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10 July 2018 Photo Supplied
Rynardt and Lynique selected for SA team at World Cup
Long jumper Lynique Beneke is one of two Kovsies selected for the South African team to the inaugural Athletics World Cup.

University of the Free State (UFS) middle-distance runner, Rynardt van Rensburg, and long jumper, Lynique Beneke, have both secured a spot in the South African athletics team for the inaugural edition of the Athletics World Cup to be held in London, United Kingdom, on 14 and 15 July 2018. 

The 2018 domestic rankings were used to select the team, with one UFS athlete in each discipline set to represent the country as one of the eight competing nations at the event. Beneke, aged 27, won the long jump for women over the past two years at the national track and field championships, this year with a winning distance of 6,22 m. Van Rensburg, aged 26, won silver.

South Africa will compete against teams from the United States, Poland, China, Germany, France, Jamaica, Great Britain, and Northern Ireland. Beneke and Van Rensburg are both experienced athletes who have competed in the Olympic Games in 2016. The programme for the two-day championship does not include long-distance or combined event disciplines. Yolandi Stander, Van Rensburg, and Beneke have also been selected as part of the preliminary team for the CAA African Championships taking place in Asaba, Nigeria from 1 to 5 August 2018.

Van Rensburg recently clocked his personal best, which was also recorded as the 24th best time of the year, when he finished the Hengelo World Challenge meeting in 1:45.15.
Stander, who has a personal best of 52,81 m, won the bronze medal at this year’s nationals and a silver at the University Sports South Africa (USSA) meeting.

News Archive

Projects of the South Campus inspire excellence
2014-12-18

The University of the Free State’s (UFS’s) South Campus in Bloemfontein runs several projects to make a difference in the lives of learners and educators in the central region. These projects are based on the very essence of the UFS – to ‘inspire excellence, change lives’.

Three projects which have been very successful since the outset are the UFS Schools Partnership Project, the Family Math and Family Science Project and the Internet Broadcast Project.

The Schools Partnership Project attempts to empower teachers by improving their teaching skills in critical Gr 10 – Gr 12 subjects (Physical Science, Mathematics and Accounting).

Poorly performing schools are invited to join in the programme. A mentor, providing guidance to teachers in the planning of lessons, transferring knowledge and creating a healthy learning environment in the classroom, is assigned to each subject teacher. Management and leadership skills are also improved.

Hercules Dreyer, Programme Manager, says the success of the programme can be seen in the lessons, the results and the progress which have been made.

“In 2013, the pass rate of participating schools has grown from 71.5% to 85%. We had an increase in donors and the project went from 22 schools with 12 mentors in 2013 to 72 schools and 34 mentors in 2015.”

The UFS Family Math and Family Science Project, which is already in its sixth year of existence, are extremely popular. This intervention programme focus on bringing about a better understanding of Mathematics and Science in learners, teachers and parents.

Dr Cobus van Breda, Programme Director of the Family Math and Family Science Project, says that judging by the feedback from teachers, it is evident that the programme is growing from strength to strength and that it is making a real difference in Mathematics and Science education in the early school years.

The UFS’s Internet Broadcast Project (IBP) has thus far received four awards for their successes. In this project, lessons in Mathematics, Accounting and Physical Science are broadcasted from the UFS’s South Campus through internet presentations to schools in rural areas.

“To date, the IBP catalogue contains over 2 000 video lessons and in 2013 alone, the 68 schools accessed and used these videos 69 305 times. The project has the potential to reach more than 40 000 learners and 1 765 teachers every week,” says Sarietjie Musgrave, Project Manager.

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