Western Cape girls teams to do pre-season battle in Spar Hockey Festival
Early season bragging rights will be on the line when Western Cape girls’ hockey teams square off at the Spar Hockey Festival in Cape Town on Sunday.
The annual festival, designed to assist teams with their pre-season preparations, begins on Saturday for the u16 age group, with the first team action set to take place the following day.
The event has gone from strength to strength since its inception and is the fastest-growing pre-season festival for schoolgirls in the province.
Matches will be played at four venues: DF Malan, Stellenberg High School, Durbanville, and Bellville High School, with some of the province’s powerhouses, including HMS Bloemhof, Somerset College, Springfield Convent School, Herschel Girls School, and Stellenberg, in action.
Bloemhof impressed under head coach Jenny King in 2024, and they’ll be aiming to build on the momentum they created last season. Somerset College and Stellenberg, meanwhile, are teams with points to prove this season.
Somerset, under head coach Kyran Fortuin, played some exciting and entertaining hockey at the same festival last year before going on to win the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Festival and, later, the Challenger’s Cup.
After winning the Western Province Premier League in 2024, Stellenberg is brimming with confidence. Coach Paulene de Bruin’s girls are no longer the underdogs. Instead, they have several teams breathing down their necks, wanting to take them down.
The festival will also be an opportunity for Springfield Convent School to see some action a week before they host their pre-season tournament on 14-15 March.
Other top teams in attendance include Fairmont High School, Parel Vallei (PV), Paarl Girls’ High, and Wynberg Girls’ High School.
Both Parel Vallei and Paarl Girls’ High enter new dawns under the leadership of new coaches.
PV welcomed coach Wayne Coetzee, from Grey College, this year, and he’ll take charge of his first match against St Cyprian’s at 07:30 at DF Malan.
Paarl Girls’ High also has a new face in the dugout, with Marc Landman taking over the coaching reins from Anri Keevy for the 2025 season.
Both Fairmont and Wynberg had fairly decent campaigns in 2024, but starting on a high and gaining some early confidence will be a key goal for both.
Paarl side, La Rochelle, will also be in action, along with Worcester Gimnasium, Charlie Hofmeyr, and HTS Drostdy.
In total, 68 matches will be played on Sunday. It’s an all-action, all-out start to what promises to be a cracking 2025 schoolgirls’ hockey season in the Western Cape.
FIXTURES
@DF Malan
07:30 – Parel Vallei vs St Cyprian’s; 08:00 – Wynberg vs Paarl Girls; 08:30 – Bellville vs Fairmont; 09:00 – Parel Vallei vs Durbanville; 09:30 – Paarl
Girls vs St Cyprian’s; 10:00 – Wynberg vs Fairmont; 10:30 – Bellville vs Durbanville; 11:00 – St Cyprian’s vs Fairmont; 11:30 – Wynberg vs Parel Vallei; 12:00 – Paarl Girls vs Durbanville; 12:30 – Bellville vs St Cyprian’s; 13:00 – Parel Vallei vs Paarl Girls; 13:30 – Durbanville vs Fairmont; 14: 00 – Wynberg vs Bellville.
@Stellenberg
07:30 – Springfield vs Reddam House Constantia; 08:00 – Herschel vs Stellenberg; 08:30 – DF Malan vs Reddam House Constantia; 09:00 – Springfield vs Somerset College; 09:30 – HMS Bloemhof vs Stellenberg; 10:00 – Herschel vs Reddam House Constantia; 10:30 – DF Malan vs Somerset College; 11:00 – HMS Bloemhof vs Herschel; 11:30 – Stellenberg vs Springfield; 12:00 – Somerset College vs Reddam House Constantia; 12:30 – DF Malan vs Stellenberg; 13:00 – Springfield vs HMS Bloemhof; 13:30 – Herschel vs Somerset College; 14: 00 – DF Malan vs HMS Bloemhof
@Durbanville High School
07:30 – Langenhoven vs El Shaddai; 08:00 – Robertson vs Fish Hoek; 08:30 – Bredasdorp vs President; 09:00 – Langenhoven vs Fish Hoek; 09:30 – Robertson vs Bredasdorp; 10:00 – El Shaddai vs President; 10:30 – Langenhoven vs Robertson; 11:00 – Bredasdorp vs EL Shaddai; 11:30 – Fish Hoek vs President; 12:00 – El Shaddai vs Robertson; 12:30 – Langenhoven vs President; 13:00 – Bredasdorp vs Fish Hoek; 13:30 – Stellenbosch vs Milnerton; 14: 00 – Hugenote vs Melkbosstrand; 14:30 – Strand vs Tygerberg; 15:00 – Stellenbosch vs Melkbosstrand; 15:30 – Hugenote vs Strand; 16:00 – Milnerton vs Tygerberg; 16:30 – Stellenbosch vs Hugenote; 17:00 – Strand vs Milnterton; 17:30 – Melkbosstrand vs Tygerberg; 18:00 – Hugenote vs Milnerton; 18:30 – Strand vs Melkbosstrand; 19:00 – Stellenbosch vs Tygerberg.
@Bellville High
07:30 -Worcester Gimnasium vs Settlers; 08:00 – Curro Durbanville vs Charlie Hofmeyr; 08:30 – La Rochelle vs Hermanus; 09:00 – HTS Drostdy vs Swartland; 09:30 – Worcester Gimnasium vs Charlie Hofmeyr; 10:00 – Curro Durbanville vs Hermanus; 10:30 -La Rochelle vs Swartland; 11:00 – HTS Drostdy vs Settlers; 11:30 – Worcester Gimnasium vs Hermanus; 12:00 – Curro Durbanville vs Swartland; 12:30 – La Rochelle vs Settlers; 13:00 – HTS Drostdy vs Charlie Hofmeyr; 13:30 – Worcester Gimnasium vs Swartland; 14: 00 – Curro Durbanville vs Settlers; 14:30 – La Rochelle vs Charlie Hofmeyr; 15:00 – HTS Drostdy vs Hermanus.
