Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
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

Mathematical problem-solving solutions found in African indigenous games
2015-04-02

A recent study by Dr Tshele Moloi, a Mathematics Education lecturer at the Qwaqwa Campus, revealed that games such as Diketo or Morabaraba enhance the understanding of abstract mathematical concepts in children.  Diketo is a children’s game where 10 small stones or marbles and 1 ghoen or big stone are made available to each player. A small hole about 5cm deep is dug in which the small stones are placed for the players.

During this game of Diketo, learners can identify the variables involved – both dependent and independent.  In round one of the game, it was found that the stones scooped out of the hole can be described by the pattern: f(n)= -n/2   +  21/2 , (where n denotes the throwing of the ghoen). Stones placed in the hole can be illustrated by the pattern:  f(m)= -m/2   +  10, (where m denotes the throwing of the ghoen). There are many patterns that can be obtained when the players are in round two.

The patterns which emanate from rounds one, two, and three can be put on the Cartesian Plane, which can then demonstrate the linear functions.

Read more about this study into mathematical solutions based on African indigenous games here.

For more information or enquiries contact news@ufs.ac.za

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept