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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

Anti-Racism Network South Africa launched in Free State
2016-04-19

Description: Anti-Racism Network South Africa  Tags: Anti-Racism Network South Africa

Ms Nokuthula Sithole, Dr Danny Titus, and Mr Qondile Khedama
Photo: Lihlumelo Toyana

“Racism is, and has been, alive among us as the people of South Africa for a long time, and we therefore need organisations such as ARNSA to create spaces for us to speak up on issues of racism.” The Executive Mayor of the Mangaung Metro Municipality, Counsellor Thabo Manyoni, urged South Africans and the people of the local Metro to speak up on issues relevant to racism. He was speaking at the launch of the Free State chapter of the Anti-racism Network of South Africa (ARNSA) in Bloemfontein.

The Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ) at the University of the Free State (UFS) is partnered in this endeavour by the Mangaung Metro Municipality, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, the Foundation for Human Rights, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Churches against Racism in Southern Africa (CARS) and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.

The ARNSA launch was followed by a dialogue led by Dr Danny Titus, Mr Qondile Khedama, and Prof Christina Landman. JC van der Merwe, the Deputy Director of the IRSJ at the UFS, said that the ARNSA initiative has the potential to unite all South Africans in appreciating and respecting the humanity of all people, as well as to mobilise people to fight against racism. His sentiments were echoed by Sean Moodley, the national ARNSA coordinator. Moodley said that we all have to take on racism; to learn about it, speak out against it, and act to stop it.

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