Bulletin

As Term 2 unfolds, we’d like to reflect back on the remarkable moments from Union High School’s 2025 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗢𝗥 𝗥𝗨𝗚𝗕𝗬 & 𝗛𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟, held over the weekend of 28 to 31 March, marking its 36th edition.

This year’s festival, which began its journey back in 1987 on the school’s campus in Graaff-Reinet, witnessed an impressive turnout with over 600 enthusiastic hockey and rugby players participating.

𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁.

The 4-day celebration kicked off on Friday, 28 March, with a cocktail function held in the Tony Burrell Union. Despite starting the day with a torrential downpour, the evening transformed into a stunning spectacle as the sky cleared, providing a breathtaking backdrop for teams to mingle and connect on the sports field, enjoying the social camaraderie that is the essence of the festival.

Coaches and managers relished the opportunity to network in great company while savouring the delicious offerings supplied by the dedicated Union moms.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. A heartfelt thank you was also extended to our sponsors, Botha’s Garage and Astron Energy Eastern Cape, along with the devoted individuals working behind the scenes, whose efforts made the festival possible.

The following three days brought beautiful weather, allowing teams to take full advantage of the AstroTurf at both Union and Hoër Volkskool, while rugby enthusiasts cheered on the action unfolding on the Union rugby fields.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. While the hosting side had previously clinched the title, they faced a challenging match against Sasolburg High School, which ended in a nail-biting shootout that saw Sasolburg emerge victorious, ultimately placing the Union side third.

𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘖𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘫𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘰𝘰𝘭’𝘴 2𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳!

With the exception of the Sasolburg game, the Union girls managed to secure victories in all their other matches. They triumphed over Lilyfontein School 6-1, Hoërskool Langenhoven 6-0, Nico Malan 3-0, Clarendon’s 2nd Team 10-0 and Fichardtpark 3-2, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁.

On the rugby field, the Union 1st XV played two matches during the festival. Day 2 saw them victorious against Stirling with a score of 17-14, while the final match on Day 4 was a tough contest against Cambridge, resulting in a close loss of 24-27.

𝘈𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳’𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭, 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭!