KOR i The BUCS Korfball Championships shall be conducted in accordance with the following BUCS sport specific regulations, the BUCS general regulations, the IKF (International Korfball Federation) Rules of Korfball and the BSKA Constitution and Rules. Further event specific requirements, rules, and regulations will be contained within the entry and pre-event information for each Championship.
KOR ii In the event that these regulations contradict the BUCS general regulations, these BUCS sport specific regulations will supersede, unless specifically stated otherwise.
KOR iii In the event that these regulations contradict the IKF (International Korfball Federation) Rules of Korfball, or the BSK Constitution and Rules, these BUCS sport specific regulations will supersede, unless specifically stated otherwise.
KOR 1 Affiliations All institutions/Playing Entities must affiliate with the British Student Korfball Association (BSKA), in accordance with, and by the deadline stated in, the BUCS Sport Specific Affiliations Document. Failure to do so will lead to sanctions as outlined in the BUCS Sport Specific Affiliations Document and possibly further disciplinary action.
KOR 2 Championships The BSKA, on behalf of BUCS, will host annually a Korfball Championships as listed in Appendix 1 (‘BUCS Competition Offer and Associated BUCS Points’), subject to entry numbers.
KOR 2.1 There will be a three-stage tournament format provided for BUCS Korfball. The stages will be: Preliminaries, Regionals and Northern/Southern Qualifiers, and National Finals (Championship, Trophy and Shield).
KOR 2.2 All teams must enter by the entry deadline set prior to the Preliminaries.
KOR 2.3 Institutions/Playing Entities may enter more than one team.
KOR 2.4 Preliminaries
KOR 2.4.1 Teams will be allocated to their appropriate preliminary competition by the BSKA and BUCS, primarily based on geographic location. Typically, there will be eight preliminary competitions, however the exact number each season will be subject to the number of teams entered and their geographic locations.
KOR 2.4.2 Each preliminary competition will be a one-day, one-court tournament, with the format determined by the BSKA Executive, dependent on the number of entries into each preliminary.
KOR 2.4.3 Teams that finish 1st-5th at each preliminary competition will progress to their respective regional competition. Teams that finish 6th or lower will progress to the Northern/Southern Qualifiers.
KOR 2.4.3.1 A minimum of two 1st teams must progress from each preliminary competition to the respective regional competition.
KOR 2.4.4 Final standings in the preliminary competitions will affect seeding in the regional competitions.
KOR 2.5 Regionals
KOR 2.5.1 There will be four regional competitions, fed by the preliminary competitions.
KOR 2.5.2 Each regional competition will be a one-day, two-court tournament. The format of the tournament will be Pools/Semi-Finals/Finals.
KOR 2.5.3 Teams that finish 1st-4th at each regional competition will progress to the National Championship. Teams that finish 5th-8th will progress to the National Trophy. Teams that finish 9th-10th will progress to the National Shield.
KOR 2.5.3.1 Only 1st teams may progress to the National Championship.
KOR 2.5.4 Final standings in the regional competitions will affect seeding in the National Championship/Trophy/Shield.
KOR 2.6 Northern/Southern Qualifiers
KOR 2.6.1 There will be two qualifier competitions: the Northern Qualifier and the Southern Qualifier. The Northern/Southern Qualifiers will be fed by all the preliminary competitions and will be made up of the teams that finished 6th or lower in each preliminary competition. Teams will be allocated by the BSKA and BUCS to their appropriate qualifier competition primarily based on geographic location.
KOR 2.6.2 Each qualifier will be a one-day, two-court tournament, with the format determined by the BSKA Executive, dependent on the number of teams.
KOR 2.6.3 Teams that finish 1st-4th at each qualifier competition will progress to the National Shield competition. Teams that finish 5th or lower will not progress to another stage.
KOR 2.6.4 Final standings in the qualifier competitions will affect seeding in the National Shield.
KOR 2.7 National Shield
KOR 2.7.1 The National Shield will be fed by the regional competitions and the qualifier competitions and will be made up of the 16 qualifying teams from those competitions.
KOR 2.7.2 The National Shield will be a two-day, two-court tournament.
KOR 2.8 National Trophy
KOR 2.8.1 The National Trophy will be fed by the regional competitions and will be made up of the 16 qualifying teams from those competitions.
KOR 2.8.2 The National Trophy will be a two-day tournament. Three courts will be used on day one and day two. The format of the tournament will be Pools/Quarter-Finals/Semi-Finals/Finals.
KOR 2.9 National Championship
KOR 2.9.1 The National Championship will be fed by the regional competitions and will be made up of the 16 qualifying teams from those competitions.
KOR 2.9.2 The National Championship will be a two-day tournament. Four courts will be used on day one, and two on day two. The format of the tournament will be Pools/Quarter-Finals/Semi-Finals/Finals.
KOR 2.10 All decisions made by the BSKA competition committee shall be binding, subject to any appeal to the BSKA Executive Committee as per the BSKA Rules and Constitution. The Competition Committee shall consist of the BSKA Chairman, one other member of the BSKA Executive Committee, one referee from the day, and an independent tournament administrator.
KOR 2.11 All matches shall be played according to the International Korfball Federation (IKF) Rules of Korfball, subject to the following amendments.
KOR 2.11.1 The length of all matches at each tournament will be decided by the BSKA Executive Committee, dependent on the number of teams participating.
KOR 2.11.2 There will be gaps scheduled between matches, these gaps will include time for any warm-ups required by teams for the following match. The length of these gaps will be decided by the BSKA Competitions Committee.
KOR 2.11.3 There will be one time-out of 1 minute in length permitted per team per match.
KOR 2.11.4 A substituted player can return to the match and a maximum of eight changes are allowed. A team making a substitution must notify the referee who will only allow a substitution to be made when there is a stoppage in play.
KOR 2.11.5 Matches will begin and end on the referee’s whistle. A centralised signal will sound to indicate that referees should start and end the match.
KOR 2.11.6 Any team that is not ready to start playing on the central signal will concede one goal for each minute they are late. This is to be determined by the match referee.
KOR 2.11.7 For all matches, the ‘home’ team shall be determined by a coin toss between the two captains prior to the start of the match, overseen by the match referee. Captains and the referee should meet by the side of the during the warm-up to perform this coin toss. The ‘home’ team has choice of ends, must lay out first and takes the throw off.
KOR 2.11.8 Following the conclusion of each match, each team should immediately vacate the pitch to allow the following teams to warm up. The captain for each team must go to the referee to sign the match card to validate the result. At this point, the referee should also write the name of their nominated MVP on the match card.
KOR 2.12 For pool matches, points will be awarded according to the results of the matches played: Three points for a win, one point for a draw, no points for a loss.
KOR 2.13 In the case when two or more teams finish with equal points in a pool the ranking positions shall be determined by;
- Head to head result (if two teams are equal on points)
- Goal difference in the matches between the teams on equal points (if more than two teams are equal on points)
- Overall goal difference
- Goals scored
KOR 2.13.1 If there is still no difference to be seen between teams following this ranking then placing shall be determined by a best of three penalty shootout. If still a tie after this, a sudden death penalty shootout between the teams will take place. The team captain must inform the referee before the shootout begins of their chosen eight penalty takers (made up of four men and four women) to take part in the shootout. These eight can be selected from any of the named squad regardless of whether they finished on the pitch in the last pool game. In the event all eight players have taken a penalty, the sudden death shootout will continue with the same eight players taking penalties again in the same order as previously taken.
KOR 2.13.2 The Competition Committee shall have the power to take a different course of action should any of the matches being considered for determining the rankings be ones that have been forfeited or awarded to their opponents.
KOR 2.14 In the knockout stages, if the result is tied, a best of three penalty shootout followed by a sudden death penalty shootout shall be used to determine the winner. Players taking penalties must have finished the match on the pitch.
KOR 2.15 In the event of a lower-ranking team finishing in a higher position than a higher-ranking team from the same institution, the higher-ranking team will take the position of the lower-ranking team. For example, if a first team finishes behind a second team, then the first team will take the place of the second team and will advance in the second team’s place.
KOR 3 Squads, team selection and individual eligibility
KOR 3.1 Teams will be required to submit a squad declaration for each tournament. The maximum squad size shall be 14 players, consisting of a maximum of seven men and seven women. The minimum acceptable squad size shall be 10 players, consisting of a minimum of five men and five women.
KOR 3.2 Individuals are not permitted to be named, or play, for more than one team during the same stage of the Championships (note KOR 2.1).
KOR 3.3 Where an institution/Playing Entity has entered more than one team, the 1st team should always be the strongest team available to represent that institution/Playing Entity, followed by the 2nd team, 3rd team and so on.
KOR 3.4 Where an institution/Playing Entity has entered more than one team:
KOR 3.4.1 If an individual has been selected for the same team in both preceding stages, they may not be selected for a lower ranked team at the National Finals (Championship, Trophy and Shield) stage. For example, if an individual has been selected for the 1st team in both the Preliminaries stage and Regionals stage, they cannot represent the 2nd (or lower ranked) team at the National Finals stage.
KOR 3.4.2 Where an institution/Playing Entity has three or more teams, in the rare case that an individual has been selected for two different teams across the preceding stages, then they will be treated as having been selected twice for the lower ranked of these two teams and they may not be selected for a lower ranked team at the National Finals (Championship, Trophy and Shield) stage. For example, if an individual has been selected for the 1st team in the Preliminaries stage and the 2nd team in the Regionals stage, they cannot represent the 3rd (or any lower ranked) team at the National Finals stage.
KOR 3.5 For individual eligibility regulations, refer to REG 4. Any team found to be playing ineligible players is to be disqualified from the event and referred to BUCS with the potential for further disciplinary action.
KOR 4 Kit Teams competing at all tournaments must ensure all players competing do so in the appropriate playing shirts for their clubs and shorts/skorts of consistent style and colour.
KOR 5 Misconduct The BSKA Competitions Committee (consisting of members of the BSKA committee attending on the day and the referee who awarded the card) shall be empowered to suspend a player from one or more matches during a tournament, following the giving of either a straight red card, or two yellow cards.
KOR 6 Fines Teams withdrawing after the entry deadline are liable to fines as follows:
- National Championships: £300
- National Trophy: £250
- National Plate: £200
- Preliminaries, Regionals, and Northern/Southern Qualifiers: £100
The BSKA will determine whether an institution should be fined, and BUCS will administer any fines.
