Amanzimtoti school to contest Lions sports festival
KHS is one of only two South African schools per age group that will take part in the prestigious tournament.
Kingsway High School will participate in the Lions International Sports Festival in Cape Town from 24 to 31 July 2021. As one of only two South African schools per age group that will take part in the tournament, its first team rugby, first team netball and first team hockey will do battle.
“What makes this prestigious festival so special, is that the British and Irish Lions only tour South Africa once every 12 years. We are looking forward to flying the Kingsway High School and Amanzimtoti flag high at the tournament,” said rugby director, Mark Cameron. “There will be scouts from all over the world at the tournament, which is an added incentive for our players to excel.”
The school will take 50 learners, (25 rugby players, 15 hockey players and 10 netball players). They will be accompanied by team coaches, team managers, medical staff as well as the heads of rugby, hockey and netball.
The tournament, which features schools and clubs from around the world, takes place in the week leading up to the second test in Cape Town at a venue still to be announced in either Cape Town or Stellenbosch.
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The Kingsway teams will fly to Cape Town on 24 July and back home a week later. “We will only know who we will play against in the first game closer to the time. Our first games will be on Monday 26 July, followed by games on Wednesday 28 July and Friday 30 July. Plans are to visit Table Mountain on Tuesday 27 July and have an educational excursion on Thursday 29 July.
Cameron is chomping at the bit for sports to be allowed back at the schools. “We are waiting for the department of education to give the go-ahead. We normally start our off-season preparation in October leading to preseason in January. We are hoping for a good preseason and will play pre-season warm-up matches in February and March.”
He is hoping they will have local sports festivals like the Scottburgh Festival and Voortrekker Festival in March to prepare for the big one in July. “Going into level two helps, but all school sports are still not allowed to start training. The department announced that there will be no sports this year at all.
“We are hoping to start training as soon as possible as one needs to be conditioned and well prepared to play in a tournament like this. We are really excited about the future of our sport at Kingsway High School. Lots of planning has already taken place to ensure our sports stars develop their skills and become better players.
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Part of our planning is to travel abroad, and by doing so, giving our players recognition for all the hard work that they put in. This will give them maximum exposure, not only in South Africa, but internationally. Over the next three years, we will be taking part in the Lions Sports Festival in Cape Town in 2021, tour Ireland in 2022 and tour Namibia in 2023.
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