Anna Jeanes, Chair of the English Korfball Association (EKA) has the pleasure of announcing that another volunteer will be joining the Executive Committee. Craig Gosling has been in discussions with Jeanes about the role of Competitions Officer for England Korfball, and has agreed to join the existing committee members.
Craig Gosling, newly appointed to the EKA Executive Committee
Some people will already know Gosling through his work for korfball over years, most recently on the PR & Marketing sub-committee of the EKA. But Gosling's involvement with Korfball started many years ago, back in 1995 as a junior player with Invicta. After 9 years playing through all the youth groups and into National League, Gosling had a brief stint at Kingfishers before setting off to University in Birmingham.
Whilst at University, Gosling maintained his involvement in korfball, playing for Castle and Nottingham in the Premier League and also Trekvogels in the Netherlands, whilst representing the British Student Korfball Squad from 2004-08. Most recently, Gosling moved to London and joined Mitcham KC where he has enjoyed Europa Shield events in both Catalonia and Hungary and is currently training with the England Senior Squad.
However, Gosling's passion for korfball has led to him not only playing, but also founding Aston University and Birmingham City Korfball Clubs whilst still at University. Gosling was a co-founder of the West Midlands Korfball Association and went on to holding the majority of positions including Chairman, Head Coach, Secretary and League organiser.
Specifically relating to the task in hand, Gosling already has much experience in being involved in successful competitions and events. He was a co-organiser of the 2008 Counties and 2009 KorfBALL, helped organised BUCS 2008, 2009 and 2010, co-founded the Midlands Regional League and also helped organise the 3 Aston University pre-BUCS tournaments where both the shot clock and 2 point line have been experimented.
With the Competitions Office post having been vacant in recent months, it is great news that Gosling is in a position to oversee existing competitions and drive forward new initiatives. It is early days, but Gosling will be looking to apply his professional approach to every England Korfball Competitions, whilst breaking ground in new areas, such as with the implementation of the shot clock. Having started Korfball as a junior himself, Gosling knows the value of Youth Competitions and is keen to reinvigorate events for England Korfball Youth.