The Selborne hockey tour to Holland in 1999, where the team played exclusively on artificial surfaces, was one of the sparks that led to a decision to establish a synthetic turf facility at the College. One the prime movers in the project was the late Rob Taylor, who had been one of the coaches on that tour. The experience had convinced him that hockey on ‘Astro’ was the way ahead and that the school should take the plunge in order to maintain and strengthen its position as one of the leading hockey schools in South Africa.
With the support of the headmaster, a push began to make this a reality and it was soon decided that we should go ahead with plans to lay a top-of-the-range surface as the most suitable option for the future of Selborne hockey. This drive was assisted by financial contributions from Clarendon schools and Sleborne Primary, who became shareholders in the project. After much research and hard work, the Astroturf was officially opened in August 2000 – and what an asset this facility has proved to be.
It lead to an immeadiate upsurge in enthusiasm for the game at the College, which has continued ever since. We were only the sixth school in the country to lay an artificial turf – there are now at least 30. This immeadiatly contributed to raising the status of Selborne hockey, which is evidenced by the success of our teams and the achievements of individual players in recent years. The 1st XI has been constantly one of the top teams in the country – often among the top 5 – and 14 Selbornians have represented national teams. In addition, our teams have compiled excellent records in the u-16 and u-14 age groups.
As importantly, a host of boys in lower level teams have had many hours of enjoyment on the turf in their matches and practices. Many visiting teams, from local and overseas, have commented on the quality of our playing surface, which is clearly second to none among sand-based pitches in South Africa. There is no doubt that that the initiative shown by a few dedicated people in 1999 has produced a facility which has been of immense benefit not only to Selborne hockey, but to the image of the school as a whole.
