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Eco-Vehicle Race presented by Kovsie ACT

11 May 2023 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

Kovsie ACT at the University of the Free State (UFS) is presenting the sixth Kovsie Eco-Vehicle Race this year.

Come and show your support for our students who will be representing our colleges and three campuses, along with the Central University of Technology. Be a part of the action:

Date: Saturday 13 May 2023

Time: 09:00 Performances by student artists

Time: 10:15 Official start of Eco-Vehicle Race

Venue: UFS Odeion School of Music parking area

Click here to livestream

The Eco-Vehicle Race represents the last phase of a nine-month co-curricular skills programme, providing our students with a set of skills that prepare them for the world of work.

In this programme where students are equipped with basic knowledge and skills on sustainable energy, they get the opportunity not only to race the eco-vehicles, but to also understand the workings of the vehicle, which is critical for repairs done by the team during the race.

Our students will be competing in three events:

Obstacle course: Teams will be challenged by obstacles to test their control over the car.
Smart lap: A timed lap in which the drivers take the main track for the first time.
Endurance race: The teams need to finish as many laps as possible using the least amount of energy in 45 minutes.

The winners of the three events will each receive a trophy. There will be a trophy for the best pit stop as well as a spirit cup for the team with the best energy and support from the audience.

Come and support our students as they showcase their ingenuity and endurance. Don't miss out on the action! For more information, click here to contact Jady Carelse.

Car manufacturers will also exhibit hybrid/electric vehicles; come and view the exhibition and learn more about how these cars work and their benefits.

News Archive

Another boost for sport at the UFS

2005-10-13

A contract formalizing the appointment of Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd was signed by Prof Verschoor and Mr Morne du Plessis in the historic Main Building of the UFS Bloemfontein campus.

The University of the Free State (UFS) has officially appointed Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd, which has former Springbok rugby captain Morné du Plessis as managing director, to manage its Centre for Exercise and Sport Science Services (CESSS) on the Bloemfontein campus.

According to Prof Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector: Academic Operations, the appointment of Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd is another step in the implementation of the UFS’s wide-ranging sport strategy to improve sport facilities and elevate formerly marginalized sports such as soccer, hockey, netball, tennis etc.

Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd is the manager of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa and coordinates and manages the national basketball high-performance programme of SA Basketball, as well as the Boxing Academy on behalf of Boxing South Africa.

“It is also actively involved with the sports plans of several tertiary institutions like that of the University of Johannesburg and the University of Stellenbosch,” said Prof Verschoor.

“Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd was also appointed by the Ministry of Sport and Recreation to manage the allocation of sports codes to high-performance centres and to oversee the allocation of monies received from the National Lottery to these centres – this includes the CESSS at the UFS,” Prof Verschoor added.

In unfolding its national sports plan, the Ministry of Sport and Recreation has already identified the UFS-based CESSS as the high-performance testing centre for the national basketball teams whilst the national boxing teams are also earmarked to be trained at the UFS.

“We are glad to be associated with a company of this stature and look forward to work with them in the further development of sports at the UFS,” said Prof Verschoor.

According to Prof Verschoor, the CESSS will act as a centralised body that is responsible for the coordination and management of joint initiatives between professional service providers, research projects and KovsieSport.

“The centre will also coordinate and manage joint initiatives between various academic programmes in different academic subject fields such as sports medicine, bio kinetics, physiotherapy, dietetics, etc. ,” said Prof Verschoor.

These initiatives will help the UFS to become a centre and catalyst of sports development, to become internationally recognised in the field of exercise and sports science research and to become a centre for high quality sports performance enhancement.

Some of the objectives of the CESSS are:

To provide sports science services like to athletes, students, the general public and other stakeholders including certain national sport teams.
To provide the necessary teaching and training facilities and internship opportunities for UFS students in sports related fields of study will also be provided by the centre like human movement science.
To present skills-transfer programmes directed at the broader community like development of skills in various sporting codes.
To continue and extend the current chronic risk reversal programmes presented by the Department of Human Movement Science such as obesity management, cardiac rehabilitation and other lifestyle related conditions.

The centre was founded in 2003 and was until now managed by Dr Louis Holtzhausen, from Kovsie Health and a consultant, Dr Gary Vorster.

A contract formalizing the appointment of Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd was signed today by Prof Verschoor and Mr Morne du Plessis in the historic Main Building of the UFS Bloemfontein campus.

The manager of the centre appointed by Sports Plan (Pty) Ltd is Mr Charles Store, an alumnus of the UFS, previously employed at the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town and by the SANDF at 3 Military Hospital, Bloemfontein.

Media release
Issued by: Anton Fisher
Director: Strategic Communication
072-207-8334
12 October 2005

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