Nicolaas Broekhuijsen (;

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

, December 30, 1876 –

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

May 13, 1958), better known as Nico Broekhuysen, was a Dutch

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, who is known as the inventor of

korfball Korfball ( nl, korfbal) is a ball sport, with similarities to netball and basketball. It is played by two teams of eight players with four female players and four male players in each team. The objective is to throw a ball into a netless bask ...

. He was a teacher at

Oisterwijk Oisterwijk () is a municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands. Population centres * Haaren * Heukelom *Moergestel *Oisterwijk Topography ''Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Oisterwijk, 2021'' Transportation * Railway ...

and later

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

and then

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

where he taught at the new school association. In 1902, he went to the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

village near Nääs Castle for a course. There he saw the game ring boll played. This game was played with mixed gender teams. The ball had to be thrown through a ring on a three-meter high pole. The field was divided into three sections, where players were allowed to come out. At home in Amsterdam, Broekhuysen showed his students a similar game. The rules have been simplified and the ring was replaced by a basket. The first game was played on a vacant lot at the Jan Luykenstraat. When the Amsterdam Association for Physical Education were looking for a game in which both boys and girls could join, he brought his version forward. On June 2, 1903, the Dutch Korfball Association was founded, of which Broekhuysen became president. Korfball immediately became a popular sport, but also because of the mixed play that was considered immoral, controversial. A newspaper even wrote: "Korfball is a monster, that extends its claws to all sides." Later he moved to

Baarn Baarn () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, near Hilversum in the province of Utrecht. The municipality of Baarn The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn, Eembrugge, Lage Vuursche. The town of Baarn Ba ...

where he became head of a school. Korfball during the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

was a demonstration sport with the help of Broekhuysen. In 1933, he was co-founder of the '' International Federation of Korfball'', the international korfball federation. He remained until 1934 president of the Dutch league and was then honorary chairman. In 1958 he died at the age of 81 and was buried in

References

Sportgeschiedenis.nl

External links

* 1876 births 1958 deaths Dutch sports executives and administrators Korfball People from Dordrecht Sports inventors and innovators {{Netherlands-sport-bio-stub