Durban High School (DHS) unveiled its new Astro Turf surface in February 2023 after a determined community effort to raise funds to achieve this goal. The Trellidor head office team was there from the start as a financial sponsor and is delighted to have been part of the drive to provide the DHS boys and Maris Stella girls with the same access to sporting opportunities as other schools.
DHS is one of the last traditional government schools to install its own hockey Astro Turf. The school now offers pupils the opportunity to play hockey on their own blue and goal Astro Turf. The field will also be used by Maris Stella School for Girls, which played an active role in the huge fundraising effort required.
The new facility will be made available for use by the wider community including some local hockey clubs that lack their own Astro Turf, which is the most widely used surface for hockey worldwide.
According to Andrew Shedlock, CEO of the DHS Old Boys Association, the official launch of the Astro Turf project was the end of August 2021 and construction started at the end of September that year.
“All was on track until KwaZulu-Natal was hit by the devastating floods of April 2022, when construction came to a halt. The floods put the project back by at least six months. Once everything was back on track, with just a few hitches along the way, the Astro Turf was finally completed and officially opened 17 February 2023, some 18 months later.”
Trellidor CFO Damian Judge, a DHS Trustee and Old Boy, spoke at the opening ceremony and said: “DHS has produced more test cricketers than any other school in South Africa with one cricket field. Imagine what it can do with its own Astro Turf. This development is a historic movement for the School and the DHS Foundation Trust is proud to have been able to support the project.”
