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31 October 2022 | Story Samkelo Fetile | Photo Tania Allen
Sne Mdletshe
Kovsie netball star and former Proteas netball team under-21 captain Sikholiwe Mdletshe hopes that she will inspire an entire generation both on and off the netball court.
Sikholiwe “Sne” Mdletshe’s passion and performance on the netball court makes her a force to be reckoned with. A fierce sportswoman and strong academic, Sne’s passion for her craft is also about inspiring those around her, and the next generation. This star netball player at the University of the Free State (UFS) scooped several Player of the Match awards during the 2022 Varsity Netball tournament, and she was also a clear crowd favourite. Despite the Kovsie netball team suffering a defeat in the semi-finals against North-West University (NWU), Mdletshe is grateful for the opportunity to live out her passion on the netball court. 

Where it all began

Mdletshe’s love for sports came very early in her life, and it was something for her to savour. “I have always had a passion for sports, whether it was athletics, soccer, or netball. I did it all – from primary school I played all the sports that were there, and in high school as well. I have just always been an active kid, and sports was a way to keep me busy,” she said.

Success and her family’s never-ending support helped motivate her. “My achievements in all the sporting codes really pushed me, from breaking records to getting the victrix ludorum award in Athletics [victrix ludorum is Latin for "the winner of the games", usually presented to the most successful team or competitor at a sports event], to getting Sports Star of the Year. Those were the things that really drove me to pursue and focus on sport. And of course, my family that pushed and supported me every step of the way.”

Balance between academics and sport

In 2019 Mdletshe captained the South African under-21 netball team while completing her BCom Accounting degree (which she completed cum laude). In 2020 she captained the UFS netball team. She also received her first call-up to the national Proteas netball team, for which she now has two caps. In 2021 she completed her BCom Accounting honours degree and is currently pursuing her Postgraduate Diploma in Chartered Accountancy. She believes that it is all possible through balancing, and she also hopes the next generation of students is encouraged to do extramural activities like sport.

“I came to the UFS in 2017 to study and play netball. Throughout the years, my lecturers have really helped me to find the perfect balance between academics and netball. The same can be done for the next generation of students, and a lot more can be achieved, individually and for Kovsie Sport as a programme.”

SA netball making strides

Mdletshe said she is not dissuaded by the slow growth of netball in South Africa. “Netball’s progress in being considered a professional sport in SA is steadily growing. We see the progress made in terms of players being paid to play netball. Earlier this year, a squad of contracted players was announced, and I am really looking forward to seeing some more growth and development in netball as a sport, especially it being considered a professional sport in the country, where many more netball players can be brought into the system. Big tournaments like the Varsity Netball Tournament make me very hopeful, and there is already a significant level of growth and interest shown in the sport. The way things are going gives a lot of encouragement to the younger generation who can possibly pursue netball as a professional career.”

Gratitude to all

Mdletshe gave a lot of praise to the Kovsie community. “I am honoured to have represented the UFS in varsity sports. For my performances, I would like to thank the coach and all my teammates for always pushing me. Gratitude to all the role players and most importantly to all our fans, who came out in numbers to rally behind us.”

She added: “Your journey in sports and in life will not be the same as the person next to you, and do not let that demotivate you. Take your time, make decisions that are best for yourself, and trust that your path will lead you exactly where your heart desires to be.”

News Archive

Enhancement of social justice focus at research colloquium
2010-10-07

At the third Education for Social Justice Research Colloquium the publication Praxis towards sustainable empowering learning environments in South were handed to Prof. Ezekiel Moraka, Vice-Rector: External Relations at the UFS. At this occasion were, from the left: Prof. Dennis Francis, Dean of the UFS Faculty of Education; Prof. Sechaba Mahlomaholo, Research Professor in the Faculty of Education Sciences at the North-West University; Prof. Moraka; and Dr Milton Nkoane, Senior Lecturer in the UFS Faculty of Education.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

 

This year, the University of the Free State (UFS) was the host for the Research Colloquium: Education for Social Justice for the very first time. It is the third time that this colloquium has been presented.

Prof. Ezekiel Moraka, Vice-Rector: External Relations at the UFS, opened the colloquium, stating that academics, through their research, are ultimately in a good standing to advise government on important issues such as social justice for them to address these issues accordingly.

Prof. Sechaba Mahlomaholo, Research Professor in the Faculty of Education Sciences at the North-West University, delivered the opening address on the theme: Validating community cultural wealth towards sustainable empowering learning environments for social justice. He said that the legacy of our recent past as South Africa still continues to haunt us, especially as exemplified in the dysfunctionalities that are rife in our education.

“With the colloquium we manage to bring together the ideas, thoughts, resources and efforts of educators and/or educationists concerned with the creation of a more equitable, equal, free, hopeful, peaceful and socially just society. Through our teaching, our community engagement and research activities we strive towards a more humane, caring, respecting and respectful South Africa and the world,” he said.

According to Prof. Mahlomaholo, education and its research are some of the most potent mechanisms at the very centre of social transformation. The papers at the colloquium focused on investigating, understanding and responding to issues of amongst others:

  • The medium of teaching and learning which continues to be a barrier to many learners to perform to the best of their abilities in the majority of the education institutions in South Africa;
  • Health, sexuality, HIV/Aids, stigmatisation and other deseases plaguing our communities currently;
  • Self-fulfilling prophecies and stereotypes about some learners not being as intelligent as the rest and this finally being reflected and confirmed in their poor academic achievements;
  • Differentiated levels of parental involvement in the activities of their children’s learning due to long absences from their families as they have to work in far-off places of employment;

Papers delivered at the colloquium moved beyond merely identifying the problems; they also suggested possible and plausible research-based solutions to these, such as integrating HIV/Aids education in curricula, listening to the aspirations of significant stakeholders such as mothers and parents generally in teaching and facilitating more rigorous community engagement practices.

At the colloquium gala dinner the book Praxis towards sustainable empowering learning environments in South Africa by authors Dr Milton Nkoane, Senior Lecturer in the UFS Faculty of Education, Prof. Mahlomaholo and Prof. Dennis Francis, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the UFS, was launched. The publication consists of a collection of the best peer-reviewed papers from a conference with the theme Creating sustainable empowering learning environments through scholarship of engagement. The main criterion for inclusion was that the paper should contribute to the theme by means of an original, tight, theoretical and empirical study conducted with the aim of informing the practice of creating sustainable empowering learning environments. The concrete cases examined in many of the chapters are very useful to helping readers understand the specific, on-the-ground concerns related to higher education and schools.

Media Release
Issued by: Leonie Bolleurs
Strategic Communication
Tel: 051 401 2707
Sel: 0836455853
Email: bolleursl@ufs.ac.za  
30 September 2010
 

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