Two times competitor in the U19 Junior World Cup (Ureterp and Roden, Holland), Two times competitor in the Youth World Cup (Apeldoorn, Holland), Competitor in the World championships under 23 and on top of that a number international games.

It will be clear that the world championships were the highlight in this list. Quite an adventure indeed to be selected for the Dutch national team, travel to the other side of the world to play in the world championships and be awarded the gold medal. In one word: AMAZING!

However, my first experience in international korfball was to compete in the U19 Junior World Cup with the talents team North. I was twice selected to compete in this tournament. The first year the tournament took place in Ureterp (2003) and the year after a bit closer to home in Roden (2004). The Roden tournament was also very special personally as I had a place in the regular squad, was given the captains band and was handed the cup at the end.

What I find special about the U19 Junior World Cup is that it is an international tournament where you get to play teams from countries you would not normally encounter. You have no idea they play korfball in some of these places. I have played games against South-Africa, Australia and Catalonia; countries I didn’t realise existed in the korfball world. And in some cases the level of quality these teams play at is very surprising. For example the Chinese Taipei team who we managed to beat in the final. It was not an easy match as the Taiwanese players are incredibly quick and agile. What stood out most for us was their ability to jump, unbelievable. The personal contact with the other competing countries is during the Junior World Cup also phenomenal, something that really stayed with me from this tournament.

Chinese Taipei has gotten better through the years. During the World Cup in Taiwan they surprisingly managed to beat the Belgium team. They had to admit defeat against us in the final but they managed to get to that final. Something that plays a role here is the fact that we as Dutch national team have made regular visits to Taiwan in order to stimulate their competitive level.
On top of that I now get to have the experience to play in the same team as a Taiwanese player. This season one of the best Taiwanese players is playing in my team at Nic./Alfa College.

In short, international korfball continues to develop more and more.
To all the competitors in the U19 Junior World Cup 2010 I would say: Good Luck and Enjoy yourself!
Very best Annelies Schuitema