Wales national korfball team

Wales
AssociationWelsh Korfball Association/Cymdeithas Pêl-Corff Cymru
IKF membership2007 (2007)
IKF codeWAL Wales
IKF rank23 (Nov. 2014)
World Championships
Appearances 1 (First in 2011)
Best result 15th, 2011
European Championships
Appearances 2 (First in 2010)
Best result 11th place, 2010
European Bowl
Appearances 3 (First in 2007)
Best result West div. Champions, 2007 & 2009
website

The Wales National Korfball Team often referred to as the Welsh Korfball Squad (WKS) is managed by the Welsh Korfball Association/Cymdeithas Pêl-Corff Cymru, and represents Wales in international korfball competition. The Welsh Korfball Squad entered its first IKF ranking competition in 2007, after the Great Britain national korfball team was disbanded to produce three teams: England, Wales and Scotland. Wales is a fully recognised member of the International Korfball Federation and is currently ranked 23rd in the world.

They played the World Championships for the first and only time in 2011, after the withdrawal of Hungary.[1] In 2006 they reached the 3rd place in the Korfball Commonwealth Games.[2] In 2014, Wales lost 12-16 to Poland in a match that would have seen them qualify for the 2015 World Championship.

Tournament results

World Championships[3]
Year Championship Host Classification
2011 9th World Championship China Shaoxing, China 15th place
World Games
Year Championship Host Classification
European Championships[4]
Year Championship Host Classification
2010 4th European Championships Netherlands Netherlands 11th place
2014 5th European Championships Portugal Portugal 16th place
European Bowl
Year Championship Host Classification
2007 2nd European Bowl Luxembourg Luxembourg Champions (West)
2009 3rd European Bowl Luxembourg Luxembourg Champions (West)
2013 4th European Bowl Netherlands Netherlands 2nd place (East)
Commonwealth Championship
Year Championship Host Classification
2006 1st Korfball Commonwealth Championship England London, England 3rd place

Squad

The Welsh Korfball Squad is normally selected through trials arranged by the coach. The coach is appointed by the WKA.

Current Squad



Previous Squads

History

Since 2002 the Welsh Korfball Association has existed to develop and promote the sport of Korfball in Wales. The WKS competed at non-IKF affiliated events before they made their debut at an IKF Ranking Tournament in 2007. Wales was officially recognised on the IKF World Rankings in 2007, entering a 51 strong list of nations at 24.

2005
Wales competed at the Home Nations Championship[5] under coach Terry Matthews; they lost to GB Students and England but won against Scotland and Ireland putting them in third place.

Wales at the 2006 Commonwealth Korfball Championship, London.

2006
Steve Jones was appointed coach by the WKA with Terry Matthews taking over as Assistant Coach. Wales participated in a Four Nations event, and later in the first Korfball Commonwealth Championship[6] (London) with England, Scotland, Australia and South Africa. They were placed third above Australia on goal difference.

2007
In 2007, Wales participated in their first official IKF ranking event: the European Bowl West. Wales won every match against the other participants to be crowned champions. Dave Buckland took over the role of coach ahead of the European Bowl Final; Wales lost the final against Slovakia, who were winners of the European Bowl East.

2008
The WKS attended the Stadskanaal International Tournament where they were able to take revenge on Slovakia with a 14–12 victory.

Wales at the 2011 IKF World Championship, China.

2009
Wales returned to the European Bowl West and were once again crowned champions after winning every game; in the process they qualified for the European Championships in 2010.

2010
Wales competed in the Home Nations and went on to take silver, losing out in the final to England.[7] The European Championships saw Wales participate in their first major tournament where they managed to secure 11th place, just outside the top ten which qualified for the World Championship. Following the tournament Wales rose to 18th in the IKF World Rankings.

2011
After the withdrawal of Hungary, Wales was invited to the World Championship in China; this was another major tournament debut for Wales.[8] Dankmar Caderius Van Veen was offered the coaching role and secured 15th out of the sixteen competing nations. After this performance on the world scene, Wales rose another place, to 17th, in the IKF World Rankings.

2012
Leon Simons holds a clinic for the Wales training squads.

Wales at the 2013 European Bowl East, held in the Netherlands.

2013
Another new coach was found in Leon Simons who guided Wales through qualification to the European Championships, in Portugal, after a golden goal victory over Ireland.[9]

2014
For the third tournament in succession, a new Wales coach took the helm in the form of Graham Box. Wales failed to qualify for the World Championship, losing out 16-12 to Poland in a match which would have secured their place; they went on to finish the tournament in last place. Wales plummeted from 17th in the IKF World Ranking to 23rd.

Most capped players

Players with an equal number of caps are ranked in chronological order of reaching the milestone.

# Name Career Caps Goals Position
1 John Williams 2006-2015 54 67
2 Nick Wilkins 2005- 50 92
3 Ramzi Barbir 2005-2014 45 84
4 Zoe Rose 2006- 43 10
5 Kevin Jones 2005–2015 43 59
6 Ruth Campbell 2008- 43 36
7 Dave Buckland 2005-2013 37 66
8 Carla Bennett 2010- 32 39
9 Susan Jones 2005-2010 29 11
10 Hannah Ager 2008-2014 25 7

Top goalscorers

Goalscorers with an equal number of goals are ranked with the highest to lowest goals per game ratio.

# Name Career Goals Caps Position Average
1 Nick Wilkins 2005– 92 50 1.84
2 Ramzi Barbir 2005–2014 84 45 1.87
3 John Williams 2006-2015 67 54 1.24
4 Dave Buckland 2005–2013 66 37 1.78
5 Kevin Jones 2005–2015 59 43 1.37
6 Carla Bennett 2010– 39 32 1.22
7 Ruth Campbell 2008- 36 43 0.84
8 Steve Jones 2005-2007 25 10 2.50
9 James Wilcox 2013- 22 17 1.29
10 Ceri Jones 2005-2010 21 20 1.05

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Wales Make Korfball World Championship Debut in China". BBC. 27 October 2011.
  2. ↑ "Korfball Commonwealth Games". BBC. 24 August 2006.
  3. ↑ "The history of the IKF and the IKF World Championship" (PDF). IKF.
  4. ↑ "The history of the IKF European Championship" (PDF). IKF.
  5. ↑ "Wales at the Home Nations". Cardiff City Korfball Club. 10 July 2005.
  6. ↑ "Korfball Commonwealth Games". BBC. 24 August 2006.
  7. ↑ "England Win Home Nations Challenge". England Korfball. 10 July 2005.
  8. ↑ "Wales Make Korfball World Championship Debut in China". BBC. 27 October 2011.
  9. ↑ "Wales Qualify for EC2014". Welsh Korfball Association. 25 October 2013.

External links

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