage 1 of Welsh League Finishes

After a string of early victories confirmed that City Cyclones and Dragons 1 would finish in the top half, while an inability to put out a settled side from their substantial number of promising beginners place the 3 university sides into the bottom pool, the final 2 places in the top pool went down to the last week.

City Chiefs had 2 games left, a victory in either would guarantee them a top-half finish and eliminate their opponents. First they played against Dragons 2 who started superbly, racing into a 4-1 lead. However, Chiefs dragged themselves back into it and with about 10 minutes left, led 7-6. Back came Dragons though, with Gareth Thomas and James Frost scoring from long range to grab an 8-7 victory and a place in the top pool. This left a straight knockout between the Chiefs and the Cane Toads, and once again the Chiefs fell just short, a 5 goal performance from Ian O’Sullivan leading the Cane Toads to victory.

The game between Uni 1 and Uni 3 remains unplayed, and as yet there doesn’t appear to have been any decision as to whether it will be played late, forfeited or simply abandoned, but the result is immaterial to the composition of the pools.

Division 1	P.	W.	D.	L.	Gs.	Gc.	Pts.	Gd.
Cardiff City Cyclones	7	7	0	0	139	22	14	117
Cardiff Dragons 1	7	6	0	1	127	43	12	84
Cardiff Cane Toads	7	4	1	2	50	55	9	-5
Cardiff Dragons 2	7	4	0	3	41	60	8	-19
Cardiff City Chiefs	7	2	1	4	46	66	5	-20
Cardiff University 1	6	1	1	4	35	68	3	-33
Cardiff University 2	7	0	2	5	21	83	2	-62
Cardiff University 3	6	0	1	5	18	80	1	-62

WKA AGM

At the AGM on Monday, December 3rd, the decision was taken to reduce the size of the WKA committee to an executive of 4 people: Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Development Officer. The other roles may still continue, at the discretion of the committee, but they will simply report to the committee rather than constitute it.

Cardiff University fail to reach BUSA Nationals

At the University Southerns tournament held in Birmingham on Nov 24th, which acts as a qualifying tournament for the BUSA Nationals, Cardiff University finished in 9th place, one short of the position required to qualify. This is a significant disappointment for a promising team that probably lacked the experience required in a tournament hald so early in the season. Another factor may be the disbanding of the Excalibur Korfball League, which has reduced the level of competition in both Wales and the South West - it’s noticeable that Bristol University also fared worse than they have traditionally, qualifying only in 8th place.

The main factor has to be the increasing strenth of new university teams such as Kent and Aston and the impressive re-birth of London Uni who finished 2nd overall. Birmingham Uni were the tournament winners.

Date for WKA AGM announced

The WKA Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday 3rd December. It comes at a crucial time for Welsh korfball. There are some big positives like the continued growth in membership of Cardiff City and Cardiff Dragons and an excellent start to the season for the uni club,  as well as the success of the national team. However, the lack of competition for the top club players, illustrated in Cardiff City’s 22-1 demolition of Cardiff Uni, and the dearth of qualified coaches and referees in the region are areas for concern. There are also important issues as to how best to expand the game in Wales, and how Welsh korfball will fit in with the new regionalised structure being proposed by the EKA.

Wales lose in Eurobowl Final

Wales were beaten 14-6 by Slovakia in the Eurobowl Final in Brno on Friday. The Welsh team were unable to recover from a dreadful start when each of the Slovakian women in turn scored without reply inside the first 5 minutes. With Wales shooting not up to the mark, they finished the first-half 9-2 behind. The second half was more competitive, with Dave Buckland completing a hat-trick, Nick Wilkins also scored along with subsititutes Steve and Kim Jones. However, they were unable to bridge the gap in a match that highlighted 2 of the recurring problems for the Welsh national team in its short existence - the lack of tough competition for the players based in Wales and the lack of goals from the female players.

Eurobowl Final to be Televised

Friday’s match between Wales and Slovakia in Brno, Czech Republic, to see who will win the Jan Hanekroot trophy, as well as gain qualification for the next European Championships will be televised live and for free at www.korfball.tv

The game starts at 1.30 pm CET/12.30 GMT

Inaugral Welsh League Begins

The first match of the first ever Welsh league was played last evening between Cardiff Uni 2 and Cardiff Dragons 2. The students edged the first half, with almost complete domination of possession, finishing 2-0 ahead. In the second half, with both sides making several substitutions, the greater experience in the Dragons team told and they moved into a 4-3 lead. The university team did manage to equalise that, but Dragons scored again direct from the restart and went on to win 7-4.

Stadskanaal’74 Tournament

Both the Welsh national team and Cardiff City took part in the 7th international Stadskanaal’74 tournament in Groningen on Saturday 3rd Nov. The hosts came out victorious, with Wales in third.

Final Places:

1. Stadskanaal’74 (Netherlands)
2. Scheldevogels (Netherlands)
3. Wales
4. SDO Hillegom (Netherlands)
5. SKK Stockholm (Sweden)
6. Cardiff City (Wales)
7. KV Hoegrop (Belgium)
8. TuS Wesseling (Germany)

On the Sunday, Wales took on Sweden in a friendly match, winning 15-11.

Welsh League Fixtures

The provisional fixtures for the Welsh league have now been published and appear below. There is also now a league table.