By Kevin Boniface, Head of Hockey

After 11 weeks, 33 games and 91 students having signed up, we reached the conclusion of Hockey Fest this week, with the final match played out between Team Walton and Team Stewart.

Fittingly, the final was played at tremendous pace, despite the heat, and there were excellent passages of play, the ball moving quickly and both teams getting into advanced positions early. Team Walton struck the first blow with a ferocious far corner strike from Hari Walton, the score 1-0 at half-time with the game well balanced. However, the balance shifted heavily in favour of Team Walton when birthday boy Henry Bott put the team 2-0 up.

Time was ebbing away for Team Stewart but with a minute to play, captain Zach Stewart gave his team hope with an excellent deflected finish. Zach wasn’t finished there and won a penalty corner with 30 seconds remaining on the clock. A drag-flick heading towards the top corner was neatly dealt with by goalkeeper Mike Wei, and despite the best efforts of Team Stewart, it was Team Walton who came out on top, 2-1 winners.

A wonderful final, but equally as pleasing was the way in which there has been such a huge mix of students not only taking part but blending nicely into various teams this year. The camaraderie, leadership and development shown across the board has been incredibly encouraging. Well done and thank you to everyone who took part.