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18 September 2018
Soccer ladies relish challenge in Potch
Trinity Melakeco (right) in action for the Kovsie women’s soccer team against the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) last year. They will face TUT, the defending champions, on Friday 21 September in Varsity Women’s Football.
The Kovsie women’s soccer team has a tough challenge ahead of them in their quest to reach the semi-finals of Varsity Women’s Football for the first time.

The tournament starts on Thursday 20 September 2018 in Potchefstroom. The Kovsies’ best performance in the competition was in 2016, when they were fifth.

They are in the same group as the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). TUT has dominated Varsity Women's Football, winning four of the five tournaments. TUT and UJ contested the final last year, as well as the University Sport South Africa (USSA) tournament in July.

Kovsie coach, Godfrey Tenoff, says the challenge of playing the top-seeds is one they relish and welcome.

According to him, the ladies will have gained confidence from USSA where they ended sixth, improving by two places from 2017.

“We were satisfied with our performance at USSA. There are so much the players are capable of, but they don’t get the platform to test their talents as often as the men. We only play UJ and TUT once or twice a year, and there are very few teams in our province with that much talent. So, we have to get out more and find opportunities to play against top-teams to put our preparations and methods to the test.”

“We’ve had a good defence all season, led by our captain, Uma Jakalase. This will have to get us through the tournament.”

* The fixtures: 20 Sept vs UKZN; 21 Sept vs. TUT and UJ. The play-off matches are scheduled for Saturday.

News Archive

RSG Crossword Tournament helps to celebrate language
2016-07-27

Description: RSG Crossword Tournament Tags: RSG Crossword Tournament

Dr Annette de Wet (left), Assistant Director
of the Unit for Language Development in
the Centre for Teaching and Learning at
the UFS, Albe Grobbelaar from XWord,
Prof Angelique van Niekerk, Head of the
Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German
and French, and Prof Lucius Botes, Dean of the
Faculty of the Humanities, during the launch
of the RSG Crossword Tournament.
Photo: Jóhann Thormählen

Sometimes it is difficult for language departments to be topical and to show their relevance for the people out there. However, with the RSG Crossword Tournament, this became possible and Afrikaans could be celebrated in a positive manner. This is what Prof Angelique van Niekerk, Head of the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French at the University of the Free State (UFS), had to say about this initiative.

Interest during the Vrystaat Arts Festival exceeded all expectations. Altogether, 46 participants from across the country participated on 15 and 16 July 2016. Ilse van Hemert from Pretoria was crowned as the first South African crossword champion.

New dimension to language milieu

Prof Van Niekerk said people are familiar with crossword puzzles from the media, and it was the first time that a tournament like this was presented to the public in South Africa. “This tournament brings something like linguistics and linguistic sensitivity to the fore,” she said. “It is another dimension of the language milieu.” This is exactly why her department would like to see it grow in future.

Wordplay serves as inspiration

The idea for the tournament is based loosely on the film, Wordplay (2006), which is set in New York, and the annual New York Times Crossword Tournament. The South African Tournament was presented in conjunction with the crossword group, XWord, Prof Van Niekerk’s department, and the radio station RSG as brand sponsor.

Crossword puzzles and blockbusters crosswords completed

“This tournament brings something like
linguistics and linguistic sensitivity to
the fore.”


Albe Grobbelaar from XWord said the winners were determined on a points basis. “Competitors had to complete two crossword puzzles and one blockbuster crossword. The difference between the two is that a blockbuster’s clues are within the blocks or grid, but with the crossword, you have white and black blocks with the clues separate on the outside.”

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