The annual Summer Classic tournament has come and gone once again, and once again it was a hugely successful day. With seven teams competing on the day, each team played six matches, meaning a very busy day for all players. As well as most State League clubs entering teams, it was great to welcome the teams travelling from Newcastle and Sydney, as well as a non-club based team, the Average Joes. This year marked the first time both Sydney and Newcastle have entered teams in this competition in the same year. It’s great to see these clubs continue to develop and seek new challenges, and its a welcome change for the Adelaide players, who get to face a different opponent than they get used to at State League. It’s also fantastic to see clubs taking the opportunity to blood new players, with several of the teams using the Summer Classic to give new recruits their first taste of Korfball. None of these players looked out of place, and we hope to see them at other competitions throughout the year.

 

With a change in format, there was no final this year. Instead, the team with the best overall record was crowned the winner. Despite this change, Arista once again took out the title. This makes four consecutive years a team from Arista has managed to lift the trophy. Arista finished the day as the only team with five wins, but did not have it all their way. After Arista dropped their last match, to Flinders, the door was mathematically open for the Royals to take the title. While the Royals didn’t fully capitalise, finishing second is a great effort, especially for a travelling team. Matches all day were played in great spirits, but remained competitive. The evenness of the competition can be highlighted by the fact that four of the seven teams finished with 3-3 records, with not even goal difference being able to split some of the teams. The full results, as well as the ladder, can be found on the Summer Classic page.

 

Congratulations Arista, and we look forward to this competition continuing to grow in years to come.