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Croydon take on the Velocitas tournament

Croydon made its annual trip across the water to the well known, fantastically well organised, Velocitas Korfball tournament in Holland, over the bank holiday weekend.

Some players decided to have the pleasure of Karen's company for numerous hours, in a small tin box on wheels (a minibus!!). It was ably driven by her dad; what a star. Other players flew, and yet others drove in the semi-comfort of a car.

Accommodation ranged from hotel rooms to Dirk's 5 star B+B to camping next to the pitches, in lashing rain, hail storms and huge thundery storms, with spectacular lightening!! No joke, the weather on the Friday evening was distinctly less than perfect clear skies, and warm balmy breezes. Some of the tents were a little bit damp in the morning, some players had to retreat to the clubhouse to sleep in.

Saturday dawned cloudy, but warm and it was almost perfect playing weather; not too cold, not too hot. Croydon had two teams entered, one in the 2nd pool and one in the 5th. As well as some of the Croydon regulars, we welcomed; Matt Warren (ace Scotland international), Steve and Kim Jones (ace Wales internationals), and Simon Mills (ace, erm, Kent Uni player!!). Croydon was supported by Steph's other half, Karen and Luke's dad, and Julia's chauffeur!

The teams were: Karen, Anna, Kim, Julia, Steve, Dan M, Dan P, Matt, Mark, and Lynda, Steph, Zoe, Marjolain (ace dutch player), Luke, Paul, Simon, Adam, Phil.

Both teams played 5 matches during the day. The first team started relatively brightly considering the lack of fitness on our part, and the advanced preparation of the dutch teams. The score was 4-4, which was a fair result. With their hopes raised and the taste of Korf in their blood now, the team went out with renewed vigour in the second match, but in a low scoring match, couldn't quite overcome their opponents, and lost by a single goal (2-3). Third match is probably best forgotten, the person arranging the sections got them all wrong (that was me!) and we crashed and burned, losing 1-7 to the Velocitas 2 team.

So, onto the 4th match. The team raced (yes raced) to a 3-1 lead, and they sure did want to hang on to that lead. The opposition was leading the division at that point, and didn't want to lose, but they looked like they had gone into shock and Croydon made the most of it, playing out of their skins. Unfortunately, the referee then saw some "fouls" that the Croydon players had obviously "missed", and the momentum was handed to the opposition, as well as the odd penalty. So the final score was a 5-5 draw, which the team felt didn't reflect the way they had played, or the way the score should have ended.

The last match was a pretty even affair, with both teams battling against each other. It perhaps wasn't the best thing for Croydon to find out that they had the same referee as for their last match though! Croydon was drawing right up to the last minute, working hard as a team to maintain their scoring and to prevent the opposition from scoring. Trouble was, in the dying seconds of the match, the referee was unfortunate to be in the wrong position, and didn't see an "out of hands" ball, even though even the opposition stopped (with the ball in their hands) waiting for him to blow his whistle. When he didn't blow, they shot, and scored, giving them the lead, and Croydon no time to respond.

But, the team enjoyed playing; played well most of the time, and showed that they weren't there just to be walked all over. And when it was all over, had a shower, some food from the BBQ, and settled in for a chat, a small (soft) drink and a relax.

During the day, Karen twisted her ankle, but played on when it was strapped, and Kim had her finger dislocated, but also played on once she had popped it back in. They were fantastic.

It was a good tournament, well organised, well run, and with great opportunities for social interaction and cultural exchanges. Thanks to all who went, to Karen for sorting it all out, to Dirk for International relations, and to Velocitas for making us feel as welcome as it is possible to be.

Anna


 
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Report by: Anna | Updated by: Andy