Guschkie Top Schools tournament kicks off on Thursday
The 2024 Guschkie Top Schools Hockey Tournament bursts into action early on the morning of Thursday, 8 August, with top high school and primary school teams taking to the turf.
Grey College hosts the 1st XI event, which will be played on the Grey College and Eunice AstroTurfs. A majority of the games, including the final, take place at Grey.
Tournament Director and Director Hockey at Grey, Wayne Coetzee, said in a welcome message: “It is a great privilege for Grey College to be hosting all the participating schools. The Guschkie tournament has become an important end to the hockey season, and it gives us all an opportunity to showcase the talents that were developed during the season.
“The spirit of the Guschkie tournament encourages fairness, sportsmanship, and comradeship. The boys must go out and form lasting friendships, which can affect their lives.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the organisers of the tournament, and to thank all the coaches and managers for giving up your precious time to help develop your men,” Coetzee said.
The tournament opens with a doubleheader on Thursday morning, with Worcester Gimnasium taking on DF Malan in an all-Western Cape clash at Grey, while Northwood, the defending champions, open their title defence at Eunice against St Andrew’s School.
Northwood beat Grey 2-0 in last year’s final. James Read, who was named the Defender of the Tournament, returns as captain of the Knights this time around.
Eldoraigne, whose hockey programme is ascending, face a tough task when they meet the hosts in the day’s third match.
Grey has enjoyed a strong season. They were victorious in all of their pre-season matches and then almost went unbeaten through the Tony Godding Festival losing only to St Andrew’s College on the final day.
They’ve been in good form and recently triumphed over their high-flying rivals, Grey High School, winning 1-0 in Bloemfontein.
After the Guschkie Tournament, they will have one more assignment on their schedule and it’s a tough one, taking on Paul Roos Gimnasium in Stellenbosch next week.
Somerset College will begin their challenge with an 11:00 game against Menlopark.
The second day of the tournament will see eight matches, including the quarterfinals, being played. Then, on Saturday, the event will conclude with the final being played under the lights at 17:30.
FIXTURES
Thursday
08:00 – Worcester Gim vs DF Malan
08:00 – Northwood vs St Andrew’s School (Eunice)
09:30 – Grey College vs Eldoraigne
11:00 – Somerset vs Menlopark
12:30 – Saints vs Worcester Gim
14:00 – DF Malan v Northwood
15:30 – Menlopark vs Eldoraigne
17:00 – Grey College vs Somerset College
FRIDAY
08:00 – St Andrew’s School vs DF Malan
08:00 – Menlopark vs Grey College (Eunice)
09:30 – Worcester Gim vs Northwood
11:00 – Somerset College vs Eldoraigne
13:30 – Quarterfinal 1 (A1 vs B3)
15:00 – Quarterfinal 2 (A3 vs B1)
16:30 – Quarterfinal 3 (B2 vs A4)
18:00 – Quarterfinal 4 (B4 vs A2)
SATURDAY
8:30 – Loser 2 vs Loser 4
08:30 – Loser 1 vs Loser 3
10:15 – Winner 1 vs Winner 3
12:00 – Winner 2 vs Winner 4
13:45 – 5th/6th playoff
13:45 – 7th/8th playoff (Eunice)
15:30 – 3rd/4th playoff
17:30 – Final
