SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Durban Central Regional - 3 Schools Trust: Sunday 22 March

Just over midway in the 2026 SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge, teams participating in the Durban Central Regional take to the turf for the sixth regional, at 3 Schools Trust on Sunday 22 March, hosted by St Henry’s Marist College.

St Henry’s welcomes Durban Girls’ College; Durban Girls’ High School; Inanda Seminary Secondary School; a combined team representing Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu and defending champs, Maris Stella School. 

Six schools will be vying for the title in this year’s challenge, with home team - St Henry’s taking on Durban Girls’ College in the opening fixture. The first game gets underway at 8am, with all of the 15 round robin games lasting 25 minutes. During the round robin, running time is allocated for the games, except for the final that allows for a penalty shoot-out if the concluding game ends in a draw. 

Leading up to the final, victorious teams will be awarded 4 points on their log, while teams that tie will both earn the same number of points. A goalless draw will see each team adding 1 point to their tally, while a game tied with goals will each earn 2 points. A loss registers zero points. Once all the games have been played, the top two teams will meet for the regional final. 

Four teams have already earned their spot for this year’s Grand Finals which takes place at St Mary’s D.S.G. in July. First to book their place was Our Lady of Fatima (DBN North Regional) followed by Amanzimtoti High School (DBN South Regional); St John’s D.S.G. (PMB Central Regional) and St Anne’s Diocesan College (PMB North Regional). Teams in the Highway area will be duelling it out the prior day (Saturday 21 March) at Westville Girls’ High School. The final four spots will be revealed as the challenge continues to travel around KZN in May. 

Three teams playing in this regional have advanced to the Grand Finals. Durban Girls’ College dominated with 14 wins since the tournament’s inception in 2011. Maris Stella broke their long standing record, earning their first Grand Finals appearance last year. Durban Girls’ High School went on to the Grand Finals three times when they participated in the Durban South Regional in the early days of the tournament. 

Matrics participating in the challenge will have the opportunity to win a year’s bursary at eta College, a leading Sport Science, Coaching and Management tertiary institution in Durban. The bursary will be awarded at the Grand Finals.

All the games will be livestreamed on the SuperSport Schools app, so if you can’t get to the sidelines, you can catch all the action online.

For more information, follow the tournament on Facebook: SparSchoolGirlsHockeyTournament and Instagram sparkznhockey or TikTok spar.kzn.hockey or use the hashtags: #ChixWithStix; #HeartoftheCommunity; #SuperLocal; #MyKZNSPAR #MySPAR

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Highway Regional - Westville Girls’ High School: Saturday 21 March

Nearing the halfway mark, Westville Girls’ High School hosts the Highway Regional, the fifth regional out of ten in the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge on their astro turf on Saturday 21 March.

In one of the more competitive regions, eight hopeful teams walk on to the pitch in the hopes of claiming the Highway trophy. One-time winners, Westville Girls’ High School will lead the charge with home ground advantage, taking on Curro Hillcrest; Gelofte Skool; Hillcrest High School; Kloof High School; Pinetown High School; defending champs, St Mary’s D.S.G and Thomas More College.

The teams will be split into two pools for this tournament, with St Mary’s D.S.G.; Hillcrest; Westville Girls’ and Gelofte being drawn in Pool A and Thomas More; Curro; Kloof and Pinetown filling out Pool B. All games will be a quickfire 20 minutes long. Once the pool games are all wrapped up, the teams will then meet in a cross-pool playoff, with the semi-finalists playing an extra game. 

Games tip off early at 7.30 with the defending champions, St Mary’s D.S.G. taking on Gelofte Skool in the opening fixture. St Mary’s have lifted the Highway Regional trophy an impressive 14 times and also gone on to win the overall title on seven occasions since the tournament began in 2011.

In the build up to the final, after each game the teams will be awarded points on their logs. A win results in 4 points, while a draw with goals adds 2 points to the team’s tally, a goalless draw only increases your total by 1 point while a goalless draw registers zero points. 

Five more tournaments are still to be played in the 16th challenge. Currently four teams have secured their berth at the Grand Finals that will be taking place at St Mary’s D.S.G. in July. They are Our Lady of Fatima (DBN North Regional) followed by Amanzimtoti High School (DBN South Regional); St John’s D.S.G. (PMB Central Regional) and St Anne’s Diocesan College (PMB North Regional).

At each of the regionals, Matrics participating in the challenge can enter a lucky draw with the possibility of winning a year’s bursary at eta College, a leading Sport Science, Coaching and Management tertiary institution in Durban. The bursary will be awarded at the Grand Finals.

If you are unable to get to watch the action live, you can catch the action on SuperSport Schools with all the games being on the SuperSport Schools app.

For more information, follow the tournament on Facebook: SparSchoolGirlsHockeyTournament and Instagram sparkznhockey or TikTok spar.kzn.hockey or use the hashtags: #ChixWithStix; #HeartoftheCommunity; #SuperLocal; #MyKZNSPAR #MySPAR

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Pietermaritzburg North Regional - St Anne’s Diocesan College: Sunday 15 March

A familiar name secured victory in spectacular fashion at the Pietermaritzburg North Regional, with host school St Anne’s Diocesan College holding the trophy aloft at the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge on Sunday 15 March. 

The defending champs, St Anne’s managed to defeat The Wykeham Collegiate in the regional final, earning their twelfth title. Having won their earlier round robin game, St Anne’s walked on as favourites meeting long-time rivals, Wykeham. The final consisted of two 15 minute halves, with a 5 minute half time. The home team had a flawless first half, netting two well crafted goals. Their first was off a short corner awarded after nearly 5 minutes of play. Vice-Captain, Willow Crawford capitalised on being in the right place at the right time after their set piece didn’t quite go according to plan. 

Seven minutes later, Belle Hofmeyr added one more after a quick free hit just outside the circle was rapidly sent her way. Wasting no time, Hofmeyr, lurking just inside the circle, rerouted the pass goalwards, beyond Elam Ndakisa, keeper for The Wykeham Collegiate, knocking in the defending champs second. 

In the second half, St Anne’s still seemed to dominate with magical bursts in the Wykeham’s circle. Ndakisa was up for the challenge, a third of the way through the second half, her skill was put to the test. The first, the St Anne’s attacker was meters away from the right hand post, Ndakisa bearing down on her, the solo striker sent the ball on its way, but the ball veered right. Two minutes later, an impressive run down the left found St Anne’s in a good position with numbers in the circle. The ball was worked to the top of the D, with a St Anne’s forward extending her stick out and deflecting the ball towards the left-hand post. In desperation, Ndakisa just managed to stop the ball sliding her right foot out and edging it out of danger. 

Wykeham perked up tremendously after their great defending. With eight minutes remaining, Hannah van Wyk found herself in space, stretching her legs, charging towards the St Anne’s goals. Finding herself in a one-on-one situation, quick thinking, keeper for the home team, Lili-Anna James calmly came right out to meet van Wyk, sliding neatly, halting the brave attempt. 

With just over three minutes left in the final, Wykeham earned a well-deserved short corner, The ball flew up to the top of the circle, then was passed left under the stick of the first striker. The player to the left redirected the ball to the right where McKenzie Du Bourg was set up to fire in a shot from just inside the circle. The scoreline was now on 2-1. 

The tempo of the visitors was raised some more, with mounting pressure Wykeham again pierced into St Anne’s circle, looking severely threatening but time was not on their side, the final whistle sounded securing victory for St Anne’s. 

Leading up to the final, Courtney van Wyngaard, a Grade 11 student from Riverwood College was over the moon when she won a Princess Stick in the lucky draw prize. Delighted with her new treasure, she unwrapped it and went off to play with it. 

Young Jordan Licen from Treverton College was acknowledged for his decisive decisions with the whistle and was presented with the Umpire of the Day award. 

St Anne’s Diocesan College is the fourth team to reserve a place at the Grand Finals that will be taking place at St Mary’s D.S.G. in July. Ten teams in total from around KZN will converge for the Finals. The three teams that have secured their spot already are Our Lady of Fatima (DBN North Regional); Amanzimtoti High School (DBN South Regional) and most recently, St John’s D.S.G. (PMB Central Regional). 

Results

Regional Final

St Anne’s Diocesan College 2 vs The Wykeham Collegiate 1

Round Robin Results

1 St Anne’s Diocesan College 16pts; 2 The Wykeham Collegiate 12pts; 3 Howick High School 8pts; 4 Treverton College 3pts; Riverwood College 0pts

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge PMB Central Regional - Epworth School: Saturday 14 March

For the fourth consecutive year, the Pietermaritzburg Central Regional was decided in a nail-biting penalty shootout with St John’s D.S.G claiming their fourth title at the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge hosted by Epworth School on Saturday 14 March. 

St John’s met host school and defending champs, Epworth School in the regional final that flowed to all corners of the astro. Both teams had moments of pure brilliance where they crafted fantastic attacks after mounting pressure, bursting into each other’s circles, only for magical defence to turn play around, sending it back to the other side.  

Epworth earned three short corners; the first surge was after 68 seconds of play. St John’s were up for the challenge and didn’t allow the set pieces to pierce their defence. On the other end, St John’s had two short corners. Their first was an elaborate run around, with the ball being injected to the top of the circle, moving left, then back to the injector who pushed it back up to the tip of the circle before the player at the top of the D was in possession again. Epworth’s defenders tracked the ball carefully, charging down the ball before the attacker could finish her flamboyant shot. St John’s second set piece was awarded with only 12 seconds left on the clock. Slowing things down, St John’s went back to basics with a skilful, simple manoeuvre of pushing the ball to the castle, and fired off a ferocious flick that was neatly stopped. The score remained on nil nil after fulltime. 

Six players lined up for both teams with the responsibility of taking the penalty shootouts. First to go was St John’s Ananbele Balmer who drifted to her left, slotting the ball under a diving Epworth keeper, Kenya Zwane. Siphokazi Mpantshane stepped up to take the first round for Epworth. Mpantshane made quick work of levelling the scoreline as she charged towards St John’s goal, spinning around – foxing the goalie, Deborah Lock with her 360, slotting in her shot. 

In the second round, Emma Williams trotted in for St John's also veering left before changing tack, keeping the ball away from Zwane and knocking it in the middle of the goals. Young Owami Mthethwa had the task of levelling the score for Epworth. Unlocking her bravery, Lock danced off her line to confront Mthethwa who was advancing keenly. The bold move by Lock cut down the angle for Mthethwa, with a retreating Epworth’s striker, hurriedly trying to knock in her shot but was unable to, by an ‘on-the-ball’ Lock.

Stepping up in the final round, Kate van Breda had the opportunity to claim victory for St John’s if she managed to slot her shot in. She followed in similar fashion to Williams, resulting in a regional winning goal. The final score for St John’s was 3 to 1 goal for Epworth. 

A budding talent, representing St John’s with the whistle, a sincerely cheerful Marcel Diaz had an impressive day overseeing the hotly contested games. Grade 12 learner, Cara MacFarlane from Epworth School walked away with a brand-new Princess hockey stick in the lucky draw prize that was held in the 20 minute break ahead of the finals. 

The top ten teams will converge at the Grand Finals being held in July at St Mary’s D.S.G.. St John’s is the third team to secure their spot, joining Our Lady of Fatima (DBN North Regional) and Amanzimtoti High School (DBN South Regional). St Anne’s Diocesan College were crowned champion the following day (Sunday 15 March) in the Pietermaritzburg North Regional. Another six teams remain to be decided with the tournament travelling around KZN in the coming weeks. 

Results

Regional Final

Epworth School 0 (1) vs St John’s D.S.G. 0 (3)

Round Robin Results

1 St John’s D.S.G. 24pts; 2 Epworth School 20pts; 3 Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School 16pts; 4 Maritzburg Christian School 6pts; 5 Carter High School 3pts; 6 Russell High School 3pts; 7 Alexandra High School 2pts

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Pietermaritzburg Central and North Regionals Saturday 14 March & Sunday 15 March

Action-a-plenty awaits schools from the greater Maritzburg area in the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge with Epworth School hosting the Pietermaritzburg Central Regional on Saturday 14 March and St Anne’s Diocesan College welcoming schools for the Pietermaritzburg North Regional on Sunday 15 March.

The busy weekend of hockey will see 12 schools taking to the turf in the hopes of being crowned regional champion. On Saturday, joining Epworth School on their astro are Alexandra High School; Carter High School; Maritzburg Christian School; Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School; Russell High School and St John’s D.S.G. 

On the prowl for their fifth title, Epworth School looks forward to defending the Pietermaritzburg Central Regional on their astro on Saturday 14 March for the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge. Lining up for the host team are Cara Macfarlane and Siphokazi Mpontshane. Pic by Val Adamson

Sunday sees five schools head to St Anne’s for the annual contest. The guest schools are Howick High School; Riverwood College; Treverton College and The Wykeham Collegiate. 

The weekend’s fixtures have all teams meeting in a round robin format, with games in the Central Regional lasting 20 minutes, and 25 minutes in the North Regional. A victorious team will earn themselves 4 points on the log, while drawn games – both teams will share the points. If both teams have the same number of goals, they will each earn 2 points while a goalless draw will add 1 point to your tally. A loss registers zero points. 

There have been five schools that have had the honour of representing their regions at the Grand Finals since the tournament’s inception in 2011. The top ten schools from around KZN converge on St Mary’s D.S.G. in the hopes of being crowned overall champion in the challenge. Both hosts schools are defending champs.

Leaders of the pack. St Anne’s Diocesan College’s Hannah Schwegmann (vice-captain), Holly Hofmeyr (captain) and Willow Crawford (vice-captain) prepare to defend their title in the Pietermaritzburg North Regional at the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge. The only matrics donning the St Anne’s kit this year, the trio will be welcoming teams onto their turf on Sunday 15 March. Pic by Val Adamson

The two home teams will be walking on to the fields as defending champs. St Anne’s have lifted the regional trophy 11 times while Wykeham Collegiate have three. In the Central tournament, Girls High have their name engraved on the trophy seven times, followed by Epworth with four wins and St John’s three successes. 

Two teams have already secured their spot at the Grand Finals in the 2026 edition. First to qualify was Our Lady of Fatima waving the Durban North Regionals flag and joining them is Amanzimtoti High School from the Durban South Regional who were victorious last weekend. 

Matrics present on the day should keep an eye out for eta College. The leading Sport Science, Coaching and Management tertiary institution in Durban is offering a year’s bursary at eta College, which one lucky player could win. The bursary will be awarded to a lucky young lady at the Grand Finals.

All games at these two tournaments will be livestreamed by SuperSport Schools, so if you can’t make it to the sidelines to support, you can still catch all the action online. 

For more information, follow the tournament on Facebook: SPARSchoolGirlsHockeyTournament and Instagram  sparkznhockey or TikTok spar.kzn.hockey or use the hashtags: #ChixWithStix #HearthoftheCommunity #SuperLocal #MyKZNMySPAR 

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Durban South Regional - 3 Schools Trust: Saturday 7 March

The most decorated team in the Durban South Regional reclaimed the title when hosts Amanzimtoti High School hoisted the trophy for the seventh time in the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge on Saturday 7 March at 3 Schools Trust. 

This is the first time in over a decade that Toti have met Kingsway High School in the regional finals with Kingsway stepping onto the field as the defending champs. In recent years Kingsway have featured four times in the main game, with Toti only making it to the final round twice – both times victorious. 

Up close. Defending, Kingsway High School’s Sisipho Mathenjwa works hard to keep the ball away from top shooter, Nadine Smit from Amanzimtoti High School during the final of the Durban South Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge that Toti hosted at the 3 Schools Trust Astro on Saturday 7 March. Pic by Rogan Ward

Drawn in the same pool, the two teams met in the first fixture of the day and wrapped up the challenge, with both results going the way of the hosts. The first score had Toti 3 nil up but their persistent neighbours dug deep, not giving Toti much freedom in their circle. With only 76 seconds on the clock, Toti fired off their first shot but in haste, fumbled her attempt and Kingsway’s keeper, Nosipho Mhlongo easily redirected the shot. 

A minute later, Toti earned their first of two short corners, but both set pieces made no impact to the scoreline. Kingsway gained confidence and turned the possession around, taking the ball up several times into the Toti circle but were unable to penetrate agile keeper, Revthi Singh’s defences. 

Celebrations. Amanzimtoti High School’s Naledi Duma; Revthi Singh (goalie) and Zethu Ngwenya relish their success after Singh kept her opponents, Kingsway High School’s attempts out during the concluding penalty shootout at the Durban South Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge that Toti hosted at the 3 Schools Trust Astro on Saturday 7 March. Pic by Rogan Ward

Nearing full time, Toti had a glimmer of hope when they took the ball up into Kingsway’s circle. A generous umpire allowed advantage when the attacker accidentally nudged the ball with her foot, giving her an opportunity to fire off a shot but, again, Mhlongo pounced on the shot quickly booting it out of danger. The final whistle sounded with the scoreline unchanged on nil nil. 

With the regional final heading to the penalty spot for the decider, Toti stepped up to the spot first. Shayla Schwarz confidently ran the ball directly for the right hand post, nearing the goals she tapped the ball under Mhlongo who was bearing down on her. Diyaru Pillay’s turn didn’t make it past Singh who calmly watched the challenge, acting quickly as the ball made its way towards her, clearing it neatly. 

With their tails up, Toti’s Zibusio Mkhize charged into the goals, wasting no time as she rocketed off her attempt that pummelled into the box. With the mounting pressure, Sisipho Mathenjwa started the do or die penalty, making a beeline towards Singh. Sensing victory, Singh dashed out to confront Mathenjwa, cutting off all angles of attack, the nimble goalie halted the valiant endeavour earning a sensational win for her team. 

This was the second time that Kingsway’s outcome played out in a penalty shootout. In the second semi final they met their next-door neighbours and long-time rivals, Kuswag School. At the final whistle the scoreline was level with no goals being scored, similar to last year’s final where in a dramatic upset – Kingsway walked away winners. The final scoreline this year going 2-1 to the defending champs. In the second semifinal Toti defeated New Forest 2 nil. 

In the third-place playoff, Kuswag took on the hard-working New Forest High School. This is the second time that New Forest have been a fantastic surprise package, having finished second in 2019. This year the underdogs took on a determined Kuswag for the final step on the podium. Having held Kuswag to a 1 all draw earlier in the second fixture of the day, the tenacious team ran out of steam after Kuswag were lucky enough to find the back of the net going 1 nil up. Kuswag battered the New Forest defenders with several well crafted attacks but were only able to double their scoreline, claiming third place with a 2 nil triumph.

Referring in his first SPAR Challenge, Kingsway High School’s up and coming Grade 12 learner, Bayanda Sangweni (12) had a fabulous day with the whistle. Umpiring for next door neighbours, Kuswag, the matric pupil earned the recognition of Umpire of the Day. Durban Academy High School’s Vuyokazi Titus, a Grade 9 won for herself a grand new Princess hockey stick. After winning her prize, the youngster traded in her old stick and played out her remaining games in style. 

The challenge heads inland this weekend with a back-to-back fixture for the two Pietermaritzburg challenges with Epworth School hosting teams for the Pietermaritzburg Central Regional on Saturday St Anne’s Diocesan College welcoming their opponents for the Pietermaritzburg North Regional on Sunday. 

Results

First place playoff

Kingsway High School 0 (0) vs Amanzimtoti High School 0 (2)

Third place playoff

Kuswag School 2 vs New Forest High School 0

Positions

1 Amanzimtoti High School; 2 Kingsway High School; 3 Kuswag School; 4 New Forest High School; 5 Werda Skool; 6 Queensburgh High School; 7 Port Natal School; 8 Durban Academy High School