Collegiate girls ready to defend hockey title
COLLEGIATE, who won last year’s provincial title, will be aiming to become the final provincial qualifiers when the PE Coastal leg of the SPAR Eastern Cape Schoolgirls Hockey Challenge is held at Pearson in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.
So far, four of the five regional qualifiers have been played, with Union High, Kingsridge, Clarendon and York having booked their places in the provincial finals at Woodridge on August 12.
Ten teams will meet at Pearson on Sunday to decide the PE Coastal winners, an increase from the eight sides that contested the tournament last year.
Hockey challenge national director Les Galloway, who will attend Sunday’s playoffs, said it reflected how the concept had been adopted by the schools in the region.
Galloway is based in KwaZuluNatal and initiated the concept in that province seven years ago.
“The interest and the excitement of the tournament have grown from last year,” she said.
“Now the challenge is becoming established on the calendar, creating some continuity.
“More and more schools are becoming aware of the tournaments and want to get involved.”
She said they were looking forward to a day of quality schoolgirls’ hockey.
“This is an exciting region, with Collegiate being one of the top teams after they won the provincial title last year,” she said.
“You also have a very good side such as Pearson, and then there are a whole lot of other teams who will have a chance to prove themselves,” she said.
Besides giving the schools exposure, the challenge also provided an opportunity for individuals to catch the eye, Galloway said.
The teams for Sunday’s playoffs will be divided into two pools.
Pool A will comprise Pearson, Woodridge, Victoria Park, Pearson Invitational and Nico Malan, while Pool B will consist of Collegiate, Westering, Linkside, Alexander Road and Framesby.
The top two teams in each pool will qualify for the semis, starting at 3pm. The final is scheduled for 4.40pm and matches will be played over 20 minutes.