Author: L. Crankshaw

The Anne Beagley Junior Rugby & Hockey Festival proudly bears the name of a woman whose contribution to Union High School and junior sport was truly extraordinary.

Anne “Dobby” Beagley dedicated more than two decades of her life to the education and development of young people at the Union Schools in Graaff-Reinet. 𝘈𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.

To generations of young girls, she was simply “Mrs Junior Hockey”. Dobby possessed a unique ability to nurture confidence, sportsmanship and a love for the game, ensuring that every child felt valued and encouraged.

𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵.

It was this passion that led her to establish the Junior Rugby & Hockey Festival in 1999. What began as an opportunity for young players to enjoy healthy competition, friendship and personal growth has, over the years, grown into one of the most anticipated junior sporting events in the region.

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗯𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗿 – participation, camaraderie, respect and enjoyment.

Her influence extended far beyond the sports field. She was involved in swimming, drama and cultural activities, inspiring young people to discover and develop their talents. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥, 𝘋𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴.

𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 whose vision continues to create opportunities for young sportsmen and sportswomen to learn, compete and build lifelong memories.

𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.

The 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗢𝗥 𝗥𝗨𝗚𝗕𝗬 & 𝗛𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟 hosted by Union High School, Graaff-Reinet and sponsored by Astron Energy Eastern Cape in partnership with Astron Energy College Motors and Botha’s Garage is, first and foremost, all about fun and creating a memorable, positive experience for every learner who takes part.

As we prepare for the 25th annual edition of this much-loved event, taking place this month from 26 to 29 June, 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥!

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 Grey Junior, The Diocesan School for Girls, Laer Volkskool, Gonubie Primary School, Muir College, Stirling Primary School, Clarendon Park Primary School, Selborne Primary School, Victoria Primary School, Sunridge Primary School, Lilyfontein School, Laerskool Cradock, College Hill Primary School, Cambridge Primary School, Crewe Primary School, Clarendon Primary School for Girls, Riebeek College, Erica Girls’ Primary School, Laerskool Sonop, Stutterheim Primary School, Graaff-Reinet Primêr, Narsingstraat Primary School and Kroonvale Primary School and of course the hosting sides.

If you can’t join us in person, all matches on the Union Schools’ AstroTurf and Puttick Field will be livestreamed via our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theunionschools/streams

The full festival programme is available to 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 𝗔𝗡𝗗/𝗢𝗥 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗟𝗢𝗔𝗗 here: https://www.unionschools.co.za/upcoming-sport-fixtures/

Before we dive into all the excitement, competition and unforgettable moments of the 25th annual 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝘂𝗴𝗯𝘆 & 𝗛𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹, we’d like to pause and acknowledge the incredible partners who have helped make it all possible.

A heartfelt thank you to Astron Energy, represented in Graaff-Reinet by 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹𝗮 𝗦𝗺𝗶𝘁 of Astron Energy Botha’s Market Square (Botha’s Garage), together with 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗿𝗶 𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘇𝗮 of Astron Energy College Motors, for their generous sponsorship and continued support of this highlight on the winter sporting calendar.

Pictured with our valued sponsors are U13A hockey festival captain 𝗧𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯𝘀, supported by vice-captains 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗮 𝗢𝘁𝘁 and 𝗘𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀, together with U13A rugby co-captains 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘆 and 𝗨𝘁𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗲.

𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺’𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥!

Union High School’s Primary Music Department’s 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 evening was a truly special occasion.

Against the warm glow of candlelight, our young musicians filled the hall with beautiful music and shared the results of many hours of hard work and dedication.

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 tonight and grateful to our music staff, families and supporters for helping make the evening such a success.

We look forward to sharing more highlights from the evening on our Facebook page soon.