{"id":89937,"date":"2026-02-05T14:22:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T12:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=89937"},"modified":"2026-02-05T14:22:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T12:22:51","slug":"sas-best-on-show-at-32nd-standard-bank-saints-squash-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=89937","title":{"rendered":"SA’s best on show at 32nd Standard Bank Saints Squash Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo:
Photo: Charles Corbett Photography<\/strong><\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

St Andrew’s School<\/strong> hosts the 32nd Standard Bank Squash Festival<\/strong> in Bloemfontein from Friday to Sunday. Twenty-two teams will be in action, including many of South Africa’s established squash powerhouses.<\/p>\n

Overseeing the event are Margo Morgan<\/strong> and St Andrew’s coach Calvin Deutschmann<\/strong>, who have been part of every Saints Squash Festival since its founding in 1994.<\/p>\n

Morgan, the event organiser, in a message in the event’s programme, thanked Deutschmann, who has been her right-hand man for many Saints Squash Festivals and Bloemfontein Junior Squash Open<\/strong>s over the past three decades, for his support. She also extended her sincere appreciation to the headline sponsor, Standard Bank<\/strong>, as well as Tecnifibre<\/strong> and Twizza<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In a message from Standard Bank, Kevin de Beer<\/strong>, Coverage Head, Business Banking for the Free State and Northern Cape, said: “This tournament is more than just a competition; it is a platform where young athletes develop resilience, teamwork, and discipline \u2013 qualities that will serve them well beyond the squash court.<\/p>\n

“We commend St Andrew’s School for its unwavering commitment to fostering a high-performance environment where players from across the country can come together to challenge themselves and grow.<\/p>\n

While the event features top teams, Morgan always points out that the Saints Squash Festival is not a tournament. It is a festival. No winner is declared, and good sportsmanship is one of the primary goals espoused by the organisers.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the top teams include the hosts, who feature SA u17 champion, Dean Katzin<\/strong><\/a>, at number one. Their fixtures, as usual, are against other schools with long-established traditions of excellence in the sport, and their fixture list for the forthcoming weekend includes Michaelhouse<\/strong>, Ho\u00ebrskool Zwartkop<\/strong>, Grey High<\/strong>, Pretoria Boys High<\/strong>, and Selborne College<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Last year, Katzin participated in the SA Schools<\/strong> tour of Malaysia, along with Logan Kidson<\/strong> (Ho\u00ebrskool Zwartkop), Wian Fourie<\/strong> (Selborne College), and Cobus Schimper<\/strong> (Grey College), all of whom will be in action at the Saints Squash Festival.<\/p>\n

Perhaps, though, the player to beat is Grey High School<\/strong>‘s Benji Newman<\/strong>. He finished fourth in the u19 section of the Growthpoint Junior Nationals last year, but the three players who finished above him have all since exited the school ranks.<\/p>\n

Zwartkop’s Juan-Corn\u00e9 Brand<\/strong>, who represented South Africa at the 2025 World Junior Championships, is out of action with an injury. Still, with Logan Kidson at number one, Zwarries<\/strong> <\/em>are not exactly short of talent at the top of their pile.<\/p>\n

The team to beat, though, is Selborne College. The East London school won the Top Schools Squash Tournament<\/strong> <\/a>last year, taking the title for the seventh time to solidify their claim to the number one ranking in South Africa.<\/p>\n

Maritzburg College<\/strong> finished second, their highest-ever position, with Grey High in third, and St Andrew’s School in fourth. All four teams will be in action in Bloemfontein.<\/p>\n

Maritzburg College has lost some players from their superb 2025 side, but Bandile Mahayi<\/strong>, who played at either three or four for College last year, is now their number one. He’s a talented player whose best squash is yet to come.<\/p>\n

Thero Motshubi<\/strong>, from St John’s College<\/strong>, is another player who is ascending, and he could push some of the established top guns hard.<\/p>\n

Among the younger teams, Morgan identified Graeme College <\/strong>as a talented group of players, who are going from strength. Their squash programme is, most definitely, on the rise, she said.<\/p>\n

FIXTURES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friday, 6 February<\/strong><\/p>\n

14:15<\/strong>
\nSt Andrew’s A vs Michaelhouse, St Andrew’s 1 and 2
\nSt Andrew’s B vs St Andrew’s College, St Andrew’s 2 and 3
\nMaritzburg College vs King Edward VII (KES), Oudstudente 1 and 2
\nSelborne vs Pretoria Boys High, Ramblers 1 and 2
\nZwartkop vs Grey College, Grey College 1 and 2
\nGraeme vs St Stithians, Ramblers 3 and 4
\nKingswood vs Kearsney, Bobbiespark 1 and 2
\nQueen’s vs Paarl Gimnasium, St Michael’s 1, 2, and 3
\nSt Andrew’s Invitation vs Hilton, Municipals 1 and 2
\nGrey High vs St John’s A, Eunice 3 and 4
\nGrey College Invitation vs St John’s B, Eunice 1 and 2<\/p>\n

15:30<\/strong>
\nWestville vs Parktown, St Michael’s 1, 2, and 3<\/p>\n

19:15<\/strong>
\nSt Andrew’s A vs Zwartkop, St Andrew’s 1 and 2
\nSt Andrew’s B vs Parktown Boys’ High, St Andrew’s 2 and 3
\nSelborne vs St John’s A, Eunice 3 and 4
\nPaarl Gimnasium vs St John’s B, Eunice 1 and 2
\nKearsney vs St Stithians, Ramblers 1 and 2
\nKingswood vs KES, Ramblers 3 and 4
\nMichaelhouse vs Grey High, Oudstudente 1 and 2
\nPretoria Boys High vs Grey College, Grey College 1 and 2
\nGraeme vs Maritzburg College, St Michael’s 1 and 3
\nQueen’s vs Westville, St Michael’s 2 and 3
\nSt Andrew’s College vs Hilton, Municipals 1 and 2<\/p>\n

Saturday, 7 February<\/strong><\/p>\n

09:30<\/strong>
\nSt Andrew’s A vs Grey High, St Andrew’s 1 and 2
\nSt Andrew’s B vs Paarl Gim, St Andrew’s 2 and 3
\nMaritzburg College vs Selborne, Municipals 1 and 2
\nKES vs Michaelhouse, St Michael’s 2 and 3
\nKingswood vs Pretoria Boys High, St Michael’s 1 and 2
\nZwartkop vs Westville, Oudstudente 1 and 2
\nKearsney vs Queen’s, Eunice 1 and 2
\nSt John’s A vs Graeme, Ramblers 1 and 2
\nSt John’s B vs St Andrew’s College, Ramblers 3 and 4
\nHilton vs Parktown Boys’ High, Eunice 3 and 4
\nGrey College vs St Stithians, Grey College 1 and 2<\/p>\n

14:30<\/strong>
\nSt Andrew’s A vs Pretoria Boys High, St Andrew’s 1 and 2
\nSt Andrew’s B vs Kingswood, St Andrew’s 2 and 3
\nQueen’s vs St John’s A, St Michael’s 1 and 2
\nWestville vs St John’s B, St Michaels 2 and 3
\nGrey College vs Michaelhouse, Grey College 1 and 2
\nSelborne vs Zwartkop, Ramblers 1 and 2
\nGrey High vs Maritzburg College, Eunice 3 and 4
\nSt Andrew’s College vs St Stithians, Oudstudente 1 and 2
\nGraeme vs Kearsney, Municipals 1 and 2
\nKES vs Hilton, Eunice 1 and 2
\nPaarl Gim vs Parktown Boys’ High, Ramblers 3 and 4<\/p>\n

Sunday, 8 February<\/strong><\/p>\n

08:30<\/strong>
\nSt Andrew’s A vs Selborne, St Andrew’s 1 and 2
\nSt Andrew’s B vs Queen’s, St Andrew’s 2 and 3
\nSt John’s A vs Grey College, Grey College 1 and 2
\nSt John’s B vs Hilton, Grey College 3 and 4
\nMaritzburg College vs Kingswood, Eunice 1 and 2
\nParktown Boys’ High vs St Andrew’s College, Municipals 1 and 2
\nMichaelhouse vs Graeme, Grey College 1 and 2
\nKearsney vs Pretoria Boys High, Ramblers 1, 2, and 3
\nZwartkop vs Grey High, Oudstudente 1 and 2
\nPaarl Gim vs KES, St Michael’s 1, 2, and 3
\nSt Stithians vs Westville, Eunice 3 and 4<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

St Andrew’s School hosts the 32nd Standard Bank Squash Festival in Bloemfontein from Friday to Sunday. Twenty-two teams will be in action, including many of South Africa’s established squash powerhouses. Overseeing the event are Margo Morgan and St Andrew’s coach Calvin Deutschmann, who have been part of every Saints Squash Festival since its founding in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":34776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=89937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=89937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=89937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=89937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}