Hosts ready for epic 22nd edition of the St Mary’s Hockey Festival
The road leads to St Mary’s Waverley, in Johannesburg, for 32 of the nation’s top hockey-playing girls’ schools, who will be contesting the annual St Mary’s Hockey Festival from Thursday.
The hockey showcase was launched in 2000 with just 12 teams and has grown exponentially over the years to become, arguably, the most prestigious girls’ hockey event on the South African sporting calendar.
Forty-nine festival participants have gone on to represent South Africa, and another two have donned the colours of Namibia, on the international stage.
Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).
Defending champions Eunice heads into the festival hunting back-to-back titles. The Bloemfontein team will be looking to assert itself in Pool A, which also includes the inaugural champions, Pretoria High School for Girls.
The hosts, St Mary’s Waverley, have a point to prove in Pool B. They’re on the hunt for a sixth title, but last won it in 2011.
They won’t have things easy and will have to fight their way past, among others, DSG Makhanda, Paarl Girls’ High, high-flying St Anne’s, and St Mary’s DSG, Pretoria, also a previous winner.
Pool C is led by the seven-time champions Oranje. Since capturing the title for the first time in 2008, Oranje has been a dominant force. Between 2014 and 2017, they produced an unprecedented run of four consecutive titles. Another potential streak, between 2019 and 2022, was broken by Covid-19.
While Oranje was rampant in the Balling Hockey Festival and the Greg Beling Festival earlier this season, winning all of their games comfortably, another Greg Beling participant that shone was Rhenish, who are also in Pool C. They were convincing winners of all of their games, including a big 5-1 win over Eunice.
Fellow Pool C participants, Somerset College, this past weekend, lifted the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament title.
Meanwhile, Pool D is hard to call. Collegiate Girls’ High School opens their challenge for a place in the history books with an outing against Our Lady of Fatima DCS.
Paarl Gimnasium‘s quest begins against the St Mary’s Waverley Festival XI, while former finalists, St Stithians Girls College, go up against Pearson High School.
Later, Saints will face the two-time champions (2007 and 2018) St Mary’s DSG, Kloof.
The hosts’ co-captains, Tyla Gibbs and Amy Smith, have extended a welcome to all festival attendees, saying: “We, as the captains and players of St Mary’s School, are delighted to welcome teachers, coaches, parents, and, most importantly, players to our school.
“The St Mary’s Hockey Festival is, undoubtedly, the best tournament of the season! Each and every one of you has worked so hard to get to this point, so go out and make the most of this experience.”
Pool A: Eunice High School; Herschel Girls School; Clarendon High School for Girls; Pretoria High School for Girls; Hoërskool Meisieskool Bloemhof; Roedean School (SA); Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool, Pretoria; DF Malan.
Pool B: St Mary’s Waverley 1st XI; Durban Girls’ College; Paarl Girls’ High School; Menlopark; The Wykeham Collegiate; Windhoek High School; St Anne’s Diocesan College; St Mary’s DSG, Pretoria.
Pool C: Oranje; Hoërskool Garsfontein; Rhenish Girls’ High School; St John’s DSG; St Andrew’s School for Girls; Hoërskool Waterkloof; Somerset College; Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School,
Pool D: Collegiate Girls’ High School; Paarl Gimnasium; St Stithians Girls College; St Mary’s DSG, Kloof; St Cyprian’s School; Pearson High School; St Mary’s Waverley Festival XI; Our Lady of Fatima.
Fixtures | Day 1
nt_header_1 | nt_header_2 | nt_header_3 | nt_header_4 | nt_header_5 |
---|---|---|---|---|
7:45 | Garsfontein | vs | Somerset College | Nathan Field |
7:45 | Eunice | vs | DF Malan | Howell Hub |
8:10 | Oranje | vs | Pietermaritzburg Girls' High | Nathan Field |
8:10 | Herschel | vs | Affies | Howell Hub |
8:35 | Rhenish | vs | Waterkloof | Nathan Field |
8:35 | Clarendon | vs | Roedean | Howell Hub |
9:00 | St John's DSG | vs | St Andrew's School for Girls | Nathan Field |
9:00 | Pretoria High School | vs | HMS Bloemhof | Howell Hub |
9:30 | St Mary's Waverley | vs | St Mary's DSG | Nathan Field |
9:30 | Collegiate | vs | Our Lady Fatima | Howell Hub |
9:55 | Paarl Gimnasium | vs | St Mary's Waverley | Nathan Field |
9:55 | Durban Girls College | vs | St Anne's DSG | Howell Hub |
10:20 | St Stithians College | vs | Pearson | Nathan Field |
10:20 | Paarl Girls' High | vs | Hoërskool Windhoek | Howell Hub |
10:45 | St Mary's Kloof | vs | St Cyprian's | Nathan Field |
10:45 | Menlopark | vs | Wykeham Collegiate | Howell Hub |
11:15 | Eunice | vs | Affies | Nathan Field |
11:15 | Oranje | vs | Somerset College | Howell Hub |
11:40 | St Mary's Waverley | vs | St Anne's DSG | Nathan Field |
11:40 | Pietermaritzburg Girls High | vs | Waterkloof | Howell Hub |
12:05 | DF Malan | vs | Roedean | Nathan Field |
12:05 | Garsfontein | vs | St Andrew's School for Girls | Howell Hub |
12:30 | Herschel | vs | HMS Bloemhof | Nathan Field |
12:30 | Rhenish | vs | St John's DSG | Howell Hub |
13:00 | Collegiate | vs | St Mary's Waverley Inv | Nathan Field |
13:00 | Clarendon | vs | Pretoria High School for Girls | Howell Hub |
13:25 | St Mary's Pretoria | vs | Hoërskool Windhoek | Nathan Field |
13:25 | Our Lady Fatima | vs | Pearson | Howell Hub |
13:50 | Durban Girls College | vs | Wykeham Collegiate | Nathan Field |
13:50 | Paarl Gimnasium | vs | St Cyprian's | Howell Hub |
14:15 | Oranje | vs | Waterkloof | Nathan Field |
14:15 | St Stithians College | vs | St Mary's Kloof | Howell Hub |
14:40 | Paarl Girls' High | vs | Menlopark | Nathan Field |
14:45 | Eunice | vs | Roedean | Howell Hub |
15:05 | Somerset College | vs | St Andrew's School for Girls | Nathan Field |
15:10 | Affies | vs | HMS Bloemhof | Howell Hub |
15:30 | Pietermaritzburg Girls High | vs | St John's DSG | Nathan Field |
15:35 | DF Malan | vs | Pretoria High School for Girls | Howell Hub |
15:55 | Garsfontein | vs | Rhenish | Nathan Field |
16:00 | Herschel | vs | Clarendon | Howell Hub |
16:20 | Collegiate | vs | Pearson | Nathan Field |
16:30 | St Mary's Waverley | vs | Hoërskool Windhoek | Howell Hub |
16:45 | St Anne's DSG | vs | Wykeham Collegiate | Nathan Field |
16:55 | St Mary's Waverley Inv | vs | St Cyprian's | Howell Hub |
17:10 | Our Lady Fatima | vs | St Mary's Kloof | Nathan Field |
17:20 | St Mary's Pretoria | vs | Menlopark | Nathan Field |
17:45 | Durban Girls College | vs | Paarl Girls' High | Nathan Field |
18:15 | Eunice | vs | HMS Bloemhof | Nathan Field |
18:40 | Pearson | vs | St Mary's Waverley Inv | Nathan Field |
19:05 | St Mary's Waverley | vs | Wykeham Collegiate | Nathan Field |
19:30 | Paarl Gimnasium | vs | St Stithians College | Nathan Field |
20:00 | St Anne's DSG | vs | Paarl Girls' High | Nathan Field |
20:25 | St Mary's Pretoria | vs | Durban Girls College | Nathan Field |
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