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18 July 2020 | Story Amanda Thongha
Staff, students and other stakeholders of the University of the Free State (UFS) can look forward to a virtual music show honouring the values and beliefs of former President Nelson Mandela. Musicians such as Simple Stories, Sibongile Mngoma, Boitumelo Mohutsioa, and Lucy Sehloho have prepared performances that will be showcased on UFS communication platforms on 31 July. Concluding Mandela Month celebrations, the pre-recorded show will also feature performances by poets Braithan Moratwa and Zilungile Muqayi. The show is coordinated by the Division of Student Affairs at the UFS.  

Angelo Mockie, Senior Officer: Arts, Culture and Dialogue at Student Affairs, says the show was primarily produced to convey a message of hope, solidarity, and support to the UFS community. “We chose Mandela Month to publish it, because those are the values that he believed in. Now more than ever, we need to stand together as a community to find ways of adapting to the new normal.”

In a message to UFS staff acknowledging the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, said Madiba’s example of compassion and courage made him one of the best-known leaders in the world.
“His life was a true inspiration and his devotion to democracy, equality, learning, and caring for others have earned him the respect of communities around the world.

This year, the significance of Mandela Day will be even more important than ever before, as we demonstrate caring by looking after ourselves, our families, and those around us, while we navigate through the pandemic. Caring provides purpose, but also the motivation to fulfil that purpose. The COVID-19 pandemic should enable us to imagine a world that is fairer, safer, more stable, secure, and one that can prosper.”

Taking Action

Heeding the call to take action and inspire change on Nelson Mandela’s birthday, you can read the following articles about the UFS making every day a Mandela Day:

The shelter and the students – a triumph of social impact

South Campus delivers much-needed educational support during pandemic

News Archive

Another boost for sport at the UFS
2005-10-13

A contract formalizing the appointment of Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd was signed by Prof Verschoor and Mr Morne du Plessis in the historic Main Building of the UFS Bloemfontein campus.

 

The University of the Free State (UFS) has officially appointed Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd, which has former Springbok rugby captain Morné du Plessis as managing director, to manage its Centre for Exercise and Sport Science Services (CESSS) on the Bloemfontein campus.

According to Prof Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector: Academic Operations, the appointment of Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd is another step in the implementation of the UFS’s wide-ranging sport strategy to improve sport facilities and elevate formerly marginalized sports such as soccer, hockey, netball, tennis etc.

Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd is the manager of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa and coordinates and manages the national basketball high-performance programme of SA Basketball, as well as the Boxing Academy on behalf of Boxing South Africa. 

“It is also actively involved with the sports plans of several tertiary institutions like that of the University of Johannesburg and the University of Stellenbosch,” said Prof Verschoor.

“Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd was also appointed by the Ministry of Sport and Recreation to manage the allocation of sports codes to high-performance centres and to oversee the allocation of monies received from the National Lottery to these centres – this includes the CESSS at the UFS,” Prof Verschoor added.

In unfolding its national sports plan, the Ministry of Sport and Recreation has already identified the UFS-based CESSS as the high-performance testing centre for the national basketball teams whilst the national boxing teams are also earmarked to be trained at the UFS.

“We are glad to be associated with a company of this stature and look forward to work with them in the further development of sports at the UFS,” said Prof Verschoor.

According to Prof Verschoor, the CESSS will act as a centralised body that is responsible for the coordination and management of joint initiatives between professional service providers, research projects and KovsieSport.

“The centre will also coordinate and manage joint initiatives between various academic programmes in different academic subject fields such as sports medicine, bio kinetics, physiotherapy, dietetics, etc. ,” said Prof Verschoor.

These initiatives will help the UFS to become a centre and catalyst of sports development, to become internationally recognised in the field of exercise and sports science research and to become a centre for high quality sports performance enhancement.

Some of the objectives of the CESSS are:

  •  

  • To provide sports science services like to athletes, students, the general public and other stakeholders including certain national sport teams.
  • To provide the necessary teaching and training facilities and internship opportunities for UFS students in sports related fields of study will also be provided by the centre like human movement science.
  • To present skills-transfer programmes directed at the broader community like development of skills in various sporting codes.
  • To continue and extend the current chronic risk reversal programmes presented by the Department of Human Movement Science such as obesity management, cardiac rehabilitation and other lifestyle related conditions.

The centre was founded in 2003 and was until now managed by Dr Louis Holtzhausen, from Kovsie Health and a consultant, Dr Gary Vorster. 

A contract formalizing the appointment of Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd was signed today by Prof Verschoor and Mr Morne du Plessis in the historic Main Building of the UFS Bloemfontein campus.

 

 

 

 

The manager of the centre appointed by Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd is Mr Charles Store, an alumnus of the UFS, previously employed at the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town and by the SANDF at 3 Military Hospital, Bloemfontein.

 

Media release
Issued by: Anton Fisher
Director: Strategic Communication
072-207-8334
12 October 2005
 

 

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