Durban — Danville Park Girls’ High School and St Mary’s DSG Kloof were crowned 2023 Spar KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Champions recently.
The tournament was held across various venues in Durban on March 11-12. Danville Park Girls’ High School won the Durban North Regional Section while St Mary’s DSG Kloof won the Highway Section. By virtue of their victories, both teams have punched their ticket into the finals, which will be hosted by St Mary’s DSG Kloof on July 22-23.
In the Highway Section, St Mary’s defended their title after defeating Thomas More College in the final.
St Mary’s head of hockey, Kelly Reed, said she expected her side to do well in this year’s edition, adding that they had always performed well historically.
“Now that we have won, we will play in the Spar Finals, which hosts all the teams that have won the various regional tournaments,” said Reed.
St Mary’s went through the whole tournament undefeated and won all their games. They scored 28 goals in seven games and conceded zero.
Reed said this tournament was pivotal for their season preparation as it gave the team more game time.
Grade 12 pupil and St Mary’s captain Kelly Jansens ter laeck, 17, said it was a great tournament as it had tested their mental strength.
“We were able to make mistakes, learn from them and grow as a team. The positive environment our team surrounded ourselves in and the support and backing from one another played a huge role and showed how important that is for a team,” she said.
Danville Park Girls’ High School were crowned Durban North Regional Champions following their 1-0 victory over Our Lady of Fatima Dominican Convent School.
Danville Park’s first team coach Matthew Smith said he expected a challenge and was pleased with his team’s performance as they had just completed their indoor hockey season and had little outdoor practice.
“The players really stepped up and played a brilliant brand of hockey and dominated every game. They honestly deserved to win it,” said Smith.
Grade 12 pupil and vice-captain Savannah-Anne Ferreira, 17, said it was a special tournament as it was her last year representing her school.
“I cannot thank my team and coaches enough for contributing to it. It is something I will never forget,” said Savannah-Anne.
Our Lady of Fatima Dominican Convent School finished as runners-up in the Durban North Regional section during the 2023 Spar KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge.
Head of hockey and first team coach Jacinta Jubb said she expected her side to do well as they entered the tournament as the Durban North regional defending champions.
“The KZN Spar Hockey Challenge really assisted us in preparation for one of the biggest pre-season tournaments that we’ll attend this year, that being St Mary’s Waverley in Johannesburg, which we leave for in two weeks’ time.
“We learnt a lot as a team during this Spar tournament and managed to work on tactical and technical structures. We are looking forward to growing even more as we continue with our hockey season,” said Jubb.
Jubb’s side played five matches and won three, drew one and lost one. Their sole loss came in the final, where they went down narrowly 1-0 to Danville Park Girls’ High School.
Grade 12 pupil and first-team hockey captain Mia Liebenberg said she enjoyed playing in the tournament and it was something she looked forward to every year.
Mia, 18, said: “I think our results from the weekend have set up our team for great success in the future. It gave us an opportunity to find connections and get stronger as a team before the season starts. I’m looking forward to seeing how the hard work has paid off.”
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