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03 May 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Zimbio
Simoné Gouws
Simoné Gouws (right) in action for the Protea hockey team last year. The defender will be a key player for the Kovsie team in the Varsity hockey competition.
The coach of the first women’s hockey team of the University of the Free State is confident that they can do well in the upcoming Varsity hockey tournament.

The competition works on a gender-rotation system every year. This will be the fourth term of Varsity hockey for women. The Kovsie women has a good record. In 2013 they ended fourth, in 2015 they were second, and in 2017 fifth.

The Kovsies will be facing the University of Johannesburg (UJ) on Friday 3 May 2019. On Saturday, the Maties is lying in wait and the North-West University on Sunday.

“I am confident that we will be doing well. If each player plays her role very well, we should reach the semi-final stage. We have put in the hard work, with good progress. We have played three matches so far in 2019 and haven’t been on the losing side yet,” said Luke Makeleni, head coach.

In friendlies last month, the Kovsies drew to NWU (0-0), defeated UJ by 3-1, and had a good win (6-0) against the Johannesburg club, Shumbas.

“We have quite an experienced squad, with seven survivors from the previous Varsity hockey competition (in 2017), so they know what is expected,” Makeleni said. He is in his third year of coaching the women.

The Kovsies have several players with national experience. Simoné Gouws made her debut for the Proteas last year. Casey-Jean Botha, Shindré-Lee Simmons, Antonet Louw, and Lizanne Jacobs have all represented the South African U21 team. Botha is also in the Protea squad. 

■ The Kovsie team: Wiané Grobler, Chane Hartel, Mikayla Claassen, Anke Badenhorst, Casey-Jean Botha, Shindré-Lee Simmons, Esté van Schalkwyk, Nadia van Staden, Antonet Louw, Michelle Ngoetjane, Heraldine Olin, Lizanne Jacobs, Refilwe Ralikontsane, Mielanka van Schalkwyk, Nela Mbedu, Simoné Gouws, Frances Louw, Kia-Leigh Erasmus.

News Archive

Short course in Applied Conservation Genetics developed at UFS
2014-08-22

 

Photo: en.wikipedia.org

During discussions with stakeholders in Kenya in 2013, a need was identified for training in conservation genetics with an African emphasis. In answer, Prof Paul Grobler from the Department of Genetics developed a short course in Applied Conservation Genetics.

Some of the phenomena studied in this field include:
• hybridisation between species such as blue wildebeest and black wildebeest,
• wildlife poaching and
• potential inbreeding in small game-farm populations.

From the onset, the course has been developed as an international venture. To this end, Dr Frank Zachos from the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria, committed himself to the project. Dr Jamie Roberts from the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech University in the USA also came on board. Both pledged their time and expertise to the course – without any financial gain.

Subsequently, our Department of Genetics presented this short course at the National Zoological Gardens (NZG) in Pretoria earlier this year. The team of presenters included Prof Grobler, Dr Zachos and Dr Roberts. They were joined by Dr Desire Dalton from the Research Division of the NZG, who added valuable practical experience to the presentations.

The course assumes a degree of prior knowledge of population and molecular genetics. A strong emphasis is placed on practical applications. The programme includes a strong component of statistics and hands-on training in the many approaches and software used in population genetics.

The group that attended the course included a contingent from the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Dutch postgraduate students currently working at the University of Johannesburg and delegates from across South Africa.

This successful meeting followed an experimental first round of the course presented in Nairobi during 2013, attended by representatives from Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Mexico and Belgium.


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