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Four universities to walk 200 000 km in ten weeks

12 April 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Charl Devenish

“May the best team win the 2019 BestMed Pedometer Challenge!” said LJ van Zyl, Pedometer Challenge ambassador.

Participants in the 2019 BestMed Pedometer Challenge will start improving their health step by step after the University of the Free State (UFS) challenged the Stellenbosch University, Central University of Technology, and North-West University (NWU) to an eight-week walking competition.

South African 400-metre hurdles record-holder and the Pedometer Challenge ambassador, LJ van Zyl, embraced the initiative as an alternative method to achieve fitness. “I am so tired of running and this is great way to stay fit,” he said during the official launch on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus on 5 April 2019.

Inter-institutional fight for fitness

Last year, the UFS Division for Organisational Development and Employment Wellness in the Department of Human Resources led a UFS-only challenge that saw 60 teams of staff members log a total of 54 606 km in eight weeks. The division then challenged the NWU.

Together, the NWU and UFS walked 132 000 km. This year, the UFS is taking it one step further by challenging two more institutions.

Leading the way

“We aim to get South Africa active – starting with the UFS – by embracing fitness and health ourselves,” said Arina Engelbrecht, UFS Employee Wellness Specialist.

Participants on all fitness and activity levels will gun for a 200 000 km target over 10 weeks.

The challenge kicked off on the Bloemfontein Campus with a 3-km walk at the launch, leaving 199 997 km between the four universities for the rest of the eight-week challenge.

News Archive

Campus activities are continuing as normal

2016-01-19

State of our campuses #1

Activities on the Bloemfontein Campus kicked off on 11 January 2016 with the registration of senior students. No disruption took place and the process will continue this week with the registration of first-year students.

In general the registration process is progressing well, with comparative figures indicating that our day-to-day registration is slightly higher than in 2015.

A successful first-year welcoming took place on Friday 15 January 2016, with about 6 000 people attending. This was followed by first-year orientation in faculties on Saturday 16 January 2016, which was equally successful.

In a letter to staff, distributed on Friday 15 January 2016, Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, provided a clear position about what the university is doing for students who are academically capable, but lack the funds to study. He also provided standpoints on protests on our campuses.

Campus activities on the Qwaqwa and South Campuses are continuing as normal.

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