Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

Varsity Cup kicks off: UFS ready to shine

13 February 2025 | Story Onthatile Tikoe | Photo Supplied

Shimlas 2024 — The UFS Shimlas lifting the Varsity Cup on their home ground in Bloemfontein after their 2024 victory.

The highly anticipated Varsity Cup is finally here, and the University of the Free State (UFS) is buzzing with excitement! The tournament, which features the top university rugby teams in South Africa, promises to deliver thrilling matches and intense rivalries throughout the rugby season.

After an exhilarating 2024 season, the UFS Shimlas made history by lifting the Varsity Cup trophy on their home ground in Bloemfontein. The team’s impressive performance and dedication earned them a spot in the record books, and they are eager to repeat their success in 2025.

This year’s competition is scheduled to kick off on 17 February 2025 and will run for 7 weeks, with the UFS final game on 31 March 2025. The UFS Shimlas will be looking to defend their title and bring home the coveted trophy once again.

Previous winners

The Varsity Cup has a rich history, with previous winners including:

• UFS Shimlas (2015, 2024)

• Maties (Stellenbosch University, 2008-2010, 2019)

• Tuks (University of Pretoria, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2021, 2022)

• UCT Ikey Tigers (2011, 2014)

• FNB NWU (2016, 2023)

UFS ready to take on the best

The UFS Shimlas have been preparing tirelessly for the tournament, with a strong focus on teamwork, discipline, and strategy. Head Coach André Tredoux expressed his excitement about the team’s prospects: “Being the defending champions comes with a bit of pressure, but we don’t see it that way. Our motto is that we want to attack the Varsity Cup, hence the best form of defence is to attack. The boys are really excited. They played well against UJ and scored lots of tries, hence our mindset is to attack everything we put our minds to.”

UFS Shimlas Team Captain Nkoka Ngobe echoed his coach’s sentiments, reinforcing his dedication to leading the team to victory. “As the team captain, I have to lead by example and bring the culture of excellence. I will never ask my teammates to do something that I cannot do, so the important thing for me is doing what it takes so that the boys can do the same.”

Get ready for the action

The Varsity Cup promises to deliver seven weeks of non-stop rugby action, with the UFS Shimlas ready to take on the best university teams in the country. Don’t miss out on the excitement – follow the UFS Shimlas on social media to stay up to date and get ready to cheer them on to victory!

Let’s go, Shimlas!

News Archive

Societal perceptions of women in politics in Cameroon must change

2017-08-30

Prof Lilian Lem Atanga presented a lecture,
Gender, Discourse and Cognition and Implications on
Political Participation, as part of the First Humanities
and Gendered Worlds Lecture 2017.
Photo: Charl Devenish

Women have not internalised the fact that they can participate on an equal footing in politics with men. This is one of the conclusions made by Prof Lilian Lem Atanga in a study of the political participation of women in Cameroon.
“There still is a strong belief that women can’t deliver the goods (in areas such as politics),” Prof Atanga said. According to her, stereotypes were still entrenched in Africa and a lot had to be done to change societal perceptions of the role of women in politics.

Poor representation of women in politics
Prof Atanga, an associate professor at the University of Bamenda in Cameroon, was guest speaker at the First Humanities and Gendered Worlds Lecture 2017. The lecture was hosted by the Faculty of Humanities and the Centre for Africa Studies (CAS) at the University of the Free State (UFS) in the Equitas Auditorium, Bloemfontein Campus, on 3 August 2017. The title of the research fellow’s lecture at the CAS lecture was Gender, Discourse and Cognition and Implications on Political Participation.
She noted that although there had been a marked increase in the political participation of women in Cameroon, it still was insufficient. Of the 24 million people in the country, 52% were women but only 20% of the senators and 31% of parliamentarians were women.

Gender-segregated roles affect participation
And there are many reasons for this. “A lot more women still believe in gender-segregated roles and this affects their political participation.” Many men also don’t approve of women’s political participation.
In her study Prof Atanga found that stereotypes were also emphasised in the way the media in Cameroon reported on the roles of women.

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept