On Friday morning, 2 February 2018, St Charles College in Pietermaritzburg, held the Official Opening of the Scoreboard and Change Room Facility on The St Charles College Oval. It is appropriate at the conclusion of an exciting building project to pause and give thanks to the people that have worked particularly hard and gone above and beyond. The wait for this world-class facility has been a remarkable story of patience, humility and community involvement. The morning’s ceremony was two-fold; firstly, to show our appreciation and give thanks to the donors and secondly to officially cut the ribbon and declare the facility open on this day, 2 February 2018.

The Raw and Truter families have had an incredible belief in our school and the journey it has undertaken to become the leading independent school for boys in Africa. We thank them for partnering with us and through their incredibly generous donation we have been able to take this project from a dream on paper to reality. The unique intention of this building is that it is not for spectators (other than the LED screen which will make for enjoyable viewing) but rather the building is exclusively for the people who make up the game: umpires, scorers, our visiting opposition and of course our Saints players.

We wish our cricketers many decades of happy memories as they play the Gentleman’s Game on The Oval. May you always play within the Spirit of the Game and at all times align yourselves with the St Charles College Values: Respect, Responsibility, Self-discipline, Honesty and Courage. – Mr Rowan Irons (Head of Sport at St Charles College)

Photo on top: In the changing room from left to right: Mr Allen van Blerk (Principal), Mr Ryan Smith (Sports Liaison Officer), Mr Chad Barron (Head of Prep Sport), Mr Robbie Coutts (Cricket Specialist) and Mr Rowan Irons (Head of Sport)