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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

Humour a powerful tool to address serious issues

2017-12-06

Michelle Malan received a Dean’s medal from the Faculty of Humanities at the mid-year
graduation ceremonies for her Master’s degree.
Photo: Jóhann Thormählen

People, in most contexts, are more open to engage in serious issues such as politics and economics if it is presented in a humorous way. This makes humour a very powerful tool to address burning issues in our society.

These are some of the findings in the research of Michelle Malan, a part time lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and Language Practice at the University of the Free State (UFS).

How comedians and cartoonists use humour
The basic premise of her research, titled The Intersemiotic Translation of Humour, was to see how comedians and cartoonists take news stories and translate it into humour. She received the Dean’s medal for the best Master’s degree in the Faculty of the Humanities at the mid-year graduation ceremonies in June 2017.

“More specifically, I explored how the medium constrains potential meaning-making in cases of intersemiotic translation in which humour is constructed,” she says.

Cartoon vs a comic television show
According to her the medium in which a message is given, in this case comedy, definitely influences how one is able to form meaning from it. “For instance, a cartoon (visual medium) would have a different meaning-making potential than a comic television show.”

She also notes that one must understand the workings of humour, which includes the mediums in which it is presented, so that the intended humour does not do more harm than good.

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