Top quality on show at Prestige Champions Cup
The schools’ hockey season officially gets underway in late February, but some of the country’s top players have already laced up and are back on the artificial turf.
The pre-season is in full swing in the Western Cape, with the annual Prestige Champions Cup set to take place this weekend.
The independent tournament, in its second edition, was carefully designed to offer players in the Boland region, its surrounding areas, and from further afield high-quality pre-season game time.
The event has a franchise-style feel, and players will ply their respective trades for either the Dolphins, Dragons, Macaws, or Otters.
“With it being the second tournament on the back of a successful 2025 event, there was no doubt in my mind that it had to continue,” tournament director Scott Hendricks told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“The idea came about when I saw there was a gap in nearly all the schools’ calendars nationwide. It’s the first time players will get to play matches because pre-season at their schools only starts in March.”
The tournament has u14, u16, and u19 age groups. Matches will be played at Rhenish Girls’ High, HMS Bloemhof, and Hoërskool Stellenbosch.
The event also attracts some of the best players and coaches in the school game, including the trio of Paarl Gimnasium coaches, Danelle van Zyl, Jacques Grobler, and Ian Naude.
Chris Gerber, who led Rhenish Girls’ High to a superb season in 2025, will be in the mix alongside coach Marc Landman, from Paarl Girls’ High, and Reddam House Constantia‘s Chris Hibbert.
It’s fair to say that there’s an A-list of players involved.
Alanda Rademeyer, who caused havoc while inspiring Paarl Gim to victory at the Super 12 last year, needs no introduction, and she’ll run out for the defending champions, the Macaws.
Chelsey Woolf and Sarah-Ellen Groenewald, from Rhenish, will represent the Otters, while their school teammate, Pippa Viljoen, will feature for the Dragons.
Other big names involved include Anya Swanepoel and Karli van Deventer (Paarl Gim), Chelsey McGregor (St Cyprian’s), Zani Boezaart, Emeri Botes (HMS Bloemhof), and Emma Hibbert (Reddam).
There’s some Northern Gauteng and Eastern Cape flavour added to the tournament with Lenique Vogel, from Hoërskool Waterkloof, also part of the action.
The skillful Kerrin Gillies, from Collegiate Girls’ High, the explosive Lucy Holderness, from DSG Makhanda, and Pearson High‘s Lisa de Villiers will also make their way to the Cape for the event.
“I am very happy with the quality,” Hendricks said.
“It has become an important event for coaches and players, as they see it as a huge opportunity to get ahead of the curve.”
When asked what spectators can expect, he said: “Electric, fast-paced, and tactical chess-match-styled games that require players to think and push themselves to be better all round. We are looking forward to what promises to be a powerhouse of a tournament.”
For more information and fixtures, click HERE.
