The stage is set for the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament
This year’s edition of the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament in Cape Town will feature an astounding 96 teams and over 300 hockey matches.
The event, one of the biggest Easter hockey festivals in the country, features both boys’ and girls’ teams, and runs from Wednesday, 2 April, to Saturday, 5 April.
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The tournament includes teams from South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, which ensures interesting contrasts in playing styles.
Eight venues will be used for the jam-packed programme, including the Hartleyvale A and B turfs, Western Province Cricket Club‘s two fields, Pinelands High School, Rustenburg Girls’ High, Wynberg Girls’ High, and Herschel Girls School.
“We are excited for this year’s tournament. It’s an exciting time to be hosting the event again,” tournament director Robert Goslett told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“This year is unique and different,” he explained. “We have a different pool structure, which makes the competition exciting.”
The organisers have moved away from the traditional five-teams-in-a-pool formula and have instead opted for a quicker group stage and knockout rounds.
For 2025, there are 16 boys’ and 16 girls’ pools, with only three teams in each pool, and two group matches on the opening day.
After day one, the teams will move into the Cup, Plate, Shield, Super Bowl, Bowl, and Silver sections, depending on their results.
Last year’s winners in the boys section, Paarl Gimnasium, will not be in action this year but have instead sent an invitational side to the event.
Gim defeated Worcester Gimnasium 2-1 in the 2024 final to retain the title they had also won in 2023.
Somerset College was the girls’ champion last year. They defeated Middelburg Hoërskool 2-0 in the final, courtesy of an Alexia Kontopirakis double.
This year, though, Somerset College will be in Johannesburg to contest the St Mary’s Hockey Festival.
The absence of both defending champions adds intrigue to the event with the knowledge that new winners will be crowned.
Some of the front runners in the boys’ section include Worcester Gimnasium, Stellenberg High School, Fairmont High School, and Namibia’s Windhoek Gimnasium.
Some of the Western Cape’s hockey powerhouses have entered invitational sides, including Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG), South African College High School (SACS), Rondebosch Boys’ High, Somerset College and Paarl Boys’ High.
Newcomers, Hoërskool Upington, will also hope to make their presence felt.
The girls’ section is wide open and unpredictable. Middelburg caused shockwaves last year, but they’ll also be missing the tournament, which further opens the door for different teams to take a crack at gold.
Among the quality sides in action are Stellenberg High, La Rochelle Girls’ High School, Wynberg Girls’ High, Hoërskool Durbanville, and Fairmont High, who impressed at the York High Festival over the past weekend.
Woodridge College, Stirling High School, Kingswood College, and Hudson Park will represent Eastern Cape interests at the event.
The international teams will also bring a different dimension to the festival. Do they have the firepower to go all the way and claim top honours?
GROUPS
BOYS
Pool 1: Worcester Gimnasium, St John’s (Zimbabwe), Penryn College.
Pool 2: Stellenberg High School, Linden, Middelburg Hoerskool.
Pool 3: Upington, Nelspruit, Oudtshoorn.
Pool 4: Fairmont High, Northcliff, St Dunstan’s College.
Pool 5: Durbanville, Bridge House, St Dominic’s College.
Pool 6: Paul Roos Invitational, Windhoek, Kempton Park.
Pool 7: Ashton College, Woodridge College, Robertson.
Pool 8: SACS Invitational, Glenwood House, Hugenote.
Pool 9: Rondebosch Boys’ High Invitational, Pro-Ed Akademie, Charlie Hofmeyr.
Pool 10: Hermanus, Zwartkop, Curro Durbanville.
Pool 11: Monument, Strand, Somerset College Invitational.
Pool 12: Paarl Gimnasium Invitational, Hudson Park, Windhoek Gimnasium.
Pool 13: Kingswood College, DF Malan, Redhill School.
Pool 14: Eldoraigne, Outeniqua, HTS Drostdy.
Pool 15: Langenhoven Gimnasium, Peterhouse, Stellenbosch Hoerskool.
Pool 16: Paarl Boys’ High Invitational, Stirling High, Punt.
GIRLS
Pool 1: Stellenberg High School, Worcester Gimnasium, Rustenburg Girls’ Invitational.
Pool 2: Monument, Robertson, Brackenfell.
Pool 3: Northcliff, Strand, Durbanville Invitational.
Pool 4: Hudson Park, Nelspruit, Fairmont Invitational.
Pool 5: Rustenburg Girls’ High School, Ashton College, St Dunstan’s College.
Pool 6: Kempton Park, Bridge House, Stellenberg Invitational.
Pool 7: Fairmont High, Linden, Upington.
Pool 8: Peterhouse, Windhoek Gimnasium, Langa Hockey Club.
Pool 9: St Paul’s College, La Rochelle, Langenhoven Gimnasium.
Pool 10: York High, Durbanville, St Dominic’s College.
Pool 11: EG Jansen, Stirling High, Oudtshoorn.
Pool 12: Woodridge College, Wynberg Girls’ High, Charlie Hofmeyr.
Pool 13: Outeniqua, Hermanus, Curro Durbanville.
Pool 14: Pro-Ed Akademie, Hugenote, DF Malan.
Pool 15: Paarl Gimnasium Invitational, Kingswood College, Punt.
Pool 16: Glenwood House, Eldoraigne, HTS Drostdy.
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