The Saints Festival

The inaugural Hockey Festival took place in 2002 and was held only on Easter Saturday, alongside the Rugby Festival. The schools invited were local and included Northcliff High, Fourways High and the Jeppe Schools.

The following years saw the Festival extend to include the Thursday; teams from further afield were invited and FNB became the primary sponsor. The Rugby and Hockey Festivals became known as the St Stithians Easter Festival in 2005 and Hockey became a 3 day event due to its popularity.

Soon it became necessary to include the preparatory schools in the Festival and in 2008 the first school from the United Kingdom, Worksop College attended the Festival. Teams from disadvantaged communities play in the Festival every year and since 2010 have been sponsored by Day 1 Health. This allows for a memorable experience for young players who might not otherwise take part in such a festival. The 2011 Festival will celebrate its 10th year and will host among others teams such as Windhoek Girls (Namibia), Falcon Boys (Zimbabwe) as well as teams from Cape Town, Durban, East London,Pretoria and the Western Cape.

Having Boys’and Girls Colleges playing in the same Festival makes this Hockey Festival unique in South Africa. A Festival of this scale would be impossible to sustain without the tremendous support of the Rector and the Heads of the Boys and Girls Colleges, also the teachers in charge of hockey coupled with the tireless and enthusiastic efforts of the St Stithians Hockey Parents Association.  This dedicated team is the heartbeat behind the Festival which strives to ensure that hockey and the enjoyment of the players are the winners each year.”