St Stithians College hockey play in an overseas tournament
South Africa’s Women’s Hockey 5s squad selected three hockey players from a local school.
Grade 10 learner from St Stithians College Reabetswe Phume, Girls college teacher Sylvia van Jaarsveldt, and Girls preparatory teacher Mmatshepo Modipane played in their first tournament with the South African Women’s Hockey 5s team.
The team participated in the senior Hockey 5s event in Lausanne, Switzerland from June 4 to 5. This was their first step on the road towards their debut in the International Hockey Federation Hockey 5s World Cup for 2024. The team played four matches against India, Poland, Switzerland, and Uruguay. “In their last match, they drew to India, which meant they missed a place in the finals,” mentions St Stithians College media, PR and communications manager Annie Fyfe-Hitchings.
“Nonetheless, the team ended in third place which was a pleasing outcome,” said Phume, the youngest player at the tournament.
Phume shared that the trip to Switzerland was a breathtaking experience and was one that she would never forget. “Travelling from continent to continent was very tiring, but as soon as we arrived the more excited I got.”
She shared it was her first time meeting some of her teammates, and kicking the day off with training sessions and activation was helpful.
“The team had the opportunity of visiting and seeing various sites around Lausanne, such as the Olympic Museum and swimming in Lake Geneva,” said Fyfe-Hitchings.
The team was not immune to setbacks that come with travelling – their kits’ delayed arrival on the connecting flight from Doha saw the kits land the day before the tournament. However, the International Hockey Federation came to their rescue and kindly lent them kits for their training season.
The women shared that the weather in Switzerland would fluctuate between cold, warm and hot in one day. They added that laundry costs would have been 12 Swiss Francs (about R190) per item of clothing, so they washed their kits in the bath.
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