It has been 148 years since Frenchman Pierre Babolat took natural gut–derived from cow intestine – to make tennis racket strings. Now, the top-ranked male tennis player at the North-West University (NWU) is using his Babolet Pure Drive racket to run opponents ragged on courts across the country.  

In fact, 20-year-old Johann Coetzee, who studies Business Management at the NWU, has four of these weapons at his disposal to launch his preferred assaults: “My favourite shots are my serve and my forehand,” he explains with glee.

She is one of the tallest netball players in the country, but there seem to be no end to the heights Elmeré van den Berg can achieve on the netball court.

The 1,91m beanpole who hails from Bloemfontein, matriculated from Jim Fouché High School before joining the North-West University (NWU) where she is currently enrolled in a sports coaching and human movement sciences course.

She quickly made waves on the netball court – catching the eyes of national selectors – and greater accolades soon followed.

They did it again! Tete Dijana and Adele Broodryk are on top of the ultramarathon world after both athletes delivered superlative Comrades 2023 performances.

Dijana won the men’s division in a record time of 5:14.01, which is the second consecutive win for the employee of Mi7, an external security service provider to the NWU, who can be found on the Mahikeng Campus when on duty.

Precious Mokomele has an infectious laugh. It drifts in and out like a tide. Sometimes it is a gentle cascade, sometimes it is uproarious, emanating from some joyous part within herself where she keeps all the treasures of her happiness.

“I laugh a lot,” she confesses, unsurprisingly with a laugh. “My friends tell me I laugh too easily.”

What is surprising though, is that her past did all it could to muzzle and mute one of her outstanding features.

Rugby has changed. It has evolved. Take a look at some of the games in the 70s, 80s and early to mid-90s. They were a bit of a mess, weren’t they? There was little structure (not like nowadays, anyway) and it was more of a scrap than a clinical exhibition. Yes, there were some spectacular tries, but they occurred because defence players relied more on defence than on drilled-in patterns and meticulous examination of the opposition’s attacking game. Those days are over and defence coaches like Jean Tiedt of the North-West University (NWU) are revolutionising the modern game.

There is a tenacity to Vernon Paulo’s approach to rugby that is, quite frankly, scary. The soon-to-be 22-year-old dynamo of a hooker has an appetite for destruction. Just ask Ikeys scrumhalf Asad Moos who, during the Varsity Cup final between the Eagles and the Tigers, decided to test the home team’s defence with a dummy. He failed. Paulo lined him up and smashed him back with impunity. Then there is his appetite for tries. He crossed the whitewash an incredible 12 times during the tournament. For a hooker … what is that all about? Those are numbers reserved for wings.

Three female alumni of the North-West University (NWU) and former university team boxers – Onalenna Tsae, Goitseone Kgopiso, and Keamogetse Lesole – opened the SK Boxing Academy in 2022 to develop and promote the sport in their community.

The academy, strictly owned and run by women, currently has two branches – one in Uitkyk Village and the other in Mmabatho.

The North-West University (NWU) is celebrating the recent announcement that one of their football players, Heaven Prince Julius Sereetsi, has been named the best player of the North West ABC Motsepe league.

Heaven, an NWU Soccer Institute attacking winger, has been recognised for his outstanding performances throughout the league season. He has been a key player in the NWU team, contributing to their success in the league and helping them secure a place in the playoffs.

There is no such thing as too much of a good thing, especially not when rugby at the North-West University (NWU) is concerned. Not in the slightest. On Monday, 24 April 2023 the NWU Eagles (Young Guns) were crowned the Varsity Cup Young Guns champions after beating Maties 27-26 in Stellenbosch.

By doing so, the fledglings emulated their older brothers who won the senior competition. Every Varsity Cup rugby trophy now resides in Potchefstroom, making the NWU the undisputed kings of university rugby.

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus can now rightly be called South Africa’s go-to tennis destination with the official opening of its clay court precinct on Friday, 28 April 2023.  

These five new courts are supplemented by 10 hard courts and two grass courts to make the NWU Africa’s undisputed leader in providing players the best and only complete offering of tennis courts. This, coupled with the NWU’s world-class facilities, has again shown why the university is a hub of sporting excellence.