Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
09 May 2018 Photo Varsity Sports
Maryke Coetzee is the new captain of the Crinums netball team
Maryke Coetzee is the new captain of the Crinums netball team.

Despite being a very young team the Free State Crinums are packed with Kovsie players, who will start the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League as one of the strongest contenders and will hopefully be crowned the country’s best netball province.

The five-week long competition starts on Friday (11 May) in Johannesburg. The Crinums is a de facto Kovsie team with all 15 squad members currently doing a course at the university. Eleven of them were in action for the Kovsies in the Varsity Netball competition in 2017. They have only lost four players from last year which, along with the defending champs, the Jaguars, is the fewest by any team. They also boast experience in every position. The four newcomers in the squad are Sikholiwe Mdletshe, Jana Scholtz, Rykie Venter and Marétha van Heerden. Mdletshe and Venter have played for the Kovsies before. 

After winning the trophy for three years in a row, the Crinums were unable to defend it in 2017 when they finished fifth. It was, however, with a team that was officially the youngest, with an average age of 21 years and five months. This year it has increased to 21 years and six months. 

The team is coached by Kovsie netball coach, Burta de Kock, and skippered by goalkeeper Maryke Coetzee. She and Tanya Mostert (goal defender) will participate in their fifth Premier league.

The Crinums start with two matches against teams they haven’t lost to before. On Friday night they tackle the Sunbirds from Mpumalanga and a day later the Baobabs from Limpopo.

The Crinums squad: Alicia Puren, Ané Retief, Gertriana Retief, Jana Scholtz, Khanyisa Chawane, Khomotso Mamburu, Lefébre Rademan, Luscha Pienaar, Marétha van Heerden, Marna Claassens, Maryke Coetzee, Meagan Roux, Rykie Venter, Sikholiwe Mdletshe, Tanya Mostert.

News Archive

African Union acknowledges one of our own
2012-01-23

 

Prof. Maryke Labuschagne
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

The African Union awarded an international award to Maryke Labuschagne, a professor in Plant Breeding at our Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, for her contribution to science in Africa.

Prof. Labuschagne received the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific award in the category Life Sciences – Continental level. This is the highest level of this prestigious award programme.

The African Union Commission is committed to ensure that science and technology contributes to sustainable development efforts. In 2008 the African Union Commission launched the prestigious African Union Scientific Award Programme. This programme was later renamed the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific awards.

The programme is implemented at National level for young researchers, Regional level for women scientists and is open to all scientists on Continental level.

The Continental level is the highest level of the programme. The objective is to give out scientific awards to top African scientists for their scientific achievements, valuable discoveries and findings.

Prof. Labuschagne has been part of our university for the past 23 years. Over the last 20 years she has been involved in training and educating scientists in plant breeding all over Africa. Her work also entails the development of better cultivars to ensure food sustainability on the continent.

“I really did not expect to win this award. The criteria were really strict and one always sells yourself and your achievements short,” says Prof. Labuschagne.

With this award, Prof. Labuschagne also receives US $100 000 (about R 804 180) in prize money, which will be used to renovate her department’s lab facilities and provide bursaries.

The official award ceremony will be held on Saturday 28 January 2012 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
 

 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept