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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 1981)
Korfball? Well, It’s kinda like basketball, and Oregon is national champ By STEVE JETT Of Ih* Emerald Nico Broekhuysen isn’t a household name around cam pus and neither is the sport he invented more than 80 years ago in Holland. Korfball. Now, believe it or not, Oregon has become the national korf ball champion. The University squad defeated the University of New Mexico 17-5 last Saturday in the final of the five-team dou ble-elimination national tour nament in Albuquerque, N.M. The obvious question is ‘‘What is korfball and how did Oregon become national champ?” "It isn’t very known and it doesn’t have the glamour of other sports,” says Bob Baker, University physical education instructor and coach of the Duck korfball team. "I guess the game you can compare it to is basketball.” Though korfball resembles the purely American hoop sport, it also has a few interesting twists. Each team consists of eight players, four from each sex. No dribbling is allowed, the baskets have no backboards and are 12 feet high. Shots can only be made if the player is unguarded, and guarding a player of the opposite sex is not allowed. Each team is split into offen sive and defensive squads of two men and two women. Each time two points are scored in the game, the squads switch from offense to defense and vice versa. How Oregon became involved in korfball is another story. Baker began teaching the korfball class fall term, and thanks to the support of Phy sical Education Prof. Jan Broe koff — President of the Amer ican Korfball Federation — Baker received an invitation to send a team to New Mexico for a national tournament. From the trip, Baker simply hoped the Ducks could get some exposure to national competition. He wasn't count ing on first place. "It was really exciting," he says. "I felt we would play well and would have a shot at second. But once we went down and started playing, I thought we had a chance to win it. One of the things that happened on our trip was that our guys were about even with the other team's guys but our girls were far better than the other team’s girls. "Overall, the girls had an edge and I think that made the difference in the tournament.” Despite all this, korfball still remains a mystery on the Oregon campus. Two years ago, a korfball class only at tracted 15 students. Last term, the class wasn't much bigger with 18. Wrestlers host Cougars Oregon's eighth-ranked wrestling team hosts the Washington State Cougars in McArthur Court Sunday at 2 p.m. The Ducks just finished a six meet road trip through Califor nia, in which they lost only one meet, to Cal-State Bakersfield Wednesday night. The loss leaves Oregon with a 9-1 mark. Top performers for the Cougars are 118-pounder Brian Higa, John Bliss (167) and Dan Morrow (190). Higa has a 13-2 record this year. Bliss, brother of former Oregon wrestler Scott Bliss, has a 12-2 record, and Morrow has 11 wins without a defeat. The Cougars are 2-3 in dual meet competition. -emu Food Service TODAY EMU Food Service BEER GARDEN 4-7 p.m. 16 oz. glass 75° pitchers $2.25 Free Entertainment Attack & the Fun EMU Dining Room & Courtyard S Oregon Daily Emerald ‘‘Part of the problem is that there is no competition around the University,” says Baker. ‘‘Somebody mentioned that there is a team in Portland so we’re going to check into it. But when we would teil people we were going down to New Mexico to play korfball, most would ask What is korfball?’ ” Korfball has been growing throughout Europe, especially Belgium, England, Germany and Spain. According to Baker, matches in Holland attract crowds of over 5,000. "A crowd of 500 to 1,000 would be pretty good here,” says Baker. B. J. KELLY’S BACK-TO-ROCK-N-ROLL featuring CELEBRATE 9:30-close $2.00 cover 1933 Franklin Blvd 484-4333 Special Events Nights Lounge Open 11:30 am -1:30 am Hors D’oeuvres Available Teachers’ Night SUNDAY Happy Hour All Evening Wars wl MONDAY gUt Happy Hour All Evening Happy Hours 3:30 pm-6:30 pm Daily Draft Beer 59c Wine 89c kadies TUESDAY 2-For-1 Well Drinks All Evening to Ladies Happy Hours Double Well Drinks 99c 99c Monthly Specials Not Included © of 0iltgl)f WEDNESDAY Happy Hour All Evening With Student or Faculty Card Urfcan Cowkov Nioht THURSDAY 1 ® — Wear Hats or Boots — Draft Special-.50/Glass-2.00/Pitcher # % Bibliophile It! Cost of movies too much? Roads too icy for travel? Looking for good entertainment? The Book Department has a GIVE-WINTER-DOLDRUMS-THE-SLIP Special for you. Watch the Emerald for details. uo BOOKSTORE 13th & Kincaid Mon-Fri 8:15-5:30 Sat 10:00-2:00 In the Book Department. Only at the UO Bookstore. Textbooks 686-3520 • General Books 686-3510 • Supplies 686-4331 Page 9
