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15 September 2021 | Story Jóhann Thormählen | Photo Charl Devenish
The University of the Free State (UFS) netball team was honoured by UFS management at a special celebration. The side won a fourth Varsity Netball title and the UFS has now been champion in 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2021.

Set goals for yourself, commit to it, and give everything to achieve them.

According to Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), this is what the UFS netball team did and why it is an example for the Kovsie community.

He celebrated the team’s achievement of winning Varsity Netball for a record fourth time and extending the run of the UFS as the most successful team in the tournament.

The Kovsies convincingly beat Maties 55-39 in the final to be crowned champions. It was the biggest victory margin in a final, and they did it after losing to Maties (46-54) in the first round.

Prof Petersen and his management group honoured Burta de Kock, the UFS Head Coach, and her team during a special celebration on 13 September 2021.

Working as an outfit

He said the side’s determination is a lesson to others.

“Once you have decided that these are my objectives and you commit yourself to achieving them, that is all you focus on.”

“It will always be possible if you put everything in and you showed it. Thank you for doing this.”

He praised the team for building the UFS brand. 

“You really work as an outfit. What I saw of the players was a right attitude when they play the game.”

Everything made easy

Sikholiwe (Sne) Mdletshe, the UFS captain, thanked her team’s management, the UFS, and its lecturers.

“We really want to thank the university for putting so much into us. It gives us a lot of resources.

“Some tests had to be written while we were in the bubble and our lecturers made that easy for us.”

She said the players never take the effort for granted. “The UFS makes everything easy to go out there and play netball – the sport we have been playing since we were little kids.”

DB Prinsloo, Director of KovsieSport, is immensely proud of the team.

“We even lost one of our best players in the first match, Chanel Vrey, due to injury. We have to take off our hats to the Kovsie netball team.”


News Archive

2017 Matriculant of the Year wants to make the world a better place
2017-10-09

Description: '2017 Matriculant of the Year Tags: 2017 Matriculant of the Year

The group of 14 finalists for this year’s Matriculant of the Year
competition. 
Photo: Charl Devenish

To help others in need is what the University of the Free State (UFS) and Volksblad’s 2017 Matriculant of the Year winner, Elizabeth de Vries, strives for. De Vries, who will be studying medicine from 2018, wants to work for Doctors Without Borders one day. 

All South Africans should unite
in mutual respect and
embrace one another.


Also named Sparkling Personality 

At a recent gala dinner on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus, De Vries was not only named winner of this prestigious competition, but was also elected Sparkling Personality by all 13 of her fellow finalists. She is currently a pupil at St. Dominic’s College in Welkom, where she is head girl.

This year, 96 matriculants participated in the competition, from which 14 finalists were selected. 

Mutual respect important

In addition to achieving well academically, De Vries also performs well in sports and culture. She plays the violin and piano, and does ballet, plays hockey, and swims to ‘clear her head’. 

De Vries will be very welcome at Kovsies, where we strive for inclusivity. She believes that all South Africans should unite in mutual respect and embrace one another.

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