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24 March 2021 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Netball South Africa
Defender Refiloe Nketsa is one of four Kovsies chosen for the South African U21 netball team.

With no less than four Kovsies in the South African Under 21 netball team, the near future for this sport at the University of the Free State (UFS) is certainly on the bright side.

Chanel Vrey, Refiloe Nketsa, Rolene Streutker, and Boitumelo Mahloko will be in action for the Baby Proteas, as the team is known, in a challenge series. The team will battle the President’s XII (a South African A team) and Uganda from 25 March in Cape Town. 

They all played for the Free State senior side last year. Vrey and Streutker also played for the Baby Proteas against international competition in 2019.

Mahloko – a former Kovsie – and Nketsa have also represented South Africa at junior level in the past. They were team members in the national U16 team in 2017, and a year later Mahloko made the U20 team and Nketsa the SA U18 team.

Khanyisa Chawane will also be in action in the series, playing for the Proteas, while former Kovsie captain Alicia Puren has been chosen for the President’s XII.

Meanwhile, two hockey players, Saré Laubscher and Zimkhitha Weston, have been picked for the South African U21 women’s hockey team. They would have participated in the African qualifying tournament in Ghana at the end of March. This tournament has, however, been postponed to January 2022. 

This is the third consecutive year that Laubscher has made the team. Weston, a former Kovsie, played for South Africa at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.

The African Hockey Qualifier serves as qualification for the Junior World Cup, which is scheduled for December in Potchefstroom. South Africa has already qualified as hosts for the Junior World Cup, but the African crown is up for grabs in Ghana. 

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Three Kovsies receive prestigious Mandela Rhodes scholarship for 2015
2014-11-10

From the left: Lehlohonolo Mofokeng, Tumelo Morobane and Zola Valashiya
Photo: Stefan Lotter

 

The UFS continues to produce leaders and is proud to have three Mandela Rhodes scholars next year.

Lehlohonolo Mofokeng, Zola Valashiya and Tumelo Morobane all received this prestigious scholarship for 2015.

A Mandela Rhodes Scholarship provides full funding for a maximum of two years of postgraduate study. The award is open to all African citizens under the age of 30 years and recipients must study towards an honours or master’s degree at a recognised South African institution. Although there is no maximum number of awards, the scholarships are highly competitive, with fewer than 30 scholarships being awarded each year since its inception in 2005. The scholarships cover tuition, accommodation, meals, book allowance, general allowance, and travel expenses. Recipients of the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship are students with outstanding academic achievements, who also possess leadership ability, entrepreneurial skills, and a commitment to reconciliation. In addition to receiving funding for their studies, scholars also do a leadership development programme while in residence. The award is named after Nelson Mandela and Cecil Rhodes and is administered by the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, which is a partnership between the Nelson Mandela and the Rhodes Trusts.

Lehlohonolo has just finished his BEd Hons in Philosophy and Policy of Education at the UFS. He hopes to enroll for a master’s degree in Education Policy, Planning and Management at the University of Witwatersrand with his Mandela Rhodes Scholarship.

Zola is originally from Johannesburg and is completing his LLB degree at the UFS this year. He is planning to stay at the UFS in 2015 to do his LLM in Constitutional Law or International Human Rights Law.

Tumelo has a BSc Honours in Actuarial Science and will use this scholarship next year to study towards her master’s degree at the UFS.

“I chose to stay at the UFS because I am doing a great master's project with Munich Re through the UFS,” says Tumelo. 

“Furthermore, the CEO of the Mandela Foundation, Mr Sello Hatang, asked me to work with the foundation on a few projects that mostly focus on keeping the girl child in school across Africa, as well as helping with providing training and workshops on entrepreneurship to young people.

“So, I am looking forward to a very busy year ahead of me, which will be filled with so much learning, growth and making a difference,” Tumelo says.

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