Text by Melina (KCZ)
To keep traditions alive, Team Basel organized a trip to the spooky capital of Scotland to participate in the International Korfball Tournament hosted by Edinburgh University. A few Zurich and Lausanne members also joined the Basel force, making a total of 12 players (7 female and 5 male) who competed against 32 other teams for the title.
We arrived in Edinburgh on Friday and kicked off the weekend with a bang, leaving everything on the dance floor at the Three Sisters pub, marking ourselves as a party force to be reckoned with.
Saturday began with a tour around a cloudy, but surprisingly rain-free, Edinburgh, led by our local tour guide (a.k.a. yours truly). Afterward, we headed to the court to face four teams in 12-minute matches. The games started off slow, with a tie against the first and arguably easiest opponent, but the energy picked up quickly with two outstanding wins! The day ended with another tie in a challenging but fun game against Holland 2. Despite remaining undefeated, we finished second in our group behind Bristol, a team we had previously beaten by 4 goals!!
Despite the unfortunate ranking, we didn’t let it dampen our spirits. We dressed up fancy (insider tip: Gian Reto in a suit is quite the sight!) and enjoyed a traditional dinner and ceilidh (Scottish dance) with the other teams.
On Day 2, we had to face three more teams with no room for error. We started with a comfortable win against Northern Storm, followed by a close victory against Edinburgh City, thanks to an amazing buzzer-beater from Andy! Our final game of the day was against Edinburgh Mavericks. Our team made a tremendous effort, keeping the score close throughout the game, but unfortunately, we lost by just one goal. This result placed us 8th in the tournament. Though we felt we could have finished higher, we still had an amazing weekend filled with team-building, endless fun, and unforgettable memories!
Finally, we would like to give special kudos to Inez Trouwborst (participating on behalf of Team Lausanne) for being the top scorer and MVP of the team! 🥳 Team Basel and Zurich should definitely start getting a bit nervous about facing her in the Alp League (I know I am!) and perhaps even organize support groups for the victims of her deadly shots.
