Saturday 22nd September 2018 was a particularly wet day. To my mind this marked the end of summer. That means one thing: The indoor korfball season is due to start! Will Southampton Spartans finally get the better of Bristol Thunder and claim the Western Regional League title? Could Oxford City or Farnborough beat Southampton to become the highest ranked OKA team in the league? Last season, all three teams were separated by 1 point so it should be a cracker!

In OKA 1 it is all change. The league has been reduced from 11 teams to 8 and sees old rivalries renew. Will Southampton Uni have made themselves the team to beat having won every game last season. One of the other Southern clubs seems best placed to take the crown with both Southampton City and Farnborough Jets placing very highly and Basingstoke finishing strongly following a very heavy recruitment drive.

Abingdon and Oxford City will each be hoping to take the title back to Oxfordshire for the first time since 2011 whilst Oxford Isis and Oxford University will be aiming to improve on last season's results and get themselves back to their former glories. 

The second division has also had a major shakeup and is arguably the strongest it has ever been with Didcot Dragons, Buckingham Royals and Guildford Thunder all entering the top teams in this league. It seems likely that the title will go to one of these three however expect both Abingdon and Southampton Uni to put up a strong showing. Oxford City 3 were relegated from Division 1 last season so will surely be looking to set things right whilst it will be interesting to see if the second teams from Buckingham and Didcot can finish ahead of their ‘parent’ teams. Grudge matches aplenty.
Division three is split regionally with the North being a straight battle between the three Oxford clubs and Abingdon. The South has started a division three for the first time and will be hotly contested between all of the teams in the south. Farnborough 2 and Reading will start as title favourites, but I have high hopes for Basingstoke 2 in their first season (OK, I may be slightly biased there!)
There is no doubt about it, this season will go down in history with 32 teams competing across 5 leagues. It’s going to be great.

On a rainy Saturday morning, 14 representatives from OKA teams attended a referee theory course in Oxford. 
The course was led by Matt McConville (OKA referee development officer) and was split into two elements; an interactive presentation followed by an examination of rule knowledge. 
Everyone who came took lots of useful insights away and plenty of the attendees passed their exam with a few ‘near misses’ who will be invited to re-sit in the next few weeks. 
I know several senior referees in the area will be able to mentor these brilliant new referees to get some practical experience and start to get to grips with the rules in a game setting. The more support that any new referee can get; the easier it will be for them to improve. 
Thanks should go to all who attended, joined in and made it worthwhile. 
A special thank you should also be given to Fiona Jelley of Oxford City, for allowing us to use the perfect venue at the University’s Norham Gardens facility. 
If you have interest or queries about the OKA’s commitment to referee development, don’t hesitate to contact Matt McConville to discuss them.

The OKA AGM is being held at 4pm on Saturday 6th May at Tatham Hall, The Northcourt Centre, Northcourt Road, Abingdon, OX14 1NS. Please arrive at 4pm for a 4.15pm start. The meeting will finish by 7pm at the latest. 
Please remember that any agenda items should be submitted by 14th April. Anything received after that deadline will be discussed at the Chair’s discretion.

It would be nice to share some cakes at the start of the meeting, so if anyone is able to bring something along, please let Ruth know.
 
There have been quite a few open roles this season and we are looking to elect a full committee this year. The league will not run unless core roles are filled.  It would be brilliant if it was possible to have someone representing every club on the committee, so please can you and your club members to consider whether they are willing to get involved? The past year we have been having meetings over Skype which has vastly reduced the travelling time involved and we have tried to limit the meetings to one and a half hours. A summary of all the committee roles soon, but if you have any questions in the meantime, please do get in touch with the current committee.

​Reading Korfball Club took the bronze at the BUCS Nationals Plate competition last weekend in Sheffield and now they have won the 'most improved club' at the Reading University Sports Awards. (A club of 5 members 2 years ago to 50 this season).

Feedback on a refereeing performance is available if requested at whatever stage of the progression pathway a participant is on.
This opportunity will be available on a best endeavours basis to referees in the OKA and will be tailored to try to suit the referee and the assessor.
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Like all skills; practice makes permanent, so the OKA is keen to promote rules mentoring as it is an important way the OKA can help its clubs by offering support with an opportunity to discuss face to face the practical aspects of rule application as well as offering referees further pathways to develop to their potential.

More supporting documents for reffing can be found here:
Refs Documents

The Chris Carter Cup will be taking place in the Oxford area on Saturday 13th May 2017 with matches throughout the day across two sports halls.
Following this there will also be an evening event on the 13th May, for all clubs, so please put it in your diaries!  It will be great to see as many people as possible.  We will present end of season awards, and generally celebrate a fun year.  The location will be in central Oxford.

The Senior Inter Area competition is taking place on Saturday 20th May, at the Spiceball Leisure Centre in Banbury (1min from Junction 11 on the M40).

It's a high level competition and the area will be entering a team. Please contact Dan Hibbs, OKA Chair, if you are interested in being considered for selection.  More details on pre-tournament training sessions will follow.

Also, the OKA are hosting this year, so if you are willing to help out with the organisation on the day please contact the OKA committee.  We mainly need stewards to point people in the right direction, film the matches and help the EKA keep track of scores.  Any help will be really appreciated!

​Fancy trying a new sport in January that combines basketball, netball and many new skills?
All of the OKA Korfball Clubs welcome new players but for the start of the New Year there are some sessions focusing on beginners.

Oxford Isis Korfball Club are having a beginners training session on Monday 16th January 6.30pm - 8.30pm at Rye St Antony School, Franklin Road, Oxford, OX3 7SA.

Abingdon Atoms Korfball club are running a free 4 week beginners’ course on Thursday evenings between 12th January and 2nd February (8:00pm – 9:15pm at Abingdon and Witney College Sports Hall, Wootton Road, Abingdon, OX14 1GG).

Oxford City Korfball are running a Monday session for beginners on 23rd January at 6:30pm - 8:00pm at Spires Academy, Glanville Rd, Oxford OX4 2AU.

Didcot Dragons are having a special beginners taster session on Tuesday 31st January from 8:00pm - 10:00pm at Didcot Girls School, Manor Crescent, Didcot, OX11 7AJ.

If you want to try Korfball at any of the clubs in the OKA now is a great time to get started so contact your local club now. 

On Saturday 19th November the Guilford based Ref training with Paul Jeanes went well. There were 14 attendees for the course with representatives from Reading Uni, Southampton University, Southampton City, Farnborough Jets as well as the organising club Guildford Thunder. Congratulations to the 10 attendees attained a pass mark, which is outstanding for the area, and a big thank you to all those made this course such a success! 
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On the very next weekend Martin Hurajt ran a course in Oxford where a further 11 new refs gained their theory qualification. This is tremondous for the area and we look forward to all the korfball that will be possible due to these exceptional individuals providing and attending referee training.

The Korfballers have won their second round match on Only Connect showing they have brains as well as brawn.
This has prompted headlines in the Oxford Mail. We wish the team luck in the third round.