Sociology of Sport Journal, 1989, 6, 144151

Korfball: A Model of Egalitarianism?

Karen Summerfield and Anita White West Sussex Institute of Higher Education

Through an analysis of gender in contemporary korfball practice in Britain, this paper questions the claim that korfball is an egalitarian sport. Three aspects of the sport were studied: (a) official korfball literature, (b) formal positions of power held by men and women in the korfball organizations, and (c) the gender related dynamics of team play in international and club games. It was found that despite the ideological commitment to gender equality, korfball literature emphasized the prominence of males. Women held relatively few positions in the formal power structures of korfball organizations and men dominated in team play. Explanations for the mismatch between ideology and practice of korfball are advanced, and strategies for the future develop- ment of egalitarian sport are discussed.

Sociologists of differing theoretical orientations generally agree that gender inequalities have characterized sport throughout its history and that sport retains its masculine gender in its modem forms (Clarke & Critcher, 1986; Dunning, 1986; Hargreaves, 1986; Theberge, 1985). Talbot (1984) used Loy's (1969) analy- sis of smrt as a social institution to demonstrate how s ~ o r t is continuallv redefined as a masculine institution at educational, technological, symbolic, and organiza- tional levels.

On the whole, women have joined the world of sport on men's terms (Hargreaves, 1985). Some men's sports organizations refused to admit women (e.g., field hockey) while others consented to admit them (e.g., track and field athletics) but then proceeded to severely restrict their activity (Blue, 1987). More modern proponents of sport for women, such as the Women's Sports Foundation in the U.S.A., have been informed by ideologies of consumer capitalism to try to give sportswomen a fair deal in comparison to their male counterparts in the labor market of sports entertainment.

Throughout the history of women's sport, and despite the differing ideo- logical premises that have guided its proponents, one central question of strategy has arisen: Which is the best way forward-integration or segregation? Should women join the men and play sport on men's terms, or should women develop

Karen Summerfield and Anita White are with the West Sussex Institute of Higher Education, Bishop Otter College, College Lane, Chichester, West Sussex, England PO19 4PE.

Korfball: A Model of Egalitarianism? 145

and control their own leisure and sport forms? The general trend has been toward integration, and indications are that in practice when men's and women's sports organizations merge, women usually lose power and control. This has been clearly demonstrated in student sport administration in North America with the National Collegiate Athletic Association's takeover of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, and in Britain with the UAU takeover of Women's Inter Varsity Athletic Board. A third strategy for the freeing of sport from gender bias is to develop sport forms specifically designed to promote equality of gender re- lations.

Such was the intention of Nico Broeukheuysen, a Dutch schoolteacher who developed the mixed-team sport of korfball in the early 1900s. His aim was to provide a sport where both males and females could play together with no advan- tages or disadvantages to either sex (Davis, 1983). Based on the twin principle of coeducation and cooperation, the game of korfball encouraged a high degree of cooperation between men and women players working toward a common aim, required all-around attacking and defending skills of players, and discouraged physical violence. Rules, skills, and role responsibilities were equalized in order to formalize the egalitarianism of the game. Korfball is normally played in two zones with two male and two female players from each team playing in the attacking zone, and two men and two women from each team in the defending zone. Players are allowed to guard only opponents of the same sex, a rule de- signed in recognition of the superior strength and speed of men and to give women the opportunity to compete without disadvantage (Box, personal communication, 1986; Moolenijser, 1982). As a game form, korfball is similar to basketball and netball in terms of the throwing, catching, and shooting skills required. It is the fifth most popular sport in The Netherlands, both as a school activity and a club sport.

A recent study by Crum (1988) considered these interesting and challenging claims of korfball as it is institutionalized and played in The Netherlands. The division of power between male and female players of 26 high competitive level matches was systematically observed and the number of male and female presi- dents and secretaries throughout Dutch korfball clubs was ascertained. In addition, Crum compared the perceptions of both male and female basketball and handball players with regard to instrumental aggression and sex stereotyping by means of a questionnaire. He concluded that the equal distribution of power between men and women in korfball left much to be desired, although it was suggested that korfball could contribute toward reducing "macho" perceptions in competitive sport.

Attempts to "export" the game internationally have met with limited suc- cess. It was included as a demonstration sport in the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, and as a result the Belgium and subsequently an international federation was founded. In 1946 korfball spread to Britain following a visit by Dutch korfball players, but it took another 30 years before it was introduced to the United States at the 1976 International Council on Health, Physical Education and Recreation Convention. The U.S. Korfball Federation was founded in 1978. Eight countries competed in the first official world championships in 1984 and korfball was in- cluded in the World Games in London in 1985.

Although by no means a popular sport in Britain, where there are only approximately 1,000 players in universities and clubs in the south of England,

146 Summerfield and White

korfball enjoyed some media coverage during the 1985 World Games. Subse- quently it was claimed in the Womensports Magazine (spring 1986) that korfball was "a truly egalitarian sport." In light of korfball's ideological foundations and its internal system of rules designed to promote gender equality, we decided to investigate this claim by an analysis of gender in contemporary korfball practice.

Methods

Three aspects of korfball were studied: (a) the content of official documents (i.e., rule books, information newsheets, and magazines), (b) the distribution of positions of power between men and women in korfball organizations, and (c) the gender-based dynamics of team play in international and club games.

Some 40 official documents were obtained from the British Korfball As- sociation and related organizations and individuals published between 1984-1986. These included rule books, explanatory and promotional leaflets, newsheets of the International Korfball Federation, and manuals and articles written about korf- ball by members of the association for various publications. Photographs and illustrations of men and women were categorized by prominence of position within the publication (i.e., cover pictures and centerfolds). Activelpassive roles were defined according to Duquin's 1984 guidelines, that is, active when playing the game but passive when dressed in sport attire but not actively engaged. Active roles were further classified as attacking, defending, or instructive.

Authorship of articles and guest editorials was also noted in order to assess the written contributions made by men and women to official publications. The content of rule books was analyzed to assess the gender of the language used in describing players and officials and the extent of any gender-specific messages about rule violation and enforcement. The Referees Association provided a 1986 register of officials which enabled us to establish the proportion of female and male referees.

Official records of the British Korfball Association, the British Students Korfball Association, and Kent, Surrey, and London area associations were con- sulted. Both the proportion of positions and the types of responsibilities assumed by men and women were noted.

Observation and participant observation were used to gather data on the dynamics of team play. One of the authors took an introductory instructional course on korfball to become familiar with the game and the meanings that korfball players give to their sports involvement. She also traveled with the club teams to games to gather insight into players' perceptions of the games, thus enabling a valid interpretation of the observational data. Five teams, one international and four top-level sides, were observed. Observations were recorded during play using a rnicrotape recorder.

In order to establish the relative involvement of men and women in the game, and the degree of influence they exerted on play, the following aspects of team play were noted: (a) passing interactions; (b) the taking of penalty shots, centers, and throw-ins, attempts on goal, and goals scored; and (c) pregame, during play, and postgame verbal interaction patterns (i.e., the nature and content of gender interaction such as tactical talk or shouting encouragement).

Korfball: A Model of Egalitarianism? 147

Findings and Discussion

Table 1 indicates that men and women were featured together in the fore- ground of 68 % of the covers. Typically these were illustrations depicting a male and a female player leaping under the basket, symbolizing the coeducational nature of the game. However, where just one player was featured in the foreground (cover and other), men appeared more than twice as often as women. Women were more likely to be shown in the background, usually watching the men in action. Simi- larly, the analysis of full-page color and centerfold illustrations featured either mixed groups or men only.

Table 2 indicates that men are more likely to be shown in attacking and instructive roles while women are more often shown in defending roles. A gender

Table 1

Percentage of Photographs and Illustrations of Women and Men by Prominence of Location in Official Korfball Literature, 1984-1 986

Prominence of location Women Men Men & Women Total N

Cover (foreground) 12 20 68 1 00 25 Cover (background) 75 25 - 1 00 4 Other (foreground) 19 49 32 100 23.5 Other (background) 45 55 - 100 42 Full page color - 33.3 66.6 100 6 Centerfolds - 10 90 100 10

Average % 25 32 43 110.5

Table 2

Percentage of Photographs and Illustrations of Women and Men in Passive and Active Roles in Official Korfball Literature, 1984-1986.

Roles Women (010) Men (oh) Total N

Passive 42.5 Active:

Attack 34 Defense 73 Instruct 21

148 Summetfield and White

distinction in the types of passive images was noted. Men, even when inactive, were shown in playing kit or official dress whereas images of women illustrated the social, "fun" side of the game or were linked to consumer products.

Men contributed more than twice as many articles and guest editorials as women. Some 55 % of articles and 65 % of guest editorials were written by men, compared with 18 % and 12 % by women. The remainder were either coauthored or the authorship could not be ascribed on the basis of sex.

Analysis of the language and illustrative material of rule books also revealed a bias toward male authority and officialdom, and the reproduction of traditional stereotypes of men as rule violators or rough players and women making silly mistakes or standing by and looking astonished at men breaching the rules. Offi- cial rules of both the International Korfball Association and the British Korfball Association refer to referees and linesmen as "he," albeit with the apologetic qualifier that "wherever the word 'he' is used in this rulebook it should be under- stood that this could also be a 'she' " (British Korfball Association Rulebook, 1984).

Gender inequality was observable in all aspects of korfball official docu- ments, language, and illustrative material, promoting the image of a sport in which men take prominent, attacking, instructive, and controlling roles and women take background and supporting roles. The message inherent in the language and il- lustrations of the rules reinforce the norm of male authority, and it is therefore not surprising to find that 75 % of the registered referees in Britain are men (Pen- rose, personal communication, 1986).

The distribution of administrative positions by gender within the British Korfball Association, the British Student Korfball Association, and the Kent, Lon- don, and Surrey area associations reveal that men outnumber women by approx- imately 2 to 1. A further look at the data shows greatest male dominance in the highest level organization (British Korfball Association). Moreover, there is also gender stratification within the organizations. In all those studied, the president or chairperson was a man while women Nled mainly secretarial roles.

Not only are women underrepresented but those who do serve on committees fill support and service positions that reflect gender relations in society. The power structures of korfball are similar to those found by Crurn (1988) in the Dutch Korfball Association and also to those found by White and Brackenridge (1985) in a range of long-established sports organizations.

Analysis of passing interaction showed that on all five teams both men and women were more likely to pass to men. Some 61 % of all passes were received by men and 39% by women. This tendency was most pronounced in the England international side, where 70% of all passes were received by men. Men were clearly more involved in team interaction than women were.

Unequal involvement was even more pronounced when the "initiating actions" of goal scoring, goal attempts, taking penalty shots, centers, and throw-ins were observed (see Table 3). Scoring goals is the most clearly important action where game outcome is concerned. Of the total goals, 82% were scored by men. In addition, 70% of attempted goals were by men and penalty shots were taken exclusively by men. Only in the Vultrix team did women score as many goals as men; in all the other teams their direct contribution to the score line was mini- mal or zero. As a competitive team game based on values of winning, korfball teams will take the rational decision of giving the ball to the players most likely to score.

Korfball: A Model of Egalitarianism?

Table 3

Initiating Actions Taken During Team Play

Goals Goals scored attempted Penalties Centers Throw-ins

Teams W M W M W M W M W M

England 0 11 16 53 0 6 0 7 3 32 Vultrix 4 4 24 42 0 8 1 9 4 32 Mitcham 2 8 10 57 0 2 2 22 2 20 Cryst. P. 2 11 30 56 0 10 1 7 4 18 Nomads 1 6 16 24 0 6 1 12 18 24 Total N 9 40 106 232 0 32 5 57 31 126

Percentage 18 82 30 70 0 100 8 92 29 71

Analysis of conversion rates of attempted shots show that men are twice as likely to score as women (on average, men scored from 1:6 of their attempts while women scored from only 1: 12). Why should men be more successful at converting goals than women? The formal rules of korfball allow equal numbers of men and women in the scoring zone, and person-to-person guarding is by players of the same sex, so men gain no particular advantage on the grounds of strength and speed. The only likely physical advantage that the average male player might have over the average female player is height. A taller player will be nearer to the 1 0 4 6-in. basket than the shorter player, thus reducing the margin of error and making the shooting operation easier.

Nevertheless, this alone does not seem to be an adequate explanation for the degree of male dominance the data show. Why for example should men take all the penalty shots, where height is of minimal importance? It seems likely that traditional gender role status divisions, whereby men are expected to score while women fulfill supporting roles, permeate the playing patterns of korfball.

Interestingly, Crum (1988) notes that two of the strongest teams in his study showed equal distribution of status positions among men and women as measured by score tries. He suggests that in higher level korfball in Holland, status divisions between male and female players are likely to be less pronounced than in lower level korfball in Britain (personal communication, June 1986).

Regarding center passes, which are used to restart the game after a goal has been scored, there does not seem to be any physiological explanation for male dominance since strength is no advantage. There is no doubt that it is accepted practice for men to take the initiative in this aspect of play, where leadership and decision making are required. Physiological explanations hold more credence in explaining the throw-ins data, men's superior upper body strength giving their team a considerable advantage. Consequently, the pattern of male dominance of throw-ins can be explained by rational team decision-making processes.

Thus, an informal system of role differentiation by gender had become es- tablished whereby women acted as facilitators and supporters for the men to score and generally to take initiating action. As one female player put it, "I entered

150 Summetfield and White

the sport on the understanding that men and women could compete on equal terms but I realized that the boys on our team were dominating play and were only using us to feed them so they could shoot and score!"

All five teams studied had male captains and coaches, either elected by the players or appointed by committee. The main patterns of verbal interaction that took place before, during, and after the game revealed that the captains tended to dominate most of the verbal interactions in terms of calling the team together, giving instructions, and shouting encouragement. For the most part their authority was tacitly accepted by the other men and women players and only the Vultrix women complained about not getting enough of the play.

Male authority appeared to be based on a number of facts: superior playing skills, greater strength, speed, and height, and longer playing experience. Most of the men on the teams we studied had more experience playing korfball than the women, which supported their assumption of leadership roles of captains and coaches.

In all the teams, role differentiation by gender was clearly apparent. Men made long penetrating passes, waited under the basket in prime scoring positions, and took control in dead ball situations. Women made shorter connecting and assisting passing plays and generally took on retrieving and support roles. The Crystal Palace coach's halftime talk made the expectations associated with these roles explicit, and discussions with players revealed that they took these role defi- nitions for granted.

In summary, we can conclude from our analysis of team dynamics that korf- ball practice was characterized by patriarchal power relations. How is it that a sport that was designed to promote egalitarianism and challenge inequalities in gender relations appears to fail so miserably in practice to achieve these aims? Without doubt the a priori gender structures of the wider society reemerge in clearly defined microcosm in the playing of korfball. Is it not possible for specific sport forms to institutionalize more equal gender relations through constitutive rules? More fundamentally, can sport promote social change by creating subcul- tures and countercultures that allow people to experiment with and experience their gender in a way that challenges the existing social order? It seems that korfball as practiced in contemporary Britain does little to empower its women participants in their relations with men.

The evidence suggests that the practice of korfball reflects unequal gender relations rather than the egalitarian ideals on which it is based. If korfball players and administrators are ideologically committed to the realization of gender equality, they would need to initiate policies and strategies to achieve this end. For ex- ample, the rules could be changed to ensure that women participate in penalty shots, centers, and throw-ins. A system of co-captains (one woman and one man per team) might help women develop necessary leadership skills. Similarly, the paucity of women referees and coaches could be rectified by training programs designed to help women develop the appropriate skills, and by encouraging women to take up these roles. There would need to be a program of coach education and player education to generate awareness of the ways in which male dominance and female subservience manifest themselves in sport.

Were korfball to adopt these kind of strategies, it might be possible for it to become a model of egalitarianism . . . an aspect of sport culture wherein

Korfbalk A Model of Egalitarianism? 151

women exercised equal power and status in their relations with their male counterparts.

However, this study casts doubt upon the idea that the advancement of women can be facilitated by playing a mixed-team sport such as korfball in which the physical prowess of the average male defines him as a more valuable player than the average female. Korfball as practiced in Britain at present is not structured in a way that takes sufficient account of physical differences between men and women. Perhaps egalitarianism will only emerge if such differences are more fully taken into account in drawing up rules. Even so, there is still the likelihood that patriarchal power relations will surface when men and women play sport in mixed teams. The alternative way forward for women is through separate development whereby they are not judged by men's standards. The results of this study do not provide any easy solutions for those committed to creating a more egalitarian sports world.

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