Top hockey outfits primed for St Stithians Easter Festival
Eight of the country’s most exciting hockey-playing girls’ schools will join St Stithians College for the annual Standard Bank St Stithians Easter Hockey Festival, which runs from the 16th to the 19th of April at St Stithians College.
The hockey showpiece forms part of a bigger sporting festival that includes rugby, football, netball, squash and tennis.
The sporting extravaganza, now in its 41st year, was launched in 1984 and has run under different themes each year. This year it flies a banner that reads: A Family of Schools. A School for Family.
According to the institution, the festival attracts approximately 2500 participants and over 50,000 spectators at the venue. Thousands more tune in through the Supersport Schools App, which streams most of the events. For those planning to attend in person, the entry fee is R70 per visitor per day.
The Blue and Red Astros will host 10 girls’ teams, who will alternate pitches with the boys. St Stithians’ two teams, the St Stithians College First XI and the St Stithians Festival XI, will be joined by Beaulieu College, Epworth School, Garsfontein, DSG Makhanda, Menlopark, Voortrekker Bethlehem, Waterkloof and Springfield. A St Stithians Ladies’ Alumni team will also make an appearance on Thursday afternoon.
The opening girls’ match features Beaulieu and Epworth School, kicking off at 12:30 on the Blue Astro. It will be followed by five more encounters, with the match between Springfield and Waterkloof wrapping up Day 1 proceedings.
Beaulieu will lock horns with the other host team, the St Stithians Festival XI, in the first contest scheduled for Thursday morning. That tie will be followed by 10 more matches, with the second day winding down with a fixture between the St Stithians First XI and DSG Makhanda.
Teams will take a break on Good Friday, before resuming the festival with an encounter between Epworth School and Menlopark on Saturday morning. The curtain will come down on the festival , when powerhouses St Stithians First XI and Garsfontein face off at 18:00.
Hockey fans can indeed expect high-quality contests as the 2025 season shifts into high gear.
Fixtures:
Wednesday:
12:30 – Beaulieu vs Epworth School, 13:30 – Garsfontein vs DSG Makhanda, 14:30 – St Stithians College Festival XI vs Menlopark, 18:00 – St Stithians College vs Voortrekker (Bethlehem), 19:00 – Springfield vs Waterkloof
Thursday:
07:30 – St Stithians College Festival XI vs Beaulieu, 07:45 – Garsfontein vs Epworth School, 08:45 – Menlopark vs Voortrekker (Bethlehem), 09:45 – St Stithians College vs Springfield, 12:15 – Waterkloof vs DSG Makhanda, 13:00 – St Stithians College Festival XI vs Epworth School, 14:15 – Garsfontein vs Voortrekker (Bethlehem), 14:30 – Menlopark vs Springfield, 15:30 – Waterkloof vs Beaulieu, 16:30 – St Stithians College Festival XI vs Alumni ladies, 19:00 – St Stithians College vs DSG Makhanda
Saturday:
08:00 – Epworth School vs Menlopark, 08:45 – Waterkloof vs Voortrekker (Bethlehem), 10:15 – St Stithians College Festival XI vs Springfield, 11:00 – St Stithians College vs Epworth School, 12:15 – Beaulieu vs DSG Makhanda, St Stithians College vs Waterkloof, 14:45 – Springfield vs Garsfontein, 15:30 – Menlopark vs DSG Makhanda, 15:45 – Beaulieu vs Voortrekker (Bethlehem), 18:00 – St Stithians College vs Garsfontein.
