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31 July 2018 Photo Leonie Bolleurs
Decor and building products showcased at BloemBuild Expo
Want to build your own home? On offer at this year’s BloemBuild Expo was something for everyone, from the prospective student who wants to study architecture, to property developers. Ilana Serfontein from Acorn Construction and Zack Wessels, one of the organisers of the event from the UFS Department of Architecture, contributed to the success of this annual event.
With the recent drought in many parts of South Africa, the theme for this year’s BloemBuild Expo was ‘How to survive the drought’, with much emphasis on energy-saving materials, grey-water systems and environmental-friendly products. Some presentations, supporting the theme, included talks on design for sustainability, nature-based solutions for drought conditions as well as the role of grey-water systems for food security.

The University of the Free State (UFS) was this year again the host of the Expo which provided a showcase for the latest décor trends and building products. The event that took place in the Callie Human Centre on the Bloemfontein Campus was presented by the South African Institute of Architects Free State Region in conjunction with University Estates and the Department of Architecture.

Students from the Department of Architecture exhibited their models and took first place in the Corobrik tower building challenge. Also from the Department of Architecture was a lecture by Kobus du Preez on the ‘Architectural Highlights of Bloemfontein’. Jan Ras from the same department delivered a lecture: ‘To architect or not to architect – how to choose your architect’. 

Ras said the relationship between homeowner and architect stretched over several months: from the first meeting until the key is put in the front door. He said he believed professional architects were there to make dreams come true. 

Visitors could enjoy, view and take part in the Expo which offered something for everyone including academics, members of the community, the industry and professionals. 

This year’s event also saw a big colouring-in competition in which members of the public took part in

News Archive

Three more Kovsie staff members involved in Olympic Games
2012-05-30

 

Dr Derik Coetzee
Photo: Supplied
30 May 2012

The South African men’s hockey team will practice on our Bloemfontein Campus from 28 May to 8 June 2012, and the team count on the assistance of three Kovsies to prepare them for the Olympic Games taking place in London later this year.  

Dr Derik Coetzee, senior lecturer in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science and Head of our High Performance Centre, has been appointed conditioning coach of the team. He will be assisted by Colleen Jones and Riaan Schoeman, also from this department.

The UFS team and Mr Gregg Clark, the team’s coach, will work out a periodisation programme for the team, which will continue until the hockey finals at the Olympic Games. The programme includes the correct exercises, volume, intensity and number of exercise sessions per week.

This is not the first time that Dr Coetzee has assisted sports teams to prepare for important events. In 2007, he was the conditioning coach of the Springbok rugby team that won the World Cup in France. He was also the conditioning coach of the under-21 Springbok team in 2002 that won the Junior World Cup Tournament. 

Dr Coetzee says it is a challenge to ensure that the team performs well at the Olympic Games. “The joy on the faces of the coach and players when they qualified in Japan cannot be described because many people thought they would not qualify.”

With the addition of Dr Coetzee, Ms Jones and Mr Schoeman, a total of six staff members from the UFS will be involved with the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. The other three are:

  • Dr Louis Holtzhausen, Head of the university’s Department of Sports and Exercise Medicine, has been selected as team doctor for the more than 300 athletes that will represent South Africa at this year’s Olympic Games (in London).
  • Ms Ebeth Grobbelaar, Assistant Director of the South African Testing Laboratory for Prohibited Substances at the UFS, was invited to be involved in the Drugs Control Centre in the unit against prohibited substances which will test sportsmen and -women during the games.
  • Ms Hetsie Veitch, Head of the Unit for Students with Disabilities, has been invited to be a member of the Classification Panel at the final USA Paralympic athletics trials.

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