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17 October 2023 | Story Danelle Fisher | Photo Netball South Africa
Kovsies Netball
UFS champions shine: Kovsie netball stars selected for Australian tour after a stellar World Cup performance, embodying the university's commitment to sporting excellence.

The University of the Free State (UFS) has consistently demonstrated its role as a catalyst for excellence in various sporting disciplines. Recently, four former and two current Kovsie Netball stars - Karla Pretorius, Khanyisa Chawane, Boitumelo Mahloko, Lefébre Rademan (former), and Rolene Steurker and Refiloe Nketsa (current Kovsies) – were chosen to represent the South African netball national team in a test series against 2023 Netball World Cup champions, Australia.

The test series between Australian Diamonds and the Spar Proteas, scheduled for November, marks the first competitive encounter for the South African team following the successful hosting of the World Cup in Cape Town from July to August 2023. Both Pretorius and Chawane played key roles as starters for the Spar Proteas at the World Cup, with Rademan and Nketsa making significant contributions coming on mostly as substitutes.

This talented group of Kovsies earned their spots after a rigorous selection process, following the Proteas’ recent attendance at a three-day training camp in Cape Town, from which a team of 15 players was chosen to travel to Australia.

Burta De Kock, the Kovsie Netball coach, expressed pride in the achievements of the athletes, stating, "As the coach, my duty is to nurture and mould the Kovsie players to be the best individually and as a team.  Having so many Kovsies in the team heading to Australia makes me thrilled, and it shows that the system at our university is on the road to success, especially with Karla serving as the vice-captain of the travelling team.”

According to Netball South Africa, the Spar Proteas, departed the country on Monday 16 October, and are set to play three games against their Australian counterparts on 26, 29, and 30 October 2023.

De Kock further remarked, “All the players are now role models, showcasing that hard work pays off. At Kovsies, we are a team that never gives up, no matter what obstacles we face. We give our utmost best, face the uncomfortable, insecure moments, and turn them into our greatest achievements.”

In addition to these netball stars, three other Kovsie sports stars continue to raise the institution’s flag high on the global stage. Devan van Niekerk was recently selected to represent the South Africa under-21 men’s hockey squad at the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia from 27 October to 4 November 2023. Elrich Jacobs was selected as part of a national hockey talent group in the 2023/2024 season, and Jamie Henckert represents Namibia at the Africa Hockey Road to Paris 2024 tournament scheduled from 29 October to 5 November 2023.

 

Credit: KovsieSport Facebook

News Archive

SA must appoint competent judges
2009-05-08

 
At the inaugural lecture are, from the left: Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Acting Rector of the UFS, Judge Farlam and Prof. Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the UFS.

Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Ian Farlam has called on the South African government to appoint and continue to appoint competent, fair and experienced judicial officers to sit in the country’s courts.

He also emphasised the need to have an efficient and highly respected appellate division, which rightly enjoys the confidence of all.

Judge Farlam was speaking at the University of the Free State (UFS) where he delivered his inaugural lecture as Extraordinary Professor in Roman Law, Legal History and Comparative Law in the Faculty of Law.

He said there were important lessons that emanated from the study of legal history in the Free State, particularly including the lesson that there were courageous jurists who spoke up for what they believed to be right, and a legislature who listened and did the right thing when required.

“This is part of our South African heritage which is largely forgotten – even by those whose predecessors were directly responsible for it. It is something which they and the rest of us can remember with pride,” Judge Farlam said.

Addressing the topic, Cox and Constitutionalism: Aspects of Free State Legal History, Judge Farlam used the murder trial of Charles Cox, who was accused of killing his wife and both daughters, to illustrate several key points of legal history.

Cox was eventually found guilty and executed, however, the trial caused a deep rift between the Afrikaans and English speaking communities in the Free State.

Judge Farlam also emphasised that the Free State Constitution embodied the principle of constitutionalism, with the result that the Free State was a state where the Constitution and not the legislature was sovereign. He said it was unfortunate that this valuable principle was eliminated in the Free State after the Boer War and said that it took 94 years before it was reinstated.

Judge Farlam added, “Who knows what suffering and tragedy might not have been avoided if, instead of the Westminster system, which was patently unsuited to South African conditions, we had gone into Union in 1910 with what one can describe as the better Trekker tradition, the tradition of constitutionalism that the wise burghers of the Free State chose in 1854 to take over into their Constitution from what we would call today the constitutional best practice of their time?”

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
8 May 2009
             

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