From Wednesday morning, Cape Town plays host to 64 teams – 32 boys’ and 32 girls’ – in the highly anticipated Cape Town International Hockey Tournament.
The event’s opening match features York High School against HTS Drostdy in the boys’ Elite section at 08:00 on the Hartleyvale A Astroturf.
The annual tournament, which enters its 20th year, will be held at seven different venues across the city.
The boys’ and girls’ finals take place on Sunday at the Hartleyvale A AstroTurf.
Before then, pool matches will be played at Hartleyvale A and B, Central Hockey Club, UCT, WPCC A and B, and Pinelands High School.
When it began in 2003, the tournament was an initiative to pit South African schools against top teams from overseas, thus growing the game and giving it much-needed exposure.
Now, the tournament features international sides and teams from across South Africa, with the majority of them from the Western Cape.
The event format divides the traditionally stronger teams into the Elite section, and the rest of the schools compete in the Evolve section.
In last year’s tournament, Reddam House Constantia won the girls’ Elite section, beating St Paul’s College of Namibia 3-1 in a heated final before South African College High School (SACS) got one over Reddam House to claim the top honours in the boys’ section.
SACS won’t be competing in this year’s event, which means a new champion will be crowned in the Boys’ Elite section.
Reddam House Constantia is paired in Pool A and faces York High, Somerset College, Paarl Boys’ High, HTS Drostdy, and a Parel Vallei Invitational side.
There’s a lot to play for in the group, and while Reddam will fancy their chances, they’ll face some stern challenges, with Paarl Boys’ High, perhaps, the favourite to top the group standings.
Somerset College has made good strides in 2026, and they’ll be eager to stamp their authority, while York High could cause an upset or two.
Pool B is made up of Paarl Gimnasium, Parel Vallei, St Paul’s College, Worcester Gimnasium, Curro Durbanville, and Merchant Taylors’ School from the United Kingdom.
Paarl Gim missed last year’s event, but won the tournament in 2024. They’ll be eager to get their hands on the silverware again.
Parel Vallei, meanwhile, will aim to build on their impressive season, which includes a runner-up finish in the very tough Standard Bank Hibbert Shield in May.
Travelling sides St Paul’s College and Merchant Taylors’ School arrive as the unknowns, and that makes them dangerous.
How the tournament works:
Teams will play in a round-robin phase where they will receive:
3 points for a win | 1 point for a draw | 0 for a loss
The top two teams in each pool progress to the Friday night quarterfinals, followed by semifinals for the winners.
On Sunday morning, the remaining teams will play for positioning (5-8). The final will be on Sunday afternoon, with placement games for the remainder.
The teams positioned third to fifth in the pool will play their equivalent position in the other pool (e.g., 3rd Pool A vs 3rd Pool B; 3rd Pool C vs 3rd Pool D) on Sunday morning. The winners of those games will play each other on Sunday afternoon to determine their final positions, while the runners-up will play each other to determine their positions.
GROUPS
Elite Girls
Pool A: St Paul’s College, Paarl Girls’ High, Charlie Hofmeyr, La Rochelle, Somerset College
Pool B: York High School, Reddam House Constantia, Rhenish Girls’ Invitational, HTS Drostdy, Bellville High School
Evolve Girls
Pool A: Point High School, The Settlers High, Hoërskool Strand, Curro Durbanville
Pool B: Upington High School, Bridge House School, Western Province Invitational, Worcester Gimnasium
Pool C: Hugenote, Union High School, Edgemead, Curro Hermanus
Pool D: Hoërskool Stellenbosch, Pinelands High School, HS Jan van Riebeeck, Swartland High School
Elite Boys
Pool A: Reddam House Constantia, York High, Somerset College, Paarl Boys’ High, HTS Drostdy, Parel Vallei Invitational
Pool B: Merchant Taylors’ School, Paarl Gimnasium, Parel Vallei High School, St Paul’s College, Worcester Gimnasium, Curro Durbanville
Evolve Boys
Pool A: Point High School, HS Jan an Riebeeck, Bridge House School, Edgemead
Pool B: Merchant Taylors’ School 2nd XI, Hoerskool Bellville, Hermanus High School, Curro Langenbaan
Pool C: HS Upington, Pinelands High School, Swartland, Curro Hermanus
Pool D: Charlie Hofmeyr, HS Strand, The Settlers High, Western Province Invitational
DAY 1: FIXTURES
Elite Boys
Pool A
08:00 – York High vs HTS Drostdy
09:00 – Reddam House vs Parel Vallei Invitational
12:00 – Reddam House vs HTS Drostdy
13:00 – Paarl Boys’ High vs Somerset College
16:00 – York High vs Paarl Boys’ High
17:00 – Somerset College vs Parel Vallei Invitational
Pool B
08:00 – Merchant Taylors’ School vs Curro Durbanville
09:00 – Parel Vallei High School vs St Paul’s College
12:00 – Merchant Taylors’ School vs Worcester Gimnasium
14:00 – Parel Vallei High School vs Curro Durbanville
15:00 – Paarl Gimnasium vs Worcester Gimnasium
18:00 – Paarl Gimnasium vs St Paul’s College
Elite Girls
Pool A
09:00 – St Paul’s College vs Somerset College
11:00 – Charlie Hofmeyr vs La Rochelle
12:00 – St Paul’s College vs Paarl Girls High
15:00 – La Rochelle vs Somerset College
16:00 – Paarl Girls High vs Charlie Hofmeyr
Pool B
10:00 – York High School vs Reddam House Constantia
11:00 – Rhenish Girls Invitational vs HTS Drostdy
13:00 – Bellville High School vs York High School
15:00 – Reddam House Constantia vs Rhenish Girls Invitational
17:00 – HTS Drostdy vs Bellville High School
