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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

UFS academics nominated for NSTF Awards
2016-05-19

Description: Zakkie Pretorius Tags: Zakkie Pretorius

Prof Zakkie Pretorius

Prof Zakkie Pretorius and Prof Maryke Labuschagne, researchers in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), have been nominated for the 2016 awards of the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) in partnership with South32.

The NSTF awards recognise outstanding contributions to science, engineering, and technology (SET) and innovation for researchers and other SET-related professionals. The awards are referred to as the ‘Science Oscars’ of South Africa, as they are the largest, most comprehensive, and most sought-after national Awards of their kind. Among other things, the NSTF aims to celebrate, recognise, and reward excellence in science, engineering, technology and innovation within the SET sectors.

Prof Pretorius was short-listed as a finalist in the category: Lifetime Award for an outstanding contribution to SET and innovation by an individual over a period of 15 years or more.

Description: Maryke Labuschagne Tags: Maryke Labuschagne

Prof Maryke Labuschagne

He works on crop quality and disease resistance in the field crops research chair headed by Prof Labuschagne in the Department of Plant Sciences. Disease-resistance breeding is a continuation of the internationally-acclaimed wheat rust research that Prof Pretorius has been conducting during his career.

Prof Labuschagne is a finalist in the category: Special Award in Crop Science and Food Security. This is a special award by the NSTF this year, in honour of the 2016 International Year of Pulses, as declared by the United Nations.

Prof Labuschagne heads the research chair on quality and diseases in field crops at the UFS. Her research, and that of her students, focuses on the genetic improvement of food security crops in Africa, including such staples as maize and cassava.

At a Gala Dinner on 30 June 2016, the finalists will be honoured before the Minister of Science and Technology, the patron of the occasion, announces the winners of the 2015/2016 awards.   

 

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