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13 April 2023 | Story Jóhann Thormählen | Photo ASEM Engage, Hannes Naude
Shimlas
The Shimlas had the crowd on their feet during the Varsity Cup match on Shimla Park.
An incredible crowd that supported the Shimlas throughout and gave the team a big moral boost.

This is how the University of the Free State (UFS) rugby supporters were described by KovsieSport and Shimla leaders after the Varsity Cup campaign.

The UFS community was praised for its immense support and especially the way it filled Shimla Park.

Jerry Laka, Director of KovsieSport, congratulated the Shimlas on their overall performance, finishing second on the log, and reaching a semi-final, and also thanked its faithful fans.

The Shimlas played a second consecutive home semi-final, but unfortunately their campaign ended with a 30-65 loss to the University of Cape Town on Monday (10 April 2023).

Although the Shimlas only played three league home games, supporters came out in numbers. This was also the case in the semi-final against Ikeys.

Laka thanked the Shimla team management and student-athletes for their time, dedication, and commitment during the Varsity Cup campaign.

“I would also like to thank the UFS community, especially the students, for their unwavering support throughout the campaign. Your support was a moral booster for the team. Only a Kovsie knows the feeling.”

He further said that KovsieSport is looking forward to the same UFS support in the Varsity Football and Varsity Netball campaigns later in 2023.

Amazing crowd at Shimla Park

André Tredoux, the Shimla head coach, says his side is disappointed with how things ended and gave credit to the Ikeys.

“We had four away games against very tough teams. The team fought hard to secure a home semi-final. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.”

Tredoux applauds the Shimla supporters. He says they even started a Mexican wave and cheered loudly every time their team scored in the semi-final, even though the UFS was far behind.

“To see Shimla Park so full is incredible. To have all the cultures, different students, and also people from the public there. They are an amazing crowd,” he says.

“We will work hard to make them proud again next year.”
I would also like to thank the UFS community, especially the students, for their unwavering support throughout the campaign. Your support was a moral booster for the team. Only a Kovsie knows the feeling. – Jerry Laka

Grateful for support

Thabang Mahlasi, the Shimla captain, says the support has been unbelievable.

According to him, more UFS students were involved this year, and supporters even came along to watch games when their team played away.

“Without their support, we wouldn’t have made it this far and we are truly grateful for what they have done for us these past two seasons.”

“It would’ve been lovely to reward them with a trophy, but unfortunately words of gratitude are all we have to offer.”

• Two Shimlas, Lourens Oosthuizen (Overall Player That Rocks and Forward That Rocks) and Zane Bester (Back That Rocks), have been nominated for Varsity Cup awards.
• The UFS Young Guns reached a semi-final by thrashing Tuks, the defending champions, 73-5 in Bloemfontein on Monday (10 April 2023). They will face Maties on 17 April 2023 (16:30) in Stellenbosch.

News Archive

First doctorate in Thoracic Surgery in Africa awarded
2009-05-12

The University of the Free State (UFS) has become the first university in Africa to award a Ph.D. degree in Thoracic Surgery. The degree was conferred on Prof. Anthony Linegar from the university’s Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery during its recent graduation ceremony.

Thoracic surgery is a challenging subspecialty of cardiothoracic surgery. It began in South Africa in the 1940s and is a broad medico-surgical specialist discipline that involves the diagnosis, operative and peri-operative treatment of acquired and congenital non-cardiac ailments of the chest.

Prof. Linegar became the first academic to conduct a mixed methods analysis of this surgical specialty, which included a systematic review of all the research done in this field in South Africa. The title of his thesis is A Model for the Development of Thoracic Surgery in Central South Africa. The research was based on the hypothesis of a performance gap between the burden of disease in the community and the actual service provision. It makes use of systems theory and project management concepts to develop a model aimed at the development of thoracic surgery.

The research proved that there is a significant under provision of clinical services in thoracic surgery. This was quantified to a factor of 20 times less than should be the case, in diseases such as lung and oesophagus cancer. According to Prof. Linegar, there are multiple reasons for this. Listed amongst these reasons is the fact that thoracic surgery is not part of the undergraduate education in medical training. There tends to be a low level of awareness amongst clinicians as to what the thoracic surgeon offers their patients. The diagnostic and referral patterns in primary and secondary health facilities, where diseases must be picked up and referred early, are not functioning well in this regard. In addition, relatively few cardiothoracic surgeons express an interest in thoracic surgery.

Prof. Linegar’s model is named the ATLAS Mode, which is an acronym for the Advancement of Thoracic Surgery through Analysis and Strategic Planning. It includes the raising of awareness of the role of the specialist thoracic surgeon in the treatment of patients with thoracic diseases as part of the solution to the problem. Furthermore, it aims to develop an accessible and sustainable specialist service that adequately provides for the needs of the community, and that is appropriately represented in health administration circles.

His promoters were Prof. Gert van Zyl, Head of the School of Medicine at the UFS, Prof. Peter Goldstraw, from the Imperial College of London, United Kingdom (UK) and Prof. Francis Smit, Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UFS.

Prof. Linegar has been with the UFS since 2004, is a graduate from Stellenbosch University in 1984 and completed his postgraduate training in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Cape Town. He was granted a Fellowship in Thoracic Surgery at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, UK and has since held consultant positions at the UFS, Stellenbosch University and in private practice. He has been involved in registrar training since returning from the UK in 1994 and has extensive experience in intensive care medicine. He has published widely, has presented papers at many international conferences, has been invited as a speaker on many occasions and has won awards for best presentation on three occasions.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
12 May 2009
 

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