The Bec Korfball Club is based in South London and has five senior teams and two junior teams that play at all levels. They have over 80 active members who play for competition, fun, fitness and a terrific social life. Training takes place in Tooting and Croydon.

Korfball is a fun and exciting game that everyone can play. The game takes just a few minutes to learn, but for those who take it seriously, a lifetime to perfect. The sport is as old as basketball and netball and is played by over 200,000 people in over 50 countries around the world. Korf is the Dutch word for basket – Korfball originated in the Netherlands over 100 years ago.

Each team consists of 4 men and 4 women who compete to shoot the ball through the korf. Each player is in a duel with an opponent of the same sex and must use their speed, agility and skill to shoot and score. Korfball is a fast, dynamic and challenging aerobic sport. While it values cooperation within the team, it can also be highly competitive.

For the first time in the club’s history, Bec go into Europe this year. Bec 1 is the club’s highest-ranking team and are currently top of the English Korfball League. After narrowingly missing out on a place in the Europa Cup at last year’s play-off finals, Bec 1 qualified for the Europa Shield. This takes place in Bergisch-Gladbach in Germany from the 29^th January until the 1^st of February. With the wealth of international players in the current squad, Bec are going into this tournament confident of bringing home the gold!  With a great start to the 2014 campaign including beating 7-time National League champions Trojans, Bec have built a strong foundation which will stand them in good stead going into this competition.

With less than a week to go, feeling within the squad is buoyant, training and preparations are going to plan, and with the army of yellow and black supporters travelling to Germany to support the team, the atmosphere within the club is building to a crescendo!  Captain Davesh Patel who has been a member of Bec since he was 11 years old said, "after many years of heartbreak and wondering if the opportunity would ever come, I am looking forward into leading my one and only club into Europe. Experienced heads compliment the exuberance of youth in the team, so these are exciting times for Bec. We’re looking to establish ourselves and match the previous feats of Bec in being the top club in London and, in the process, conquering Europe!"

Full competition and match details can be found here. You can find out more about Bec Korfball on their website and follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.