Saints Supporters

Saints Supporters is a parent initiative that enables fellow parents and all Saints Supporters to purchase the blue and white Saints stripes. The vision of Saints Supporters is to see all Saints parents and supporters, of all the different sporting and cultural codes, wearing Saints Supporters' kit when supporting our boys and girls, in order to create a common identity and showcase our community of belonging.

Location

We are conveniently situated in the Stithian Shop.

Saints_Supporters_at_Saints_Fest_2018

Saints Supporters in the crowd at the 2018 Saints Sports Festival

Payment

In keeping in line with the school's strategy, the shop is run on a cashless system. We therefore, only accept credit and debit card payments.

Operating hours

We are open during the school term from Monday to Friday.

Our hours during term time are 07h30 – 15h30 

The shop does not open during half-term, on public holidays, or over long weekends, unless otherwise specified. 

You are also likely to find us at school events such as the Saints Sports Festival and Founders' Day.

Contact us on our landline: 011 577-6262.

 

History

Saints Supporters was initially called the St Stithians Rugby Supporters' Club (SRSC). The first meeting of the SRSC was held on 10 April 2008 at the High Performance Centre. The initial aim of the SRSC was to:

  • Be a facility to help build the Old Stithian Asscociation
  • Build rugby in general
  • Generate income for professional coaching, bursaries, training camps and equipment

Although the initial focus of the SRSC was on rugby, the ultimate aim of the SRSC was to be an encompassing club and to draw in all other sports and cultural activities across the entire St Stithians campus. The name was thus changed to the Saints Supporters' Club (SSC).

The new Saints Supporters Club was launched at the 2009 Saints Sports Festival (then known as the Easter Festival).

The mandate from the College was for the Saints Supporters' Club to provide a fun match day experience for the greater Saints community, encouraging all to participate as spectators and supporters at all sports events across the campus. The blue & white Saints Supporter Stripes were designed for this purpose. 

As a result of many years of hard work, by the husband and wife team of Gary and Tania Heath, this vision has now become a reality and the bold, blue and white stripes can be seen at most events across all the schools on the campus. At the end of 2015 the running and operations of the Saints Supporters' Club was taken over by Candice Dawson and Eliada Makhlouf.

The vision of the new team was to:

  • Bind all St Stithians’ sporting and cultural codes together by promoting the Supporters’ clothing across the entire campus
  • See all Saints parents and supporters, of all the different sporting and cultural codes, wearing Saints Supporters' kit when supporting our boys and girls
  • Secure fixed premises where stock could be kept on a permanent basis and, possibly, a shop which could be open for sales on a regular basis
  • Use the Saints Supporters' trailer as a small mobile shop, which can be moved around the campus and possibly even be taken to regattas and equestrian events, in order that supporters clothing is available at all times for purchase
  • Develop this venture to be a centre of support and empowerment and use local, South African suppliers rather than promoting imported items.
Saints_Supporters_2017

Saints Supporters in their Saints Stripes

Early in 2016, Candice and Eliada revised and refreshed the Saints Supporters' logo and added new items to the Saints Supporters' clothing range. These new items included: two ladies’ shirts, a ladies’ fleece cape, a children's golf shirt, a range of sunhats (endorsed by the Cancer Association of SA), stadium cushions, and golf umbrellas.

The blue & white Saints Supporters striped fabric is specially manufactured for us in Port Elizabeth and our clothing range is proudly manufactured by Vanree Clothing, a 100% woman-owned company with 30 years of experience in the clothing manufacturing industry. The fleece capes are manufactured by a seamstress in Diepsloot.

The establishment of a permanent sales location for Saints Supporters’ clothing became a reality when we moved into our new premises at the end of July 2016. 

The Saints Supporters' Kit includes a wide range of men's, women's and chidren's clothing items; a selection of sunhats, caps and beanies; as well as stadium cushions and golf umbrellas.  This range is in the process of being updated and a new range of supporter kit will be available at the Stithian Shop soon.