What is Korfball?
Korfball is a mixed-gender ball sport, similar to netball or basketball. Two teams of eight players (four women and four men) pass a ball around and shoot it into baskets suspended from posts, attempting to score more points than the opposing team. Korfball was invented in the Netherlands in 1902 and is now played professionally and recreationally around the world.
History of Korfball
Korfball was invented by Dutch school teacher Nico Broekhuysen in 1902. He was looking to develop a sport that could be played by boys and girls together. The first official korfball match was played in the Netherlands in 1903. The International Korfball Federation was founded in 1933 and the first IKF World Korfball Championship was held in 1978. Korfball became a demonstration event at the 1920 and 1928 Summer Olympics but has never become an official Olympic sport. It continues working towards Olympic recognition and inclusion. Korfball is most popular today in the Netherlands and Taiwan but is played recreationally and professionally around Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.
What are the rules of korfball?
Here are the basic rules of korfball:
- Each team has 8 players on the court at a time – 4 women and 4 men.
- The court is similar to a basketball court with baskets suspended from vertical posts positioned at each end.
- Players pass the ball by hand and attempt to score goals/points by throwing the ball through the opposing team’s basket.
- There is no dribbling and players cannot run or walk while in possession of the ball.
- Defensive players guard the area near their basket to block shots.
- Physical contact between players is prohibited.
The object is to score more points than your opponents within the allotted playing time, similar to basketball. There are many additional rules regarding fouls, out of bounds, penalties, and restarting play after a score or at halftime.
Korfball Equipment and Terminology
The equipment needed to play korfball includes:
- Korfball – the ball, similar to a basketball or netball
- Korf/Basket – a horizontal metal ring suspended from a 3.5 meter pole with net attached
- Court markings, like basketball
- Korf shoes, similar to court shoes
- Comfortable sports clothing in team colors
Some key korfball terms are:
- Shot – throwing the ball towards the korf to score
- Playing for time – tactics to waste time when winning at the game’s end
- Offside – leaving the attack zone before the ball does
- Jump ball/throw off – tossing the ball between 2 players to restart play
Riddles About Korfball
Here are 59 riddles related to korfball. See if you can solve the rhyming riddles, puns, jokes, and brain teasers! The answers are below each riddle.
Rhyming Riddles
1) We pass and run around with speed, throwing our ball through the reed. Tall poles stand at either end, through their hoops we try to send. What are we?
Answer: Korfball team
2) Eight to a side, women and men, passing a ball around again and again. Working together in mixed-pair crews, zone defenses we aim to subdue. Tossing through hoops to tally the score, lose concentration and you’ll lose all the more. What sport has my rhyme revealed today?
Answer: Why it’s korfball, hip hip hooray!
3) Skills of both kinds, the court we share, running and shooting and passing with care. Points matter not our gender decree, together we play in harmony. Balance and equality define this game’screation, invented not so long ago in Holland’s nation. What sport departs from tradition?
Answer: Progressive korfball’s the enviable vision.
Puns
4) What do you call a korfball player who illegally uses their hands? A palming offender!
5) Why can’t you tell secrets on a korfball court? There’s too much passing!
6) Why do korfball players make great detectives? They’re always cracking cases by shooting and scoring!
Jokes
7) Did you hear about the player who got cut from the korfball team? The coach said her throwing was sub-par!
8) How does a korfball coach plan team strategies? With a playbook, whiteboard, and dry erase korfs!
9) Teacher: Why are you late to class today? Student: Sorry, I lost track of time playing korfball!
One-Liners
10) Korfball players never fail to score laughs with their witty puns and hoop shots!
11) I heard the korfball team is looking tall this season – their shortest player is 5 foot 10!
12) The korfball coach says defense wins games, but scoring puts points on the board!
Riddles for Kids
13) I’m a game with two baskets and a funny ball. Girls and boys play, though running’s against the rules us all! What am I?
Answer: Korfball!
14) We shoot hoops but don’t use our feet, passing the ball to score is neat! Men and women play together as equals, running with the ball strictly forbidden, those are the sequel rules! What sport am I?
Answer: Korfball is the game they play!
15) I’m played on a court, with teams of girls and boys, we have to throw balls through hanging hoops to make noise! What sport am I?
Answer: Korfball!
Brain Teasers
16) Two korfball teams play. One team scores 12 goals in the first half and 9 in the second. The other scores 7 in the first half. If the total goals scored was 38, how many did the second team score in the second half?
Answer: 10 goals (12 + 9 + 7 = 28 goals in first half, so the second team must have scored 38 – 28 = 10 goals in the second half)
17) The Yellow team is playing the Blue team at korfball. By halftime, Yellow has taken 19 shots and scored 38% of those shots. The Blue team took 16 shots in the first half. If Blue scored 2 more goals than Yellow, how many shots did Blue make?
Answer: 7 shots (Yellow made 38% of 19 shots = 7 goals; Blue scored 2 more goals than Yellow, so Blue must have made 7 + 2 = 9 shots)
18) Emme shoots korfs at a rate of one score every five minutes. Bart sinks korfs at a rate of one every ten minutes. If they start playing korfball at noon, at what exact time will Emme and Bart have scored the same number of korfs?
Answer: 3:30 pm (Emme scores every 5 minutes so after 3 hours or 180 minutes she has scored 180/5 = 36 korfs. Bart scores every 10 minutes so after 180 minutes he has scored 180/10 = 18 korfs. They would have the same 36 korfs scored at 3 hours 30 minutes or 3:30 pm)
Logic Riddles
19) Korfball teams have 8 players. Each player is either a man or woman. If a team has 2 more women than men playing, how many of each gender are on the court?
Answer: 4 women and 2 men (Since there are always 4 men and 4 women, if there are 2 more women than men, there must be 4 women and 2 men)
20) Five players stand around a korfball court – Eric, Sarah, Kevin, Jessica, and Tyrone. Eric is next to Sarah. Jessica is between Eric and Kevin. Tyrone is next to Jessica. Is Kevin next to Sarah?
Answer: No, the order around the court is Eric, Sarah, Jessica, Kevin, Tyrone.
21) The Blue korfball team scored 22 goals before halftime. At halftime they discussed a new shooting strategy. After halftime they scored three times as many goals as before. How many goals did they score the entire game?
Answer: 88 goals (22 before halftime, and 3 * 22 = 66 after halftime; so 22 + 66 = 88 total goals).
Who am I? Riddles
22) I’m needed to play but you can’t travel anywhere while holding me. Two teams compete to throw me through suspended hoops. Who am I?
Answer: The korfball.
23) I’m worn by players, usually low-cut with grip on the bottom. Teams lace up in different styles and brands of me. What am I?
Answer: Korfball shoes.
24) Players stand inside my clearly marked boundary lines to restart play. You need proper footwear to run on my wooden floor playing surface. What am I?
Answer: The korfball court.
Sports Riddles
25) I’m a sport created in Holland where balance is the key. Girls and guys work hard together, throughout history making equality. Which game broke down barriers?
Answer: Barrier-breaking korfball!
26) I may resemble the American game of basketball that Dr. Naismith invented long ago, but my rules are rather different as players soon come know. I’m popular in Chinese Taipei where national passion runs high, but in parks and schoolyards worldwide am I played by spry youth, female and male alike. What sport am I?
Answer: International korfball!
27) Played on a rectangular court like your basketball and such, you’ll certainly enjoy my game though don’t run as much! For in my sport the players can’t dribble at all, just pass to score through baskets so tall. I was invented ages ago to bring the sexes together, I’d love it if you played me even in stormy weather! What sport do I represent through and through?
Answer: Why the wonderful game of korfball of course, for girls and guys too!
General Trivia
28) Typically how tall are korfball court posts that the baskets are hung from?
Answer: 3.5 meters tall
29) Roughly how heavy is a regulation size korfball?
Answer: 600-650 grams
30) Which country dominated international korfball through much of the 20th century winning 19 out of 23 world championships from 1978 to 2015?
Answer: The Netherlands (also called Holland)
31) When was the first IKF Korfball World Championship tournament held?
Answer: 1978
32) True or false – Korfball has been an official Olympic sport since 1920?
Answer: False (It has been a demonstration event but is not yet an official Olympic sport)
Random Facts
33) International korfball matches have two 20-minute halves with a 5 minute break at halftime.
34) Defending players stand at least 1 meter away from the opposing thrower.
35) Players cannot hold the ball for longer than 3 seconds without passing or shooting. This is called the “3 second rule”.
36) While dribbling is prohibited, pivot moves are legal within certain confines once a player has caught the ball.
Tricky Questions
37) Can the captain of a korfball team also be the coach?
Yes
38) Does the shot clock continue running after a foul shot?
No, it resets back to 30 seconds
39) Does running with or dribbling the ball result in a turnover penalty?
No, those infractions are only punished by the offense losing possession
40) Can a player leave and return to the court without permission from the referee?
No
Fun Facts
41) Korfball closely resembles netball and basketball but developed completely independently of those older sports in 1902!
42) Top women korfball players can throw the ball accurately up to 70 kph (44 mph)!
43) Taiwan won bronze medals at the 1999 and 2003 IKF World Korfball Championships!
44) Archie Thompson, captain of Australia’s national korfball teams, also represented his country playing Australian Rules Football!
Difficult Riddles
45) Lilia scored half as many goals as Tyler in a korfball match. Marco scored 16 goals. Tyler scored six times as many goals as Marco. How many goals did Lilia score?
Answer: 32 goals. Marco scored 16 goals. Tyler scored 6 * 16 = 96 goals. Lilia scored half as many as Tyler which is 96 / 2 = 48 goals.
46) The Red korfball team scored 39 goals before halftime. At halftime, their coach developed a new defense focused completely on blocking shots. After halftime, the Red team gave up 62% fewer goals than they did in the first half. How many total goals did the Red team allow for the whole match?
Answer: 63 goals allowed. In first half they gave up 39 goals. After halftime they gave up 62% fewer goals which is 39 * 0.38 = 15 goals. So total goals given up = 39 + 15 = 54
47) A korfball team makes 32% of shots from Zone A, 55% of shots from Zone B, and 73% of shots from Zone C. In a match they make 15 baskets from Zone A, 9 baskets from Zone B, and 6 baskets from Zone C. What percent of their TOTAL shots came from Zone C?
Answer: 30% of total shots. From A they took 15/0.32 = 47 shots. From B they took 9/0.55 = 16 shots. From C they took 6/0.73 = 8 shots. So total shots A + B + C = 47 + 16 + 8 = 71 shots. Shots from C (8) divided by total shots (71) = 8/71 = 30%.
What Happens Next?
48) The score is tied 22-22 with one minute left in a championship korfball match… What happens next?
The players battle fiercely but skillfully for each opening, deftly passing the korfball around seeking to set up a final game-winning toss through the ever-elusive hoop!
49) The Red korfball team is down by 2 points. Their captain catches a pass from a teammate but cannot shoot due to heavy defensive pressure. She quickly surveys the court to look for options… What happens next?
Being an experienced playmaker, she fakes left then whips a one-handed pass behind her back to the team’s top scorer who pump fakes his defender and sinks the clutch basket, tying the game as the crowd erupts!
50) It’s a midnight game of street korfball being played under the lights at a local park. Young women and men of varied backgrounds laugh together enjoying the competition. A no-look pass sails out of bounds but nobody on the court seems worried or rushed… What happens next?
The game slows down as players take a moment to catch their breath and appreciate the crisp night air. Their focusing returns to having fun, rather than any urgency to score. Win or lose, this pick-up match offers connections that transcend the game.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this collection of 59 riddles about the team sport of korfball! This niche game offers excellent but overlooked rhyming, joke, logic puzzle, sports trivia, brain teaser, and “who am I” riddle potential. From basic rules and equipment to player personalities, korfball terms, court dimensions, game strategy, and score scenarios – creative riddle ideas abound. Riddles help make learning (and teaching) about this relatively lesser known sport more engaging and memorable. Send any original korfball riddles my way!
