The cream of young sports talent in the Eastern Cape will be on display when the SPAR Eastern Cape Schoolgirls Hockey Challenge provincial finals take place at Collegiate High School in Port Elizabeth on Saturday and Sunday.
Following registration at 2.30pm on Saturday, the five regional winners will meet in round-robin matches, culminating in the provincial decider at 11.35am on Sunday.
The competing teams are Woodridge (Port Elizabeth Coastal winners), York (South Western Districts winners), DSG (Port Elizabeth North), Queenstown Girls’ High (East London Inland) and Clarendon (East London Coastal).
Having won the Port Elizabeth Coastal tournament with a tense victory over Collegiate, Woodridge coach Maxime Bird said the team expected tough competition, but were looking forward to the opportunity.
“As the teams are all regional winners, competition will be really strong,” she said.
“But we know there is always a good vibe at these finals and it’s a great chance for the players to reconnect with their friends from other regions.
“We understand the competition will be intense, but we are going there to play the game we love.
“Someone has to win and someone has to lose, so we just want to go out to play and enjoy.”
Bird said instead of placing emphasis on individual players, their strategy would be on an overall team effort.
“They each bring something different to the game but they all have a job to do, so it’s all about working as a team.”
With matches in the provincial finals limited to 30 minutes, coaches try to adopt a specific strategy for the abbreviated period.
“Obviously, with the short game time, it is imperative to attack early and score goals,” Bird said.
“The strategy does depend on how the players are feeling on the day and how the opposition are performing.
“Each match is different and as important as the next, so we take each fixture as it comes and adapt accordingly.”
DSG coach Chris Hibbert said they realised the pressure would be on, but were geared up to manage the process.
“We will have fun and try to get the girls to learn how to cope with a high-pressurised, result-focused environment, so they can grow from the experience,” he said.
“We believe we have good goal-scoring ability and, in players like Torva Sharwood and Enya Kemp, we will always be asking questions of the opposition defences.
“We also have some exciting young players coming through and a number of EP U16 players in our team. Players such as Nikki du Toit, Indipile Ndamase, Josie Apps and Chelsea Lennett will need to step up to the standard required this weekend for us to be competitive.”
He credited SPAR and the tournament organisers for making the event possible.
“It’s a fantastic event to have in the Eastern Cape, which has grown from strength to strength,” Hibbert said.
SPAR Eastern Cape sponsorship and events manager Alan Stapleton said they were anticipating another highquality tournament.
Young sportswomen game for hockey challenge in PE
Image: Google Maps
The cream of young sports talent in the Eastern Cape will be on display when the SPAR Eastern Cape Schoolgirls Hockey Challenge provincial finals take place at Collegiate High School in Port Elizabeth on Saturday and Sunday.
Following registration at 2.30pm on Saturday, the five regional winners will meet in round-robin matches, culminating in the provincial decider at 11.35am on Sunday.
The competing teams are Woodridge (Port Elizabeth Coastal winners), York (South Western Districts winners), DSG (Port Elizabeth North), Queenstown Girls’ High (East London Inland) and Clarendon (East London Coastal).
Having won the Port Elizabeth Coastal tournament with a tense victory over Collegiate, Woodridge coach Maxime Bird said the team expected tough competition, but were looking forward to the opportunity.
“As the teams are all regional winners, competition will be really strong,” she said.
“But we know there is always a good vibe at these finals and it’s a great chance for the players to reconnect with their friends from other regions.
“We understand the competition will be intense, but we are going there to play the game we love.
“Someone has to win and someone has to lose, so we just want to go out to play and enjoy.”
Bird said instead of placing emphasis on individual players, their strategy would be on an overall team effort.
“They each bring something different to the game but they all have a job to do, so it’s all about working as a team.”
With matches in the provincial finals limited to 30 minutes, coaches try to adopt a specific strategy for the abbreviated period.
“Obviously, with the short game time, it is imperative to attack early and score goals,” Bird said.
“The strategy does depend on how the players are feeling on the day and how the opposition are performing.
“Each match is different and as important as the next, so we take each fixture as it comes and adapt accordingly.”
DSG coach Chris Hibbert said they realised the pressure would be on, but were geared up to manage the process.
“We will have fun and try to get the girls to learn how to cope with a high-pressurised, result-focused environment, so they can grow from the experience,” he said.
“We believe we have good goal-scoring ability and, in players like Torva Sharwood and Enya Kemp, we will always be asking questions of the opposition defences.
“We also have some exciting young players coming through and a number of EP U16 players in our team. Players such as Nikki du Toit, Indipile Ndamase, Josie Apps and Chelsea Lennett will need to step up to the standard required this weekend for us to be competitive.”
He credited SPAR and the tournament organisers for making the event possible.
“It’s a fantastic event to have in the Eastern Cape, which has grown from strength to strength,” Hibbert said.
SPAR Eastern Cape sponsorship and events manager Alan Stapleton said they were anticipating another highquality tournament.
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