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12 September 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Varsity Sports
Netball
Jana Scholtz, goal defender and playing in her first year as a regular starter, has been a solid performer for the Kovsie netball team in Varsity Netball.
The building blocks are starting to form a solid basis from where Kovsies can launch an attack to defend the Varsity Netball title they won in 2018. This is according to Karin Venter, one of the team’s assistant coaches.

After losing their first encounter to Tuks, they registered wins over the University of Johannesburg, Tshwane University of Technology, and the North-West University. The match against the Maties in Bloemfontein on 23 September 2019 – the last in the group stage, should determine which of the two teams will book a home semi-final along with Tuks.

“Yes, that is the crucial one,” said Venter, the team’s defensive coach. Her counterpart at the Maties is Adéle Niemand, with whom Venter combined as defenders at Kovsies for several matches in the mid-2000s. Apart from the Maties, the women of the University of the Free State still have to face the Madibaz and the University of the Western Cape (both in Pretoria on 15 and 16 September 2019).

“The combinations are starting to form a unit and our confidence is on the increase. Now we are looking for consistency in our performances.”

According to Venter, they were hit hard by goalkeeper Ané Retief’s injury, which kept her out of the first two matches. This meant that they had to start against Tuks with a first-year student, Chanel Vrey.

“It was tough, but I’m impressed with the way in which she, Ancia Pienaar, and Jana Scholtz – who are all youngsters – stepped up.”

Venter is responsible for the analyses and recons to assist players.

“The programme we are using provides us with all the required footage. You can make notes on it and send these clips to players, which means you don’t have to sit next to a player to explain something. We also provide them with notes and sketches of opponents’ playing patterns, which they must work through as part of their preparation.”

News Archive

Getting out of the dark
2015-06-10

 

ESKOM is making daily announcements on the status of the power grid.

Anton Calitz, Electrical Engineer at University Estates, is in continuous contact with Eskom and Centlec in an effort to stay abreast of load shedding.

According to Anton, Eskom has recently - the week of 20 April - been focusing on the evening peak, and has announced STAGE 1 load shedding from 17:00-22:00; thus, the Bloemfontein Campus should be able to continue business as usual during the day, except for Thursdays from 18:00 and, possibly, Fridays from 17:00.

Where can I get more information about load shedding stages?

Apart from Eskom’s webpage, staff can also visit GRID WATCH. Click on "Search", then under "Schedules". Look for "Mangaung Local Municipality", and select "GROUP 4". Save this location. “This can even be loaded onto your mobile device.”

“The time slots can be seen for a couple of days in advance, to allow us to plan around the possibility of load shedding in our daily lives,” said Anton.

Please note: ESKOM can change the STAGE level at any time. Therefore, keep an eye on GRID WATCH and News24.

View the typical seven-day planner for the Bloemfontein Campus (Group 4), which indicates the STAGE 2 and 3 possibilities. Take note that, on some days, the STAGE 2 and 3 time slots are the same.

More load shedding tips: Your IT needs

The UFS Data Centre (Computer Room) is fully serviced by a generator facility, and can function without external power supply for a few days.

The generator servicing the UFS data centre does NOT provide power to the outlying facilities. This implies that all digital equipment at gates, booms, and access points will be shut down until the power is restored to these facilities. “We are now, in collaboration with Nico Janse van Rensburg, in a process to install UPS facilities at these points, which will ensure two to three hours of power supply at these points, even during load shedding,” said Dr Vic Coetzee, Senior Director: ICT Services.

No Wi-Fi will be available, as it is dependent on the power supply to the buildings where it is installed.

All servers are contained in the data centre, and will be kept running by our generators.

How to manage load shedding and your IT needs:

1. Get into the habit of saving your work regularly on computer so that you don’t lose your work/files during load shedding.
2. Back up important data. Keep to a schedule of regular back-up.  Make sure your computer back-ups are safe and recoverable.
3. Keep all electronic devices charged and ready to run on battery power. Keep your cellphone charged: some old-style Telkom landlines will still operate during power outages, but others won't.
4. Remember, when power supply is restored, it sometimes happens that a power surge is sent through the network, which will damage your computer.  Fortunately, laptop computers will not suffer this fate as their power is provided through an external power pack. Often, this power pack will be damaged, but not the laptop itself.
5. It makes good sense to reboot your computer daily, not only in terms of power shedding, but also in terms of updating the drivers, software, etc.
6. Switch off all computers and other electrical equipment at the wall plug overnight and on weekends.
7. Should your IT equipment not switch on after a power outage, log a call with the ICT Services. You can also call them at x2000.

More information, guidelines and contact numbers

 

 

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