Profile: Bec Korfball Club

• Club name: Bec Korfball Club
• Club colours: Yellow & black
• Location: Tooting (spiritual home) and Tulse Hill (training venue)
• Year founded: c. 1949

Bec, the England Korfball League runners-up for the past three seasons, are hoping to follow their success at the Europa Shield this campaign and complete the domestic and European double for the first time.

“We cannot wait”

First team regular and Bec Chairman, Ben King rates the team’s chances of winning this season as high as ever. “We cannot wait until 6th and 7th May to have another crack at the national league title,” he added.

The Tooting-based side have lost out to Trojans in the last three Grand Finals – although on more than one occasion they have come agonisingly close to victory.

The closest Bec came to winning was in 2013/14 – it was 17-17 at the final whistle, with the side losing out to Trojans on a golden goal. Last season, Bec were in touching distance of the trophy again – with a late goal giving Trojans a one-goal victory. If Trojans were to win this year, it would make it their tenth victory in a row.

Ben said: “Losing finals isn’t fun, especially by such small margins. Trojans are a great team that have really stood the test of time. Right now though, we are more worried about ensuring we’re playing our best korfball. We know that we are very hard to stop when we’re in full flow.”

“Our semi-final is against Norwich Knights and we certainly won’t be underestimating them. They’ve made great progress this year and a lot of their rising stars have been included in this year’s Great Britain training squad.”

Europa Shield Gold

Bec have plenty of international experience themselves. Back in January, Bec added another Europa Shield gold to their previous collection of one gold and one silver from the previous two seasons. The competition pitted them against high-level teams from across Europe.

To prepare for the Grand Finals in May the squad are recreating that ‘European feeling’ and are flying to Lisbon the weekend before to play against the best sides in Portugal.

Reflecting on the European victory, Ben said: “Success in the Europa Shield requires consistent performance levels against top teams for three days in a row. Inevitably, lots of the games are tightly contested so the ability to stay cool and do the right thing when the game is on the line is what decides the medals. Success at the Shield has given our squad a wealth of experience of winning under pressure.”

“From a personal perspective, scoring the golden goal in the Europa Shield this year was a moment of pure ecstasy – the kind of thing you dream about as a kid!”

Although there is some debate about the exact year Bec was formed, they are one of the oldest clubs in the UK after Croydon and Mitcham.

“The health of the club is paramount”

The success of this season is not just in their squad. Ben said: “Our fourth team won their league with a team that includes many beginners and our second & third teams have pulled off some great results as we integrate some ex-student players into the sides. We have also launched an intra-club tournament for the first time, where we mix our teams up and play friendlies against each other, which been a great success and brought the club together.

“The health of the club is paramount and we strive to be as welcoming as possible. As such, we are always on the lookout for new players who are keen to join the family.”

See if Bec can make it fourth time lucky at the LFF Grand Finals at K2 Crawley on 6th and 7th May, click here to book your ticket.