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27 September 2018
Photo Varsity Sports
Newly capped Protea Khanyisa Chawane will return for the Kovsies on Monday when they face the Maties in the semi-final of Varsity Netball in the Callie Human centre.
A first ever Varsity Netball final in the Callie Human centre lie in what should the Kovsies cross the line this Monday in the semi-final against the Maties in Bloemfontein at 19:00.
Having ended first on the log, the Kovsies will enjoy home court advantage should they progress to the final on 8 October.
The Kovsies won their group fixture against the Maties last month in Stellenbosch by 59-56. It will be the first time the two teams clash in a knock-out match in the competition and also a first visit to the Callie Human centre for the Maties since 2013.
The Kovsies won six out of their seven group matches with their only loss against the Madibaz by a single goal.
They will be strengthened by the return of Khanyisa Chawane (centre) who missed a couple of matches whilst being in Australasia where she made her Protea debut. Meagan Roux, who can either play wing attack or goal attack, is also back. She travelled with the Proteas as a replacement.
They will however be without Tanya Mostert who will be on honeymoon. Her wedding is on Saturday. Remarkable it will only be the second time since her debut in the Kovsies’ very first match in the inaugural competition in 2013 that Mostert will miss a Varsity Netball match.
“The players really yearn to lift that trophy. It’s been some time since we last played in the final (in 2014). My message to them will be to give it their all on Monday,” Mostert said.
According to her the team is currently one that gels very nicely.
“Everyone fully understands their role in the team. We realized where our strengths lie and play according to it. Adding to that we play for one another.”
Cochlear implant changes Magteld's world
2009-11-06
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The microphone is ready for Magteld Smith’s (second from the left) first radio interview after the cochlear implant was switched on by Mr Henk Wolmarans (right) of MedEl. With them are, from the left: Ms Vicki Fourie, Deaf Miss SA, Ms Eunika Smith from the SABC and Prof. Jonathan Jansen.
Photo: Leatitia Pienaar |
Magteld Smith gave her first steps towards the world of the hearing when her cochlear implant was switched on in the Universitas Hospital this week.
A whole team was there to share her joy and disbelief and amazement the moment she could hear noises, voices and conversations. Among them were the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), Prof. Jonathan Jansen, and the acting dean of the Faculty of Heath Sciences at the UFS, Prof. Gert van Zyl.
“I can hear my own voice! I haven’t heard it for a long time. My wish is that every deaf child can get something like this,” she said while prodding Prof. Jansen to speak so that she can hear his voice.
Magteld is working at the university's Centre for Health Systems Research and Development and was deaf since birth. She lost her last bit of hearing due to meningitis last year. Her hearing aids could then not assist her to communicate and a cochlear implant was the only option.
A donation by the Austrian company MedEl made the implant possible. Prof. André Claassen, Head of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the UFS, says MedEl was also instrumental in the establishment of the implant programme at the Universitas Hospital and sponsored the first five implants at a total cost of R1 million.
Prof. Claassen says 27 implants have already been done here, but it came to an abrupt halt due to a lack of funds. Strong hearing aids are expensive and cochlear implants are even more expensive at R200 000 each. People with hearing disabilities must be identified at an early age as the brain’s ability to learn sound and voice diminishes after the age of three.