Ashton International College Ballito returned to the sports field with a challenging round of indoor hockey and basketball fixtures last week, signalling a competitive start to the 2026 calendar.

Girls’ Indoor Hockey

On Saturday (January 17) Ashton hosted Our Lady of Fatima and Reddam Umhlanga for a tri-schools’ series between the girls’ U14A, U16A and 1st team indoor hockey teams. The U14B, U16B and C, and 2nd team travelled to St Mary’s DSG in Kloof where they took on the hosts and Fatima.

In Ballito, the age group ‘A’ teams went undefeated against Reddam by a combined scoreline of 24-1, with only the first team conceding. It was tougher going against Fatima, with only the U16 B and 2nds getting hard-fought draws.

Erdine Coetzee, Head of Girls’ Sport at Ashton, said the first week of term is always busy and exciting.

“It was a good mix of big wins, tough matches and valuable lessons,” she said.

“A number of teams showed great fight in closely contested games, picking up draws against challenging opponents and gaining important experience early in the season. Overall, it was a positive opening week that showed plenty of promise as the league gets underway.”

Boys’ Basketball

Ashton’s boys’ basketball teams began the year with some testing pre-season fixtures away at Northwood School. The U16A claimed a comfortable 42-27 win against Northwood’s U16D team, while the U15A team lost a tightly contested game against Northwood’s U15C by a single point (22-23).

There was not much joy for the U14A and 1st team, who both lost by double-digit scores. Ashton’s head of senior college sport, Craig Currin, highlighted that it was the first time in Ashton history that the school put out a full set of age group teams.

“Our boys enjoyed a great weekend of preseason basketball games hosted at Northwood,” said Currin.

“It was a good opportunity to showcase our skills and test ourselves against top opposition. These matches were vital in preparation for our basketball league which takes place this term.

“Well done to all our teams for representing Ashton College with courage and determination, and for never giving up.”