Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s 1st team hockey girls attended the Fairmont Hockey Festival and what an amazing experience it has been. The Belgotex Sport Fairmont Easter Tournament unites 64 teams over 4 days (from 5 to 8 April) in a show of competitive sportsmanship.
The girls played six very exciting matches against stellar competition, with each of the Union girls displaying a lot of skill and determination (in very hot conditions) throughout!
The results of their encounters are as follow: Drew 0 – 0 vs Edgemead High School; Lost 2 – 3 vs Curro Durbanville High School; Lost 0 – 4 against pool winners Somerset College Won 3 – 0 vs Worcester Gymnasium. Won 2 – 1 vs Stellenbosch High School Lost 3 – 1 vs Hoรซr Tegniese Skool Drostdy. Won 2 – 0 vs Settlers High School
๐ช๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ก๐ to Musa Zweni, Caytah-Leigh Koeberg and Soso Mroro who have each been rewarded with a ‘Player of the Match’ award!
๐๐ข๐ก๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐จ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ to hockey players ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ญ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ, ๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐ผ ๐ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ผ, ๐ ๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฎ ๐ก๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ป and ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต-๐๐ป๐ป ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ who have been selected for the Travel & Sport Invitational 2023 Hockey Team that will be touring northwestern Europe from 3 to 12 October.
๐๐ข๐ก๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐จ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ and ๐๐๐ฆ๐ง ๐ข๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ to the following Union High School, Graaff-Reinet hockey players (20 in total!) who were invited to participate in the final round of the EP hockey trials being held on Sunday morning, 7 May at the Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) in Makhanda.
The end of the first term was celebrated with an explosive mix of colour, water, upbeat music and squeals of laughter as high-spirited learners gathered on the field on Tuesday afternoon, 28 March, for the Interact Clubโs end-of-term ๐๐ข๐๐ข๐จ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฆ๐ fundraiser.
Union High School, Graaff-Reinetโs 34th annual ๐ฆ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ & ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ kicks off tomorrow, Friday, 31 March, when close to 600 learners and coaches will arrive in Graaff-Reinet for this sporting extravaganza.
โThere is great excitement as our hockey and rugby players get ready to once again welcome their counterparts from all over the country to their school for a weekend of rugby and hockey being played in a competitive, but fun-based environment,โ said Unionโs Head of Sport, Mrs Lou-Ann Gerber. โAs always, the school is delighted to once again host this festival and relishes the opportunity that this festival offers us to see the campus fields, boarding houses and AstroTurf filled with happy and fulfilled learners.โ
She added that the staging of the festival would not have been possible without the backing of the schoolโs sponsors, including the festivalโs title sponsors Caltex Eastern Cape and Bothaโs Garage.
โWe are grateful for their support as we look forward to a weekend of friendship, fun and loads of healthy competition.โ
Caltex EC and Bothaโs Garage said they were thrilled to support this event.
โIt is really special to be on board with sporting events such as these and to be able to welcome a spectrum of schools from around South Africa to Graaff-Reinet,โ said Mr Shawn Botha of Bothaโs Garage.
โThis is a great chance to compete on the sports fields, but also to have fun and to make friends with other schools.โ
๐๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟโ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ Clarendon High School, Langenhoven Gimnasium, Hoรซrskool Framesby, Stellenbosch High School, Cambridge High School, Edgemead High School, Grey High School, Camps Bay High School, Cradock High School, Winterberg Agricultural High School, Gill College, Asherville Secondary School, Spandau Secondary School, Riebeek College, Hoรซrskool Nico Malan, Hoรซr Volkskool, Hoรซrskool Jim Fouchรฉ, Hoรซrskool Brandwag, Victoria Girlsโ High School and of course, the Union 1st team and Invitational sides.
Ryan Jenneke will serve Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s 1st XV as their captain for the 2023 season. He will be assisted by vice-captain Chuma Sobantu.
These three girls embody the 3 Cโs when leading their team: ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐, ๐๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ฆ and ๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ก๐ง and we couldn’t be more proud of them!
On behalf of all the educators and staff at Union High School, Graaff-Reinet, we would like to congratulate the ๐ง๐ข๐ฃ ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ, 2023.
Grade 5
1. Noel Shakane 2. Nieke van Jaarsveld, Kari Stern, Amelia King 5. Ryan Collett, Ryon Naude 7. Angelique Kyanda Kaboza 8. Hermon Wolde 9. Mason Knoesen, Luchae Thomas, Adam Clark
Grade 6
1. Clea Clark 2. Chante Bezuidenhout, Helen van den Heever 4. Adriaan van Jaarsveld 5. Rachel Wenham 6. Maribel April, Aiden Ferreira, Kira Hector, Leagan Katzen, Logan Marais
Grade 7
1. Isabella Hulleman 2. John Henry King 3. Owen Paxton 4. Gerda Clarke 5. Antonia Adams, Kwakhanya Ntlonti, Carlen Prinsloo, Quinn Naude, Cate Cochrane, Zunaida Deysel
Our annual ๐ฆ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ & ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ – sponsored by Caltex Eastern Cape – is a much-loved and highly anticipated event on the Union High School, Graaff-Reinet calendar.
With less than a week to go and much to do, we canโt help but relish the opportunity that this festival offers us to see our campus, boarding houses, rugby fields and AstroTurf filled with happy and fulfilled young rugby and hockey players.
As always, the festival promises to be jam-packed offering something for everyone to enjoy, with close to 600 learners competing in rugby and hockey for three consecutive days.
All parents, Old Unionites and friends of the Union Schools are invited to a steak braai in the ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ฃ on Saturday evening, 1 April, at 6.30pm during Union’s 34th annual Senior Rugby & Hockey Festival.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ-๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ your tickets with Mrs Suzanne Marais at 049 891 0262 or secretary@unionschools.co.za
1st Team – Gregg Beiling Festival Unionโs 1st XI hockey girls participated in the ๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ in East London this past weekend.
On Friday they played their first match against Eldoraigne High School, which saw Union lose 2 โ 1.
On Saturday they played two matches. The first was against a Top 10 side, Collegiate High School, which saw the girls go down 1 โ 6. A couple of hours later, Union played against Merifield College, drawing the match 2 โ 2.
Their last encounter of the festival on Sunday, saw Union conclude their weekend with a 1-all draw against Sasolburg High School.
We would like to thank coach Calvin Beck for looking after our girls, as well as the parents who supported the girls throughout the weekend.
U/16A team: Pearson Festival Pearson High School hosted their annual u/16 Girlsโ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ this past weekend in Gqeberha.
The Union u/16A side, accompanied by new coach Arijana Botha, played well and with great energy throughout the weekend.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐๐น๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ผ๐๐: vs Kingwood: lost 0 – 1 vs Woodridge: won 1 – 0 vs DSG B : lost 0-1 vs Framesby: won 2-0 vs Pearson A : lost 8 – 0 vs Pearson B: won 0 – 3
On Saturday, 18 March, Union took on Saint Andrewโs School on home soil in an annual derby day that has become a ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ง, eagerly awaited by both schools.
As expected, the day started with a bang, with all matches being played at a furious pace, with teams from both sides attacking and defending with everything they had.
Aggressive attacking and big hits in defence saw our senior teams enjoying more success than the juniors. Congratulations to the u/15As and 2nd XVs on their victories.
Union’s ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง ๐ซ๐ฉ put on a brilliant performance to beat the Saints 18 โ 8, ending the day off on a high note for Union.
The Union side played with the wind in the first half and, although they had numerous opportunities to cross over the try line, they were unable to do so until a moment of stellar play secured Union a lead of 5 โ 0. St Andrewโs however followed this up with a try against the run of play, followed up by a penalty, giving them a 8 โ 5 lead going into half-time.
Union looked a better team in the second half, controlling possession and territory which eventually resulted in them scoring their second try, to take the lead by 13 – 8. A penalty in favour of Union, secured them the win with 18 points to Saint Andrewโs 8.
