Yesterday saw yet another hugely successful Summer Classic, with over 70 players braving the warmer than expected conditions to produce a wonderful tournament. The day was a fantastic exhibition of Korfball, filled with fun, sportsmanship and social interaction you don’t often get during State League rounds. This is a credit to everyone who took part, it was your enthusiasm and conduct which made the day so enjoyable for all involved.

It was great to see Korfball South Australia well represented with 5 Adelaide club based teams, and it was especially pleasing to see both Newcastle and Sydney once again make the trip down for the tournament. There is a lot of respect for the effort these two clubs put into travelling for this competition each year, and clubs and players are certainly glad for an opportunity to play against varied opponents. Hopefully these two clubs gain something from these kind of trips, and we’re hopeful the travel continues.

A late withdrawal forced a schedule reshuffle, which eliminated the pool structure, and allowed for a true round-robin tournament. After each team had played their allotment of 6 matches, Arista Yellow and Sydney moved into the final. In a huge coincidence, these two teams also played the last round robin match against each other, meaning they faced off in consecutive matches back-to-back. The result of the two matches was the same, with Arista Yellow prevailing, as they did in every match on the day. Arista Yellow was crowned Summer Classic champions for 2019, marking the 5th time in a row an Arista team has won the tournament.

Special mention must go to Glenelg Korfball Club, who ran a fundraising BBQ on the day. The cold drinks and Zooper Doopers especially were greatly appreciated by the players and officials, and helped make the heat more bearable. League Directors (and tournament organisers) Jess Phillips and Theresa Coletti would especially like to thank all those who refereed, as without referees we would not have games. Thanks must also go to Jess and Theresa for putting together such an enjoyable tournament, and running it on the day as well.

We look forward to the next iteration of the tournament, and hope to see everyone out there again next year.