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 Astro: Saturday 7 March

Amanzimtoti High School hosts the second tournament of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge inviting teams for the Durban South Regional which takes place at 3 Schools Trust Astro on Saturday 7 March.

Eight teams will take on this year’s challenge in the hopes of raising the trophy and advancing to the prestigious Grand Finals where nine other regional winners from around KwaZulu Natal will converge. The Grand Finals concludes the challenge at St Mary’s D.S.G. at the end of July. One team has secured a spot, Our Lady of Fatima was crowned the Durban North Regional champion on Sunday (1 March).

All smiles, teammates Nandy Mseleku and Elihle Ncwane from Kingsway High School gear up to defend their title at the upcoming Durban South Regional. Amanzimtoti High School welcomes teams to the 3 Schools Trust for this SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge on Saturday 7 March. Pic by Val Adamson

Defending champs, Kingsway High School will meet host school, Toti in the first game of the fixtures. The day gets underway at 7.30am with each game lasting a rapid 20 minutes. A victorious team will earn 4 points, with teams that draw sharing the same number of points. A draw with goals earns 2 points, while a goalless draw earns the teams 1 point each. Zero points will reflect on a losing team’s log. For teams that dominate, their tally will be capped at a maximum of 7 goals recorded.

The schools participating have been split into two Pools, with Amanzimtoti and Kingsway being joined in Pool A by Port Natal Skool and Queensburgh Girls’ High School. Pool B will have Durban Academy; Kuswag Skool; New Forest High School and Werda Skool. Once the pool games have concluded, the teams will all get the chance to participate in a positional cross pool play-off. The top two teams from each of the pools will meet in a semi-final, with the losing teams heading to the bronze medal game and the two successful teams clashing for the regional honours.

In the cross pool play-offs, teams ending with a level score will head to a nail-biting penalty shoot-out where three players from each team will have the opportunity to edge their opponents out.

Four teams have represented the area at the Grand Finals, with host school Toti leading the charge with 6 appearances at the Grand Finals. Kuswag have their name engraved on the trophy three times, including the inaugural tournament in 2011and two times since COVID. Sharing the honour of three wins is Durban Girls’ High School, who moved across to the Durban Central Regional in recent years. Adding their name to the list, Kingsway High will be keen to defend their title and claim their second title.

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 Durban North Regional - Crawford La Lucia: Sunday 1 March

Securing their seventh title in the Durban North Regional, Our Lady of Fatima return as champions in the opening fixture in the 16th year of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge that took place at Crawford La Lucia on Sunday 1 March.

In a replay of the 2025 final, Fatima took on defending champions, Ashton International College in the concluding game. Having put on a very methodical performance throughout the day, Fatima met a determined Ashton who were keen to keep the trophy they had doggedly won in a hard-fought battle. This year was no different; Ashton put up a valiant fight, faltering Fatima’s dominance. For the first time that day, Fatima’s keeper, Kayla Driver, was on her toes as Ashton edged play into Fatima’s circle on several occasions but were just unable to make any impact.

Charge. Turning around the play, Zoey Seppings from Our Lady of Fatima defends scuppering Ashton International College’s Emmerson van Zijl valiant attempt to break the solid Fatima defence during the final of the Durban North Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge that took place on Sunday 1 March at Crawford La Lucia.  Pic by Val Adamson

 On the other end, Stella Fourie was perfectly poised, slotting in Fatima’s first goal as she pierced her opponent's circle after 150 seconds, quickly gathering herself and punching in a feisty shot, slotting it into the left-hand corner beyond Ashton’s last line - Isabella Baxter. Two minutes later, Fatima’s Charly-Rose Boyle charged down the centre of the field, finding some freedom to drift right as she entered the circle. At pace, she attempted a spirited shot that flew right of the post.

After 12 minutes of play, Rachel Da Sousa was stationed on Ashton’s post. Yet another attack from Fatima found their forwards on the baseline, quickly moving the ball goalward. Da Sousa was there on hand to pounce on the pass, confidently knocking it in identical fashion to Fourie’s earlier goal.

The final eight minutes, Ashton bravely retaliated, with several surges into Fatima’s circle spurred on by vice-captain, Emmerson van Zijl threatening runs, but the advances were shut down by a composed defence. The final whistle blasted with Fatima victorious with their two class goals.

In the build up to the final, Ashton met Reddam House uMhlanga. Reddam who have been growing in stature at this tournament have regularly featured in the top four in recent years. Reddam held Ashton to a nil nil draw after full time. The game being decided in a penalty shootout. After three rounds, the scoreline was level with both teams netting one goal each. The tempo raised with the game now going into a round of sudden death. Reddam were first to go with their attempt sadly going wide. Capitalising on her earlier goal in the penalty shootout, Kimberly Johnson ran the ball in for Ashton, sliding left scooping the ball in, just beyond the travelling Reddam keeper Kaela Magjee, claiming their spot in the regional final.

In the second semi, Fatima met long time rival, and previous regional winners Danville Park Girls’ High. In a display of pure dominance, Fatima bamboozled Danville with an emphatic win of 5 nil.

Eighty two goals were scored in total after 23 games in suffocating heat, with Fatima netting 21 goals in their pool games and seven in the medal games, while Ashton earned 17 in their pool games and another two in their silverware games.

Umpire of the Day was awarded to hard working Tyler Tomset representing Ashton. In the build up to the finals, one young player from each school had the opportunity to win a Princess hockey stick in a fun lucky draw. Participating for the first year in the Ashton first team, Grade 9 Caylea Duncan earned herself the magnificent prize.

Fatima is the first of ten teams to book their berth at the Grand Finals taking place in July. This coming weekend, teams from Amanzimtoti, the Bluff and Queensburgh take to the turf at 3 Schools Trust for the second fixture in the challenge, the Durban South Regional.

Results

Final

Ashton International College 0 vs Our Lady of Fatima 2

Semi Finals

Ashton International College 0 (2) vs Reddam uMhlanga 0 (1)

Our Lady of Fatima 5 vs Danville Park Girls’ High 0

Pool A

1 Ashton International College 13pts; 2 Danville Park Girls’ High 13pts; 3 Crawford La Lucia 5pts; 4 Reddam House Ballito 2pts; 5 Curro Salt Rock 1pt

Pool B

1 Our Lady of Fatima 16pts; 2 Reddam House uMhlanga 12pts; 3 Durban North College 5pts; 4 Northlands Girls’ High School 4pts; 5 Crawford North Coast 1pt

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Durban North Regional - Crawford La Lucia: Sunday 1 March

Launching into the sixteenth year, this year’s SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge action unfolds at the Durban North Regional hosted by Crawford La Lucia on Sunday 1 March.

The first of the ten KZN regionals welcomes ten schools from the area. Split into two pools, the teams will take to the pitch for their pool games, followed by the top two teams from each pool going head-to-head in the cross-pool semi-finals revealing the challengers who will meet in the regional final.

Game faces on! Poised and ready to defend their title, Ashton International College’s Anna Angelopolous (captain) and Emmerson van Zijl (vice-captain) hope to lead their team to their fifth victory in the Durban North Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge that will be hosted by Crawford La Lucia on Sunday 1 March.  Pic by Val Adamson

Defending champs, Ashton International College take on the home team, Crawford La Lucia in the first game for Pool A, joining them are Danville Park Girls’ High School; Curro Salt Rock and Reddam Ballito. The second game of the tournament welcomes Our Lady of Fatima and Reddam uMhlanga participating in Pool B. Northlands Girls’ High School; Durban North College and Crawford North Coast have also been drawn into this pool.

A total of 23 games will be played in this regional with all games lasting a quick fire 20 minutes. A successful team will add 4 points to their log, while the loser acquires zero points. In a case of a goalless draw, both teams earn 1 point but if two teams managed to net the same number of goals, they will each earn 2 points.  A maximum of seven goals will be recorded if a team dominates. If the playoffs end with the scores being level, three players from each team will head to a penalty shootout.

Emerging from this regional, the first finalist representing the suburbs north of Durban will head to the Grand Finals where they will meet the nine other finalists from around the province. Four schools have had the honour of participating at the concluding tournament. 

Defending champions, Ashton earned a third place last year, the best result for a team from this region. Ashton have gone on to the Grand Finals four times, sharing this record with Danville Park Girls’ High School. Our Lady of Fatima’s claimed victory in the inaugural regional, and has their name engraved six times on the trophy. Host school, Crawford La Lucia have also gone on to the Grand Finals once and with home turf advantage, will be keen to reclaim the title.

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 which takes place at St Mary’s D.S.G. at the end of July. 

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 2026 Date Announcement

Young hockey players are preparing themselves for the eight weekends of jam-packed action at the hugely popular SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge that takes place around KZN in the build up to the Grand Finals. 

Now in its 16th year, the tournament travels to ten regionals where the winner of each qualifies for the prestigious conclusion. The top ten teams head to the Grand Finals which takes place over two days at St Mary’s DSG (Kloof) with the pool games unfolding on Saturday 25 July followed by the cross pool and positional games on Sunday 26 July. 

On track and steaming ahead for a fantastic 16th year of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge, Nozipho Mkhize (Advertising and Sponsorship Manager, SPAR KZN) and Les Galloway (Tournament Director and Head of Hockey, SchoolGirl Sport) are shortly after the dates for the 2026 challenges were announced. Pic by Val Adamson

All challenges will stick to a similar pattern with teams needing to find their groove early on in the quick-fire, fast-paced, thrilling variant with the format either being round robins or pool games. 

Getting the ball rolling, Crawford La Lucia will host the first challenge with teams from the Durban North Regional descending on their astro on Sunday 1 March. Amanzimtoti High School welcomes teams at 3 Schools Trust for the Durban South Regional on Saturday 7 March. 

In the first of two back-to-back weekends in March, schools from around Pietermaritzburg and surrounds gear up for the Midlands encounter. Epworth School’s astro is the venue for the Pietermaritzburg Central Regional on Saturday 14 March, with the Pietermaritzburg North Regional heading to St Anne’s Diocesan on Sunday 15 March. Wrapping up the local tournaments, Westville Girls’ High plays host to the Highway Regional on Saturday 21 March and St Henry’s Marist College will take on teams in the Durban Central Regional at 3 Schools Trust on Sunday 22 March.

After a month-long break, it will be a ‘whistle stop tour’ for the final four regionals to the outlying areas. Grantleigh School will host schools from Richards Bay and Empangeni for the North Coastal Regional on Saturday 2 May. The next weekend, the biggest regional, the Southern KZN Regional gather at Kokstad College where teams from the South Coast all the way through to Matatiele and Kokstad will meet on Saturday 9 May.

Heading inland for the penultimate challenge, Ferrum High School hopes for a home turf advantage when teams from Vryheid, Glencoe, Pongola and Newcastle assemble for the Northern KZN Regional on Saturday 23 May. Completing the tenth challenge, Wembley College greets their opposition from Greytown, Ladysmith, Wartburg and surrounds for the uMvoti and oThukela Regional on Saturday 30 May.

At the conclusion of the 2026 regionals, the tournaments tally rolls over to 140 regionals around KZN, plus 13 Grand Finals since its inception in 2011. Over the fifteen years, 33 schools have earned a spot at the Grand Finals, where only three schools have their names engraved on the magnificent trophy, that of Durban Girls’ College, St Anne’s Diocesan and St Mary’s D.S.G. 

Adding another 10 regionals, and one more Grand Finals to the impressive history of this tournament, will a new name feature on the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge trophy? We wait and see! 

For more information, follow the tournament on Facebook: SparSchoolGirlsHockeyTournament and Instagram  sparkznhockey or TikTok spar.kzn.hockey or hashtags:

#HeartoftheCommunity #SuperLocal #MyKZNSPAR #MySPAR

ENDS

1 March -  Durban North Regional - Crawford La Lucia

7 March -  Durban South - 3 Schools Trust - Toti

14 March – Pietermaritzburg Central - Epworth

15 March - Pietermaritzburg North - St Anne's 

21 March -  Highway - Westville Girls' High

22 March -  Durban Central - 3 Schools Trust - St Henry's 

2 May     -  Grantleigh

9 May    -  KZN South - Kokstad College

23 May  -  KZN North - Ferrum, Newcastle 

30 May - Wembley College (PMB side of Greytown)

25/26 July Grand Finals

Results SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Northern KZN Regional

Ferrum High School is back, reclaiming the title of the Northern KZN Regional at the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge that took place on their turf on Saturday 11 May.

This is the ninth time they have raised the trophy since the tournament’s inception in 2011, with the last time being in 2019. In the regional final, the hosts met travelling team, a surprise package, Vryheid High School for the second time that day, having clashed earlier in their third pool game. A humdinger of a game took place midway through the fixtures, with the score ending 1 all.

Vryheid, led by feisty captain, Kunene Sphesihle, pushed hard during both games, keeping Ferrum on their toes. Kunene was never far from the action, with several exciting runs midfield, charging into her opponent's circle. Ferrum’s captain, Joey du Preez was equally involved, choreographing play from the middle, threading the ball up to her powerhouse forwards.

In the main game, Ferrum continued their momentum, threatening first earning the games first short corner with just 43 seconds on the clock. The locals had several set pieces during the game that were exquisitely defended by the visitors. In amongst the corners, both teams crafted some thrilling breakaways, piercing the oppositions’ circle. Nearing 7 minutes, Amahle Mbatha determinedly entered the Vryheid D after a short sharp run, wasting no time, she hammered in an unstoppable attempt that rocketed into the back of the net, taking her team up 1 nil and netting victory for her team.

In the build up to the final Ferrum met defending champions, St Dominic’s Newcastle who placed second in their pool. After a fast flowing, action packed game, both teams were unable to score and the game moved to an 8 second penalty shoot-out. Ferrum tipped off the action first, slotting in all their attempts, but St Dom’s were closed down in their second challenge, giving Ferrum the edge.

In the second semi-final, Vryheid took on one-time regional winners, Sarel Cilliers who had a spectacular day out, finishing on top in their pool. An on-her-toes keeper from Sarel, Jenor Joubert shut down a couple of Vryheid runs, bravely advancing off her line and blocking any chances. Similarly to the first semi, both teams were unable to edge the ball across the line, the score at full time sat on nil nil, and the game progressed, for the second time, to an 8 second penalty spot. After three rounds, the scoreboard hadn’t moved, and the game advanced to sudden death. Sarel went first and were unable to score. Kunene stepped up for her second attempt for Vryheid, running the ball goalwards, then drifting right to tap the ball past a charging Jenor to secure a spot in the final.

Umpire of the Day went to Lucrecia Struwig representing her Alma Mater. A 2018 Ferrum matriculant, Struwig has travelled four times to the Grand Finals, twice as a player in 2017 and 2018 and then with her whistle in 2019 and 2020.

All spots have now been filled for the Grand Finals that will be held at St Mary’s D.S.G. in Kloof in July. Ferrum joins the nine teams that have already qualified. They are Durban Girls’ College (Durban Central Regional), The Wykeham Collegiate (Pietermaritzburg North Regional); St John’s D.S.G. (Pietermaritzburg Central Regional); Our Lady of Fatima (Durban North Regional), St Mary’s DSG (Highway Regional); Amanzimtoti High School (Durban South Regional); Grantleigh School (KZN North Coastal Regional); St Patrick’s College (Ugu and Sisonke Regional) and Ladysmith High School (uMvoti and oThukela Regional).

Results

Final

Ferrum High School 1 vs Vryheid High School 0

Semi Final

Ferrum High School 0 (3) vs Curro St Dominics Newcastle 0 (1)

Sarel Cilliers High School 0 (0) vs Vryheid High School 0 (1)

Pool A

1 Ferrum High School 14 points; 2 Vryheid High School 11 points; 3 Ferrum High School Inv 9 points; Pongola Academy 4 points; 5 Utrecht High School

Pool B

1 Sarel Cilliers High School 13 points; 2 Curro St Dominics Newcastle 12 points, 3 Dundee High School 8 points; 4 Newcastle High School 4 points; 5 Amajuba High School 1 point

ENDS

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Northern KZN Regional Ferrum High School: Saturday 11 May

Concluding this year’s SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge regionals, Ferrum High School hosts ten teams for the Northern KZN Regional on Saturday 11 May.

The day gets underway with a cracker of a game, host school and eight times regional champion, Ferrum High School take on two times winner, Pionier Hoërskool. The challenge tips off at 8am, with games lasting 20 minutes only, and play running one way.

Step to it. St Dominic’s Newcastle’s Aphelele Mkhwanazi and Sphe Mabona are gearing up to defend their title at the upcoming Northern KZN Regional at the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge that takes place at Ferrum High School on Saturday 11 May. Pic by Val Adamson

The ten teams participating have been divided into two pools. Ferrum High School leads Pool A, with Pionier Hoërskool, Utrecht High School, Vryheid High School and Pongola High School. Defending champions, St Dominic’s Newcastle heads up Pool B, together with Dundee High School, Amajuba High School, Newcastle High School and one time winner, Sarel Cilliers High School.

A successful team will earn themselves 4 points on the leaderboard, if two teams draw with goals, they both share 2 points, and if two teams draw but were unable to score any goals, they both will have 1 point added to their tally. A losing team will acquire zero points.

After the pool games, the top team in pool A will take on the second top team in pool B in the first semi-final. The first placed team in pool B will meet the second placed team in pool A in the second semi-final. Fifteen minutes later the winners of the cross-pool games will meet in the regional final to reveal who the 2024 champion will be, and the final team to qualify for the Grand Finals.

Nine teams from around KZN have already qualified for the Grand Finals that will be held at St Mary’s D.S.G. in Kloof in July. They are Durban Girls’ College (Durban Central Regional), The Wykeham Collegiate (Pietermaritzburg North Regional); St John’s D.S.G. (Pietermaritzburg Central Regional); Our Lady of Fatima (Durban North Regional), St Mary’s DSG (Highway Regional); Amanzimtoti High School (Durban South Regional); Grantleigh School (KZN North Coastal Regional); St Patrick’s College (Ugu and Sisonke Regional) and Ladysmith High School (uMvoti and oThukela Regional).

All games will be live streamed on SuperSport Schools. For more info like the tournament’s Facebook page (SparSchoolGirlsHockeyTournament) or follow on Instagram (sparkznhockey). 

ENDS

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge uMvoti and oThukela Regional Saturday 4 May

The penultimate tournament in the 2024 SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge heads to Greytown High School for the uMvoti and oThukela Regional on Saturday 4 May.

Seven teams will take to the Greytown pitch with the tournament running in a round-robin format. In the familiar style to the KZN SPAR hockey challenges, all games will be a quick-fire 20 minutes long, with play only going one way.

Focused on the task at hand. Ladysmith High School’s Deputy Head Girl, Anzel Warmenhoven and Angelique Adams gear up to defend their uMvoti and oThukela Regional at the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge being hosted at Greytown High School on Saturday 4 May.Pic by Val Adamson

Poi nts will be awarded after each game; the top two teams will then face each other in the regional final. For a win, 4 points will be awarded, a draw with goals will amount to 2 points each, and a goalless draw nothing up 1 point each. A loss will register zero points.

Joining host school, Greytown are Domino Servite; Estcourt High School; Hermannsburg School; Ladysmith High School; Wembley College and Wartburg Kirchdorf School. Taking to the field first are Greytown and Wembley College, tipping off at 8am, followed by Hermannsburg meeting Domino Servite in the second fixture.

 An array of teams have raised the regional trophy since the tournament’s inception in 2011 and gone on to the Grand Finals. Most recently, two times winner, Ladysmith High School is the defending champion, with their name engraved in 2012 and 2023 on the trophy. Wembley College also appear twice, for 2011 and 2021. Two teams’ names appear once, host Greytown were victorious in 2018 and in 2022, Domino Servite represented the area. Wartburg Kirchdorf have six wins under their belt, dominating from the years 2013 to 2017 and then again, in 2019.

The victorious team from this regional will meet nine other successful teams from around KZN in the Grand Finals that takes place at St Mary’s D.S.G. in Kloof in July. Eight teams have already qualified, they are Durban Girls’ College (Durban Central Regional), The Wykeham Collegiate (Pietermaritzburg North Regional); St John’s D.S.G. (Pietermaritzburg Central Regional); Our Lady of Fatima (Durban North Regional), St Mary’s DSG (Highway Regional); Amanzimtoti High School (Durban South Regional); Grantleigh School (KZN North Coastal Regional) and St Patrick’s College (Ugu and Sisonke Regional).

All games will be live streamed on SuperSport Schools. For more info like the tournament’s Facebook page (SparSchoolGirlsHockeyTournament) or follow on Instagram (sparkznhockey). 

ENDS

Results and wrap up Ugu and Sisonke Regional SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge

A new team will engrave their name on the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge trophy when host school, St Patrick’s College were victorious in the Ugu and Sisonke Regional that took place at their picturesque setting in Kokstad on Saturday 20 April.

St Patrick’s is the fifth team to be crowned in this region since the tournament’s inception in 2011, having defeated defending champions and one-time winners, Suid Natal Hoërskool in an enthralling final.

In the lead up to the regional final, both teams finished second in the logs after their four pool games. St Patrick’s finished two points behind a determined Port Shepstone High School who earned 12 points in Pool A. In Pool B King Edward topped the log with 13 points, followed by Suid Natal on 10 points.

After the pool games, the challenge progressed to a cross pool positional playoff. In a coastal derby - Sheppie met Suidies in the first semi-final, and in the second semi-final, an inland derby - King Edward took on St Patricks. At the conclusion of the semis, Suidies had a change to protect their title, meeting St Patrick’s in the regional final.

The conclusion of three of the four main games were decided on the spot, with three players from each team participating in an 8 second penalty shootout. In the first semi-final, Suid Natal and Sheppie drew 1 all at full time and Suid Natal went up by a single goal in their very first run, with no other goals being netted in the remainder of the penalty attempts.

In the bronze medal game, Sheppie found themselves for the second time at the spot, this time facing King Edward High School. The full-time whistle blew with both teams unable to slot the ball into the back of the box, drawing on nil nil. A jack-in-the-box keeper, Reitumetsi Pakkies from King Edward pulled out some awe-inspiring saves, closing down all of Sheppies runs, diving all over the place in some epic charge downs.

In the all-important final, St Patrick’s were first to score. 14 minutes into the game, Courney Kitching calmly slapped in the opening goal after a great attack down the right side. She was camped out at the goal mouth and was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, slotting in her teams first.

A minute later, St Patrick’s were brought back down to earth as Suidies also charged down the right, crossing the ball to an alert Luca Meyer who nailed in the equaliser. For the remainder of the final, both teams were unable to find a hole in their opponents defence, to get the challenge-winning goal. At the final whistle the score was 1 all with both teams gearing up for the penalty shootout.

Suid Natal’s keeper, Anrika Badenhorst did well in her first standing in the penalty shootouts, closing down all of Sheppie’s attempts. In the final a young, crafty St Patrick’s Rayne Kitching side stepped Badenhorst, rounding her to the left and then trickled the ball over the line for the only goal in the penalty shootout. St Patrick’s keeper, Sikhona Mcebesi kept a clean sheet in her first defence that day in a penalty shootout,

Most Promising Umpire went to Bergview High School’s Arne Pieterse who had a fantastic day officiating with the whistle.

St Patrick’s College is the eighth KZN  team to gain a spot at the Grand Finals that will be held in July at St Mary’s D.S.G. The seven other teams that have secured their spot already are Durban Girls’ College (Durban Central Regional), The Wykeham Collegiate (Pietermaritzburg North Regional); St John’s D.S.G. (Pietermaritzburg Central Regional); Our Lady of Fatima (Durban North Regional), St Mary’s DSG (Highway Regional); Amanzimtoti High School (Durban South Regional) and Grantleigh School (KZN North Coastal Regional).

Results

1 St Patrick’s College, 2 Suid Natal Hoërskool, 3 King Edward High School, 4 Port Shepstone High School, 5 Southcity Christian School, 6 Kokstad College, 7 Curro Creston, 8 St Monica’s Diocesan, 9 Ixopo High School, 10 Bergview College 

Pool A

1 Port Shepstone High School 12 points, 2 St Patrick’s College 10 points, 3 Kokstad College 6 points, 4 St Monica’s Diocesan 6 points, 5 Ixopo High School 0 points

Pool B

1 King Edward High School 13 points, 2 Suid Natal Hoërskool 10 points, 3 Southcity Christian School 5 points, 4 Curro Creston 3 points, 5 Bergview College 1 point

ENDS

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Sisonke and Ugu Regional St Patrick’s College: Saturday 20 April

St Patrick’s College hosts ten schools in the upcoming Sisonke and Ugu Regional, the eighth regional in the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge that takes place on Saturday 20 April.

Joining hosts in the regional are Bergview College; Curro Creston; Ixopo High School; King Edward High School; Kokstad College; Port Shepstone High School; Southcity Christian School; St Monica’s Diocesan; and defending champions, Suid-Natal Hoërskool.

Got your back. Defending champs, Suid Natal Hoërskool’s Nikita Grobler (Captain) and Desi Du Plooy (Vice-Captain) gear up to take on schools in the upcoming Sisonke and Ugu Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge that takes place at St Patrick’s College in Kokstad on Saturday 20 April. Pic by Val Adamson

The ten teams will be split into two pools with Pool A featuring St Patrick’s; St Monica’s; Kokstad College; Sheppie High and Ixopo High. Pool B has King Edward High, Suid-Natal; Bergview, Creston and Southcity. The duration of the matches is 15 minutes one way, with a win earning the successful team 4 points; a draw with goals, 2 points, a goalless draw 1 point and finally, a loss no points.

The first game tips off at 8am with host school, St Patrick’s meeting St Monica’s in the first game. Next up at 8.15am, from Pool B, Kokstad College will meet the travelling team, Sheppie High. After a game break, St Patrick’s are back on the turf facing Ixopo High at 8.30am.

At the conclusion of the pool games, if two teams find themselves on equal points, goal difference will come into play to see who finishes higher on the log. In the cross-pool games, drawn games will head to a 3 round penalty shootout.

In the 14 years since the tournament’s inception, there have been four teams that have raised the trophy. Recently the inland teams of Kokstad College and King Edward High School have dominated, after dethroning Creston after they won it twice in 2012 and 2013. Kokstad have victories in 2011, 2014 and 2019, with King Edward High School being crowned five times in 2015 – 2018, and 2022. Most recently, the newcomer to the group, Suid-Natal earned their first victory last year after defeating Kokstad College.

The challenge that travels to ten regions annually, has already had seven teams earning their spot at the Grand Finals that will be held in July at St Mary’s D.S.G. The teams are Durban Girls’ College (Durban Central Regional), The Wykeham Collegiate (Pietermaritzburg North Regional); St John’s D.S.G. (Pietermaritzburg Central Regional); Our Lady of Fatima (Durban North Regional), St Mary’s DSG (Highway Regional); Amanzimtoti High School (Durban South Regiona) and at the most recent regional, the winner for the Northern KZN Coastal Regional, Grantleigh School.

All games will be live streamed on SuperSport Schools. For more info like the tournament’s Facebook page (SparSchoolGirlsHockeyTournament) or follow on Instagram (sparkznhockey). 

ENDS

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Pietermaritzburg North Regional 9 March

The Wykeham Collegiate hosts the second regional in the 2024 SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge on Saturday 9 March. 

Seven teams will be taking to The Wykeham Collegiate’s turf to rival it out for the honours of the Pietermaritzburg North Regional. Joining the host team, The Wykeham Collegiate are Grace College, Howick High School, Linpark High School, St Anne’s College, Treverton College, and Riverwood College (formerly Voortrekker High).

Jump for joy. The Wykeham Collegiate’s Emily Wilson and Amy Erasmus are excited to defend their title in the Pietermaritzburg North Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge. Their team will defend on their home turf on Saturday 9 March, meeting local teams in an action packed day.  Pic by Val Adamson

The tournament will be run in a round robin format. Play gets underway at 8am, with ten games rolling out, followed by a 10 minute technical break, then another 11 games will take place. All games are 18 minutes running time with a 2 minute change over. 

Points will be awarded for each victory, with the winning team earning 4 points. 2 points will go to each team that draw having scored in their game. For a goalless draw, each team will walk away with 1 point. A losing team will unfortunately earn zero points. At the conclusion of the 21 round robin games, the main deciding game will reveal the regional champion.

The host team, The Wykeham Collegiate has won this regional twice, the first time in 2012 and then last year. St Anne’s College is the only other team to have hoisted the trophy in this regional. They have their name engraved on the trophy nine times and will be wanting to claim back the title, earning their tenth victory. 

Each KZN regional winner advances to the Grand Finals which takes place in July at St Mary’s D.S.G. The Pietermaritzburg North Regional champion will meet nine other regional champs in a two-day tournament. One team will have secured their ticket for the Grand Finals, on 2 March at the Durban Central Regional, the first in the 2024 challenge. 

Leading up to the Grand Finals, the challenge moves to the UKZN astro the following day where teams will compete in the Pietermaritzburg Central Regional, hosted by Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School. 

Scouts from eta College will be at each of the regionals, watching potential players that they can offer a bursary to their Durban Campus. 

For more info like the tournaments’ Facebook page (SparSchoolGirlsHockeyTournament) or follow on Instagram (sparkznhockey).

All games will be livestreamed on the SuperSport Schools App or on their website. 

ENDS

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Ten Teams in Grand Finals 22 & 23 July

After ten hotly contested regionals around KZN, the finalists from each area head to the main event of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge, the Grand Finals that takes place at St Mary’s DSG on 22 and 23 July. 

This year’s Grand Finals welcomes a fantastic mix of challengers. The tournament that began in 2011 has a handful of teams with an expansive history of appearances, and adding to the line-up this year, several fresh new contenders. 

Snap! Pictured at the tournament announcement for the Grand Finals of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge are Danville Park Girls’ High School’s captain, Anqobile Nkayi; Durban Girls’ College’s Jenna Reardon; Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School’s keeper, Kelly Willson with her captain Sisikelelwe Sopiseka and St Mary’s DSG’s captain, Kelly Jansens ter laeck. The action packed weekend of hockey will take place at St Mary’s DSG in Kloof on 22 and 23 July. Pic by Val Adamson

Two travelling teams will be competing for the very first time: the challenge welcomes Suid Natal Hoërskool representing the Sisonke and uGu Region and St Dominics Newcastle, the winner of the Northern KZN Region. 

Two teams will be making their second appearance, having both last competed at the Grand Finals in 2012. The Wykeham Collegiate will be waving the flag for the Pietermaritzburg North Regional and on behalf of the uMvoti and oThukela Regional, Ladysmith High School are back too. In their first run at the finals, Wykeham got to the medal round, finishing an impressive fourth overall, while Ladysmith earned a seventh place eleven years ago. 

Back for a third time, Danville Park Girls’ High School will be keen to better their consistent sixth places in 2012 and 2014. Kuswag Hoërskool will also take to the turf for their third outing. They competed in the inaugural tournament in 2011 where they finished ninth and then last year, they took the tenth spot. 

North Coast Regional winner, Grantleigh College head to the finals for their fifth time. Last year they finished seventh and in 2011, 2016 and 2017 they ended eighth overall. 

After several years’ sabbatical, Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School make a welcome return for the seventh time as the Pietermaritzburg Central Regional winners. In their six previous runs, they have featured in the medal games every year with three silvers in 2011, 2013 and 2015, two bronze medals in 2012 and 2014 and a fourth in 2016. 

Host school St Mary’s DSG will be eager to continue their success at the Grand Finals, they have dominated the Highway Regional, representing the area for the tenth time this year. Saints have hoisted the trophy five times in 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, taken silver in last year’s finals, won bronze in 2011 and 2013 and finished fourth in 2015. 

The only team with a 100% record at the Grand Finals, Durban Girls’ College are the defending champions. The Durban Central Regional winners have a fantastic history at the Grand Finals, winning gold four times in 2013, 2014, 2015 and last year. They have also won silver in 2012, 2016 and 2017, one bronze in 2019 and two fourth places in 2011 and 2018. 

The weekend’s action will all be livestreamed on the SuperSport School’s mobile app and website.  

For more info like the tournaments’ Facebook page (SparKZNSchoolGirlsHockeyTournament) or follow on Instagram (sparkznhockey). 

Eleventh Appearance

Durban Girls’ College - Durban Central Regional Winner - Gold (2013, 2014, 2015, 2022), Silver (2012, 2016, 2017), Bronze (2019), Fourth (2011, 2018)

Tenth Appearance

St Mary’s D.S.G. – Highway Regional Winner - Gold (2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), Silver (2022), Bronze (2011, 2013), Fourth (2015)

 Seventh Appearance

Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High – Pietermaritzburg Central Regional Winner - Silver (2011, 2013, 2015), Bronze (2012, 2014), Fourth (2016)

 Fifth Appearance

Grantleigh College – North Coast Regional Winner – Seventh (2022), Eighth (2011, 2016, 2017)

 Third Appearance

Danville Park Girls’ High School – Durban North Regional Winner – Sixth (2012, 2014) 

Kuswag Hoërskool – Durban South Regional Winner – Ninth (2011), Tenth (2022)

 Second Appearance

The Wykeham Collegiate – Pietermaritzburg North Regional Winner - Fourth (2012)

Ladysmith High School - uMvoti and oThukela Regional – Seventh (2012)

 First Appearance

Suid Natal Hoërskool - Sisonke and uGu Regional Winner

St Dominics Newcastle – Northern KZN Regional Winner 

 ENDS

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge uMvoti and oThukela Regional Fixtures

The eighth regional in the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge is set to tip off at Wartburg Kirchdorf School on Saturday 13 May when they host the uMvoti and oThukela Regional. 

Seven teams will be running onto the field at Wartburg Kirchdorf School. Joining hosts are Hermannsburg School, defending champions Domino Servite, Greytown High School and Wembley College. This regional also welcomes back Estcourt High School and Ladysmith High School. 

The games get underway early, with hosts Wartburg Kirchdorf meeting Hermannsburg in the first game of the day that gets rolling at 7.30am. This regional follows a round robin format with all seven teams getting twenty minutes to shine, with play only running one way. 

A victorious team earns their school 4 points, a goalless draw will only earn the two teams one point each for their efforts, but if both teams manage to net the same amount of goals, they will share 2 points each. A loss won’t register on the overall log with teams accumulating zero points if they go down. The top two teams on the scorecard will then play each other in the regional final. 

In the thirteen years since the tournament’s inception, five teams have raised the trophy in this region. Host school, Wartburg Kirchdorf has represented the area six times at the Grand Finals. Wembley College won the inaugural regional in 2011, and again were winners in 2021. Ladysmith High School was the second named engraved on the trophy while both Greytown High School and Domino Servite – the defending champions, have both won once. 

The uMvoti and oThukela Regional is followed by the Pietermaritzburg Central Regional, hosted by Epworth School on Sunday 14 May. Thereafter, the final tournament, the Northern KZN Coastal Regional takes place at Grantleigh College on Saturday 20 May.

Six victorious teams representing their regions have already earned a spot at the Grand Finals that takes place at St Mary’s DSG in Kloof in July. The winner of the uMvoti and oThukela Regional will join Danville Park Girls High School (Durban North Regional); St Mary’s DSG (Highway Regional); Kuswag Hoërskool (Durban South Regional), Durban Girls’ College (Durban Central Regional); The Wykeham Collegiate (Pietermaritzburg North Regional) and Hoërskool Suid Natal (Sisonke and uGu Regional). (The seventh team representing the Northern KZN Region will be decided on 6 May in Newcastle.)

For spectators that are unable to get to the side of the pitch, the ten regionals and the Grand Finals will be live streamed by SuperSport Schools on their mobile app or website.

For more info like the tournament's Facebook page (SparSchoolGirlsHockeyTournament) or follow on Instagram (sparkznhockey) 

ENDS

2011 Wembley

2012 Ladysmith

2013 Wartburg

2014 Wartburg

2015 Wartburg

2016 Wartburg

2017 Wartburg

2018 Greytown

2019 Wartburg

2020 COVID

2021 Wembley

2022 Domino

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Pietermaritzburg Central Regional Fixtures

The penultimate tournament that travels to ten regions for the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge, heads to Epworth School where they will host schools from the area for the Pietermaritzburg Central Regional on Sunday 14 May.

Seven schools will participate in a fun filled day of hockey that tips off at 8am. Epworth School is joined by Alexander High School; Carter High School; Maritzburg Christian School; Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School; Russel High School and defending champs St John’s D.S.G.

The seven teams look forward to six quick fire games each, having 18 minutes of play running one way in a round robin formatted tournament. A winning team will notch up four points on the overall log, while if two teams knock in an equal amount of goals for a draw, they will each earn two points. A goalless draw will nett a single point for both teams and a loss, zero points. After the 21 round robin games, the top two teams will meet each other for a second time that day, this time for the trophy-lifting regional final. 

The Pietermaritzburg Central Regional has produced three teams that have gone on to represent their area at the main event for the competitive teams, the Grand Finals. Both hosts, Epworth School and defending champs, St John’s D.S.G. have appeared twice at the Grand Finals, while Epworth also won in 2020, the disrupted CoViD year. Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School dominated the region with six successive victories in a row when the tournament began in 2011. 

Eight victorious teams representing their regions will have already secured a berth at the Grand Finals that takes place at St Mary’s DSG in Kloof in July. The top team at the Pietermaritzburg Central Regional will join Danville Park Girls High School (Durban North Regional); St Mary’s DSG (Highway Regional); Kuswag Hoërskool (Durban South Regional), Durban Girls’ College (Durban Central Regional); The Wykeham Collegiate (Pietermaritzburg North Regional); Suid Natal Hoërskool (Sisonke and uGu Regional) and St Dominics Newcastle (Northern KZN Regional). The eighth team from the uMvoti and oThukela Regional will be decided the day before the action-packed day at Epworth. 

The final challenge heads to Grantleigh College on Saturday 20 May for the Northern KZN Coastal Regional.

For spectators that are unable to get to the side of the pitch, the ten regionals and the Grand Finals will be live streamed by SuperSport Schools on their mobile app or website.

For more info like the tournaments’ Facebook page (SparSchoolGirlsHockeyTournament) or follow on Instagram (sparkznhockey). 

ENDS

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls Hockey Challenge Northern KZN Regional Results

Host school, St Dominics Newcastle hoisted the trophy for the first time in the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge’s Northern KZN Regional on Saturday 6 May.

In a highly competitive regional final, St Dominics met local rivals, Ferrum Hoërskool who have dominated this regional with eight victories since the tournament’s inception in 2011. The two teams topped their pools with convincing wins throughout the day, and both won their respective Semi-Finals. 

In the 18 minutes of the final, both teams were evenly matched, with nothing between the two. The action-packed game glided all around the park. 3 minutes in, Ferrum found some space and took play up to St Doms in the games’ first real surge but an alert backline defended boldly, sending the game out of their danger zone, back up to midway. A few minutes later, it was the turn of the hosts, who ran the ball up to the other end, but in a similar fashion, Ferrum’s defence didn’t falter. 

Nearing 7 minutes, St Doms shone with some great skills, working the ball up with players passing quickly to one another as they rapidly made their way up the middle towards the Ferrum circle. The magic and momentum was abruptly halted as the ball carrier lost concentration and frustratingly stepped on the ball. 

An indication of how equal the two teams were, it took 9 minutes and 9 seconds for the first shot to be fired. Ferrum was gifted an opportunity, running the ball into the circle and wasting no time, smashing in their attempt, only to watch the ball whisk past the righthand post. Both teams played with tremendous discipline, not giving away any short corners, and only one long corner was given to St Dom’s. 

In the final quarter, St Doms kicked up a gear. The home team mounted several attacks on the Ferrum goal, with two close calls but the savvy Ferrum defenders stood strong as St Dominics grew in confidence. Time expired with the score sitting level at zero zero. The regional final would be decided in a penalty shootout. 

Three players from both teams made their way to the spot. Ferrum took first charge, with Annerie Roos netting her team’s first goal. Both Abongile Masondo from St Doms and Ferrums’ Annemie Rautenbach turns ended with keepers Colbe Le Breton and Sanri van Rhyn respectively shutting down their shots. Second up for St Dom’s, Andiswa Mhlungu was unfortunately fouled by FERRUM and was awarded a penalty stroke which was taken by a brave Xoliswa Sithole. Sithole sent her flick dead centre of goals but Le Breton easily stopped the shot. 

Third up for Ferrum, Joey du Preez took the ball up, drifting right and pulling van Rhyn out of the box. As she was nearing the base line, she slipped the ball past the keeper but sadly, her shot was off target and the ball skidded right of goal. With the score still on 1 nil, Ciana Captain, Captain for St Domnics stepped up to the spot. She too drifted right and tapped the ball in. Le Breton got a foot on the ball, slowing it down but luck was on Captains side, as the ball trickled over the line just in time to level the score at 1 all. 

With all three players having had their chance, the final progressed to a sudden death. A cool calm and collected Captain Courageous began, lifting the ball up for a few skillful bounces on her stick as she entered the circle, she let the ball drop and proceeded in similar fashion to run right, pulling the ball further right, away from an advancing Le Breton, with a bit more force, she tapped the ball beyond the reach of Le Breton and netting her and her teams’ second goal. A previously successful Roos went first for Ferrum. Following the trend of taking play to their right, she advanced rapidly to within a few meters from the baseline, realising her angle had been cut down dramatically by a charging van Rhyn, she knocked in her shot that flew wide. An eruption of emotions followed suit, with St Dom’s taking the win by the narrowest of margins, with two successful penalties, to Ferrum’s one. 

Recognised for his efforts with the whistle, head boy and First team goal keeper for St Dominics Newcastle, Mvelo Mashinini shone as the Most Promising Umpire.

St Dominics Newcastle is the seventh team who will be representing their region at the Grand Finals that takes place at St Mary’s DSG in Kloof in July. They join Danville Park Girls High School (Durban North Regional); St Mary’s DSG (Highway Regional); Kuswag Hoërskool (Durban South Regional), Durban Girls’ College (Durban Central Regional); The Wykeham Collegiate (Pietermaritzburg North Regional) and Suid Natal Hoërskool (Sisonke and uGu Regional).

The challenge heads to Wartburg Kirchdorf School this weekend, on Saturday for the uMvoti and oThukela Regional, followed by the Pietermaritzburg Central Regional at Epworth School on Sunday. The tenth regional takes place at Grantleigh College the following weekend, wrapping up the ten regionals around KZN. 

For spectators that are unable to get to the side of the pitch, the ten regionals and the Grand Finals will be live streamed by SuperSport Schools on their mobile app or website.

For more info like the tournaments’ Facebook page (SparSchoolGirlsHockeyTournament) or follow on Instagram (sparkznhockey).

Pool Results

Pool A

1 Ferrum Hoërskool 16pts; 2 Sarel Cilliers High School 9 pts; 3 Newcastle High School 9pts; 4= Vryheid Landbou; 4= Pongola Akademie

Pool B

1 St Dominics Newcastle 16pts; 2 Vryheid High School; 3 Dundee High School; 4= Utrecht High School; 4= Amajuba High School

Regional Final Results

St Dominics Newcastle 0 (2) vs Ferrum Hoërskool 0 (1) 

ENDS

PAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Northern KZN Regional Fixtures

The seventh SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge heads north to St Dominics Newcastle for the Northern KZN Regional on Saturday 6 May. 

Ten schools will be eagerly stepping onto the St Dominics' astro. The format for the day will see the teams divided into two pools. Pool A sees Ferrum High School; Sarel Cilliers High School; Vryheid Landbou; Newcastle High School and Pongola Akademie. Joining host school, St Dominic’s in Pool B are Dundee High School; Utrecht High School; Vryheid High School and Amajuba High School.

All games will run one way for 18 minutes, with a 2 minute change over for the teams between games. The overall log will be calculated with a win earning the victorious team 4 points; a draw with goals, 2 points; a goalless draw only a single point and a loss tallying up zero points.

At the end of the 20 pool games, the two log leaders from Pool A and Pool B will meet in a cross-pool playoff, followed by the regional decider revealing who will represent the area at the illustrious wrap up of the ten regionals that took place around KZN, at the Grand Finals that is being held in July at St Mary’s DSG, Kloof.

Three teams have hoisted the trophy in this area, of the three, two are back in the hopes of reclaiming the title. Ferrum High School have dominated this area with ten appearances at the Grand Finals since the tournament commenced in 2011. Sarel Cilliers travelled down to Durban for the 2016 main event. 

The successful champs from the Northern KZN Regional will join six other teams that have already reserved their ticket to the distinguished conclusion, they are Danville Park Girls’ High School (DBN North Regional), St Mary’s DSG (Highway Regional), Kuswag Hoërskool (Durban South Regional) and Durban Girls’ College (Durban Central Regional); The Wykeham Collegiate (Pietermaritzburg North Regional) and Suid Natal Hoërskool (Sisonke and uGu Regional).

The eighth tournament heads to Wartburg Kirchdorf School on Saturday 13 May for the uMvoti and oThukela Regional. The penultimate challenge gets rolling at Epworth School on Sunday 14 May for the Pietermaritzburg Central Regional. And the final fixture, Grantleigh College rounds off the 2023 Challenge with teams from around Richards Bay and Empangeni partaking in the Northern KZN Coastal Regional on Saturday 20 May.

For more info like the tournaments’ Facebook page (SparSchoolGirlsHockeyTournament) or follow on Instagram (sparkznhockey).

All games will be livestreamed on SuperSport Schools website or their mobile app. 

ENDS