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18 June 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo BackpagePix
Lefébre Rademan
Lefébre Rademan, wing attack and goal attack, received seven Player of the Match awards in her last 17 matches for the Free State and the University of the Free State.

While she had an outstanding Telkom Netball League and was recognised as one of the best players, Lefébre Rademan is keen to take her game to the next level.

The 22-year-old BEd honours student at the University of the Free State captained the Free State Crinums to the third position in the league, and was named as the best shooter. Her 201 goals from 235 attempts (86% goal average) was the second highest by any shooter with more than 100 attempts.

Rademan’s four Player of the Match awards was the joint most. This followed last year’s Varsity Netball tournament where she also finished with the joint most awards for the best player in a fixture.

“Yes, I would say this has been the best form of my career. But I believe I can take it a step further. Reaching this form is something that comes over time with hard work.” 

Rotating between positions

What impressed about the South African A (2018) and SA U21 (2016 and 2017) player, was how she adapted when she was rotated between wing attack and goal attack during matches.

Although the majority of her career was as a defender (school) and wing attack (post school), goal attack was a position she always thought she would like. 

“In my first year, I used to nag our coach (Burta de Kock) to give me some playing time there. It is funny how it worked out, as I’m now playing mostly goal attack.”

She still hopes to win a couple of trophies with the Kovsie and Free State teams and said she will give her ‘absolute all’ to make the Protea team.

According to De Kock, Rademan is a hard worker with a never-give-up approach. “I can play her anywhere and she won’t let anyone down. Lefébre never takes praise for herself. She sets the example on and off court.”

News Archive

Water erosion research help determine future of dams
2017-03-07

Description: Dr Jay le Roux Tags: Dr Jay le Roux

Dr Jay le Roux, one of 31 new NRF-rated
researchers at the University of the Free State,
aims for a higher rating from the NRF.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

“This rating will motivate me to do more research, to improve outcomes, and to aim for a higher C-rating.” This was the response of Dr Jay le Roux, who was recently graded as an Y2-rated researcher by the National Research Foundation (NRF).

Dr Le Roux, senior lecturer in the Department of Geography at the University of the Free State (UFS), is one of 31 new NRF-rated researchers at the UFS. “This grading will make it possible to focus on more specific research during field research and to come in contact with other experts. Researchers are graded on their potential or contribution in their respective fields,” he said.

Research assess different techniques
His research on water erosion risk in South Africa (SA) is a methodological framework with three hierarchal levels presented. It was done in collaboration with the University of Pretoria (UP), Water Research Commission, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and recently Rhodes University and the Department of Environmental Affairs. Dr Le Roux was registered for 5 years at UP, while working full-time for the Agricultural Research Council – Institute for Soil, Climate and Water (ARC-ISCW).

Water erosion risk assessment in South Africa: towards a methodological framework
, illustrates the most feasible erosion assessment techniques and input datasets that can be used to map water erosion features in SA. It also emphasises the simplicity required for application at a regional scale, with proper incorporation of the most important erosion-causal factors.

The main feature that distinguishes this approach from previous studies is the fact that this study interprets erosion features as individual sediment sources. Modelling the sediment yield contribution from gully erosion (also known as dongas) with emphasis on connectivity and sediment transport, can be considered as an important step towards the assessment of sediment produce at regional scale. 
 
Dams a pivotal element in river networks

Soil is an important, but limited natural resource in SA. Soil erosion not only involves loss of fertile topsoil and reduction of soil productivity, but is also coupled with serious off-site impacts related to increased mobilisation of sediment and delivery to rivers.

The siltation of dams is a big problem in SA, especially dams that are located in eroded catchment areas. Dr Le Roux recently developed a model to assess sediment yield contribution from gully erosion at a large catchment scale. “The Mzimvubu River Catchment is the only large river network in SA on record without a dam.” The flow and sediment yield in the catchment made it possible to estimate dam life expectancies on between 43 and 55 years for future dams in the area.
 
Future model to assess soil erosion
“I plan to finalise a soil erosion model that will determine the sediment yield of gully erosion on a bigger scale.” It will be useful to determine the lifespan of dams where gully erosion is a big problem. Two of his PhD students are currently working on project proposals to assess soil erosion with the help of remote sensing techniques.

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