Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s u/16A hockey team recently had the opportunity to participate in Pearson High School’s annual 𝗨/𝟭𝟲 𝗛𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟 in Gqeberha.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱.
The team kicked off the festival with some tough competition, facing off against Collegiate and DSG. Although they put up a valiant effort, they unfortunately fell short in both encounters. Undeterred, they returned the next morning to take on Woodridge, but luck was not on their side as they suffered another loss.
The team’s fortunes, however, began to change as they faced Brandwag in a thrilling match that ended in a goalless draw. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵-𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺.
Determined to turn things around, the team showed great resilience and determination in their subsequent matches. Despite battling through the pouring rain, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙤 𝙈𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣, 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙗𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙞𝙚𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙂𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙨, with a scoreline of 2-0 in each match.
Overall, the team’s performance at the Pearson festival showcased their perseverance and ability to adapt to different playing conditions. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧-𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚-𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚.