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27 March 2018 Photo Charl Devenish
Karee and Tswelopele win Stagedoor finals 2018
Karee and Tswelopele joined forces to win Stagedoor 2018.
Triumph in categories for best creativity, best drama, and overall performance, were the order of the night for the dynamic-duo, Karee and Tswelopele. Their heated performance stole the judges’ hearts and earned them their first-place victory. “Beylief”, the words Beyers Naude and Madelief joined together, won second place for the authentic story they told with their unique rendition of musical theatre. Armentum and Khayalami secured third place.

The Stagedoor finals marked yet another spectacular, spirit-filled night for first-year students and the Kovsie community. The Kopanong Auditorium stage lit up with theatrically performed stories that are relevant to South Africa’s modern society.

The Department of Arts and Culture established Stagedoor as an interactive theatre and musically infused cultural competition for the student residences and which is unique to the University of the Free State (UFS). 

The competition’s aim is to tackle modern-day issues such as infrastructure and economic inequality, land reform and education. It also aims to examine the pressures that come with university life, and many other issues that face South Africa, but more specifically the youth. First-year residence students are then tasked with the duty of transforming the “script” and bringing it to life.

This year’s Stagedoor of course encompassed heart-wrenching content that depicted resolute attitudes from students who not only wrote their own scripts, but who performed with spirit that was lit by fire. To view the videos that were taken on the night visit the UFS Twitter and Facebook pages.

News Archive

Johann swims his way to Olympics
2016-05-18


Johann van Heerden from the University of the Free State has qualified for the Paralympic Games in the swimming pool, and is now waiting to hear if he will be included in the South African team. Photo: Nadya van Heerden.

In the past couple of months, Johann van Heerden has been swimming his way to the Paralympic Games, and is still preparing as if he will be going to Rio de Janeiro.

The Kovsie swimmer, who will know whether he has been included in the Paralympic team in July 2016, feels his training is progressing well. The Olympics will be held in Brazil from 7 to 18 September 2016. If all goes well, this could be the first of several Olympics for the 20-year-old second-year Education student from the University of the Free State (UFS).

Dream year for Education student

Van Heerden (cerebral palsy), whose hero is the former Paralympic superstar Natalie du Toit, has had huge successes in the run-up to the 2016 Olympics. Among others, he was named the best senior swimmer at the Nedbank National Championships for the Physically Disabled in Bloemfontein in March 2016. At the South African Senior Championships in Durban in April 2016, he qualified for the Olympics in the 100 m breast-stroke with an A-qualifying time, and in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle with B-qualifying times.

Only three male swimmers to Olympics

However, he has to wait until the announcement of the South African Paralympic team, since only three male and three female swimmers will be selected. He will not be competing in another major event before the Olympics. “My short-term goal is to compete in this year’s Games, and, in the long term, I would like to reach even greater heights at the 2020 Games,” he said. Du Toit is an inspiration to him because “she was hard-working, and she had a lot of drive”.

Other students from CUADS also excel

At the above-mentioned National Championships, Van Heerden won a total of five gold medals (200 m medley, 100 m breaststroke, 50 m freestyle, 50 m breaststroke, and 200 m breaststroke) and one silver medal (100 m freestyle). Other students from the Center for Universal Access and Disability Support at the UFS also excelled.

Dineo Mokhosoa (cerebral palsy) won three gold medals (long jump, shot-put, and discus), while the athlete Louzanne Coetzee (blind) shattered the world record in the 5 000 m, as well as the Africa record in the 1 500 m. Juanré Jenkinson (cerebral palsy) won two silver medals (discus and shot-put) while Danie Breitenbach (blind) won two gold medals (800 m and 1500 m).

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