Following their national success at hockey this year, Felsted players went on a South African adventure over the summer holidays, learning about the history of the country, visiting a township, seeing the sights and having the opportunity to play hockey against many different teams in a completely new climate.
The two trips involved 30 boys in July and 20 girls in August, as part of a pre-season training programme. In amongst an incredible ten days of hockey against some top teams, the young Felstedians experienced a Cheetah and Elephant Sanctuary, an Eagle Encounter, African drumming, a game drive, Seal Island, whale spotting and some incredible local attractions and delicacies.
As well as experiencing the beauty of Cape Point and Boulder Beach, the two groups took a humbling trip to the township of Langa where, despite poverty stricken conditions, they were welcomed in to teach young children at the local school how to play hockey.
Team Captain and England Player, Alex Went commented; “The experiences that we had on the tour were once in a life time and visiting some of the poorest areas of the country was truly eye opening.”
The tour has served the girls well as they won their first fixture against a strong Stamford School side 6:2 at the weekend.
