A feast for hockey lovers

THE 20th edition of the St Mary’s Investec Hockey Festival is set to showcase young South African hockey talent of the future.

Thirty-two teams from around South Africa, as well as Windhoek High School from Namibia, will compete in the four days of fast-paced hockey.

St Mary’s is expecting more than 500 competitors and their coaching staff, as well as more than 7500 supporters to visit the festival.

The matches take place predominately at St Mary’s School, and will culminate in the final on Sunday evening.

Games will be live-streamed on the final two days.

Investec’s sponsorship of the event is now in its ninth year and is an example of the company’s long-standing commitment to the development of women in sport, says Danni Dixon, Investec South Africa head of marketing.

“This tournament provides for the uniting of women champions, helping to take them to the top of their game, during their school years and beyond. Our aim is that the St Mary’s Investec Hockey Festival serves as a platform to promote and grow South African women’s hockey in the country. Our continued support of this beautiful game gives young hockey talent the opportunity to showcase and develop their skills against the nation’s top players. We hope that, through endeavours like this, we create opportunities for players and young talent coming into the game to perform extraordinarily.”

The festival started in 2000 when St Mary’s was the only girls’ school in Johannesburg with an Astroturf.

The year 2018 saw a nail-biting final between Collegiate and St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, with no goals being scored. St Mary’s Kloof goalkeeper,

Nicola Havenga, proved the difference between the teams in the penalty shoot-out, when she saved all three attempts, helping her team to a thrilling 3-0 shoot-out victory. This was the first win for Stmary’s Kloof since 2007.

St Mary’s Old Girl and former Springbok player Shelley Jones (nee Russell), and MD of the Investec Hockey Academy, says it’s an honour to have the academy and festival closely aligned:

“Launched four years ago, the Investec Hockey Academy aims to improve hockey performance at all levels through a multi-dimensional, holistic approach. The academy identifies talent and provides high-quality training and tuition for players and coaches.

“I played at the festival many times in the early 2000s and we will certainly be on the lookout for budding talent at this festival as we strive to improve South Africa’s hockey talent pool.”

“This year, St Mary’s celebrates the 20th St Mary’s Investec Hockey Festival. Our first hockey festival was hosted in 2000 as a celebration of the investment that St Mary’s School made into girls’ hockey with the laying of an Astroturf. How far we have come. This year we will use our newly completed multi-purpose facility as a second field,” said Deanne King, head of St Mary’s School, Waverley.

The festival is not solely about hockey. In 2013organisers decided to use the festival to raise awareness and funds for rhino. Players and spectators responded wholeheartedly, and since the success of that first year, St Mary’s and Investec have raised almost R450000 for rhino through the festival.

The funds have been used to care for injured rhino, give children in rural communities the opportunity to learn about rhino and see them in the wild and, more recently, to provide secure fencing for an expansive new boma for rhino orphans at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (HESC).

In the past, Investec contributed to funds raised by donating R200 for every goal scored at the festival, but this year, Investec Rhino Lifeline has committed to match all funds raised up to R150 000 which will hopefully generate the festival’s largest single contribution to date.

“As far as the rhino is concerned,” says St Mary’s head of sports, Quix Quicke, “the game is far from over and it is only from a sustained team effort that we stand the slightest chance of winning. And in this case winning is not everything, it is the only thing, if we hope to keep the rhino on the planet.”

● The action at the St Mary’s Investec Hockey Festival 2019 starts at 7.45am on Thursday April 4 at Stmary’s School, Waverley. The final is set for 17h00 on Sunday 7 April, at St Mary’s. Entrance to the festival is free to the public.