No team unscathed as keen competition highlights Balling Festival
The coaches and technical staff who made the trip to Bethlehem for the 11th edition of the Balling Hockey Festival will journey back to their bases on Sunday with a better idea of where their teams stand as they prepare for the 2024 hockey season.
The annual showpiece included many of the top teams in the country, but none emerged with a clean record
Oranje sailed through the first three days, winning all of their games. That run was halted, though, by St Mary’s DSG on Sunday morning when the girls from Kloof, in KwaZulu-Natal, beat the Bloemfontein powerhouse 2-1 in a much-anticipated clash.
Unfortunately for Union High School, they failed to record a win over the four days of competition. However, they played well against St Dominic’s and ended their festival with an encouraging draw. That result was routine for St Dominic’s. They drew all four of their matches.
Emile Odendaal, the festival director, was also there with The Wykeham Collegiate (TWC), whom he started coaching last month. One of his goals was to help turn around the school’s hockey programme, and the Pietermaritzburg school certainly made progress during the event. They finished on a high note, with a 3-2 win over Menlopark, which was the team that kept St Mary’s from going undefeated.
Eunice was another side that finished strongly. Coach Nika Coertzen’s side registered a 4-0 win over Noordheuwel. The girls from Krugersdorp experienced all three results over the four days they spent at Voortrekker and will travel back to Gauteng with their heads held high.
Sasolburg finished their campaign with a 0-0 draw against Noordheuwel’s archrivals, Monument. That was also the outcome of the game between St Dominic’s and St John’s DSG. Draws don’t sting like losses, so none of the four teams will be too dispirited by those results.
The Balling Festival, the first of the 2025 season, is now in the books. The hockey season is here and the action will soon come thick and fast. Buckle up!
RESULTS
Oranje 1st XI 1-2 St Mary’s
Oranje 2nd XI 4-1 Witteberg
Union 1-1 St Dominic’s
Our Lady of Fatima 1-1 Oranje 1st XI
TWC 3-2 Menlopark
Eunice 4-0 Noordheuwel
Sasolburg 0-0 Monument
Oranje 2nd XI 2-0 Goudveld
St Dominic’s 0-0 St John’s
