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Student-athletes ‘honoured and grateful’ to receive Bettie Harmsen Scholarship
Author: Pia Nänny
Published: 16/04/2019

​​​“The Bettie Harmsen Scholarship is a bursary with a human touch. It's not about giving you money, but rather about giving you opportunities to achieve success and ultimately pay it forward."

This is how Bettie's sister Louisa Hall, deputy principal at The Settler's High School in Bellville, explained the value of the scholarship to the 2019 recipients, Stellenbosch University (SU) students and athletes Anika Pretorius and Kwezi Mtoba.

“As a family we are looking for students who are more than just athletes – students who dream of making a contribution to society."

Bettie Harmsen, born Buitendag, was a keen athlete and SU graduate who received her BSc Honours in Medical Biochemistry in 1989. After graduating from SU, Bettie had a very successful career in the pharmaceutical industry, first in South Africa and later in the United States where she lived with her husband and two children. Bettie passed away on 21 December 2016 at the age of 50 after a fierce battle with cancer.

Days before her death, she and her husband Hans decided to award a scholarship to promising SU track and field athletes. The family has committed to donate $10 000 per year to Maties Athletics for a minimum of ten years.

Track athletes and Maties students Justine Palframan and Gardeo Isaacs were the first recipients in 2018. This year the scholarship was awarded to Anika, a Paralympic athlete studying towards a Master's degree in Sport Science, and Kwezi, a final-year BCom Management Sciences student and field athlete.

Anika was diagnosed with Stargardt disease – a condition that causes progressive damage of the macula, which is a small area in the centre of the retina that is responsible for sharp, straight-ahead vision – when she was 13. Due to this impairment, she shifted her focus from gymnastics to athletics in which she performed very well.

In 2012, she was selected to represent South Africa in the long jump event for visually impaired athletes (T13) at the Paralympic Games in London. She missed the 2016 Rio Paralympics Games due to injury and is currently training for the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai later this year and the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Her focus is now on the 100m (T13).

“I've had quite a few injuries that kept me from competing, and now I just embrace the grace of running. I'm grateful for this scholarship and the financial support it offers me to do what I love. It's a privilege to be part of Bettie Harmsen's legacy."

Kwezi's interest in the long and triple jump events only started in high school after a shoulder injury prevented him from playing cricket. He showed immense potential and was the number one ranked triple jumper in SA and Africa for juniors in 2016. He was also part of the SA Students team to the CUCSA Games in 2018. His goal for this year is to be selected for the SA team for the World Student Championships.

“I feel very honoured and special to have been hand-picked for this scholarship. It means a lot that they could see potential in me and want to support me in my career as a student-athlete. It also serves an incentive to do really well this season and encourages me to be the best student and athlete I can be."

The four pillars of the scholarship are aligned with the focus areas of the Maties Sport High Performance (HP) Unit, namely athletic performance, academic performance, personal empowerment and development, and community involvement.

According to Hans Harmsen, Bettie's husband, the family was impressed with the various candidates for the bursary.

“It was very hard to decide. Considering Anika's visual impairment, we can only imagine the uphill battles she has had to fight and the challenges she has had to overcome to get to where she is now. With her involvement in kids' church and tutoring and coaching of disabled children, she demonstrates the community awareness that is important to us. It seems that Anika has clear goals, not only for herself, but also for how she can add value to those around her, including the children she touches with her outreach work. Kwezi not only performed well academically, but he continually challenges himself, both academically as well as athletically. Kwezi's personal motivation, perspectives and all-encompassing goals impressed us, aiming to be the best person he can be in every sphere of life.

“Each in their own way, Anika's and Kwezi's applications echoed key aspects of Bettie's outlook on life: driven by faith, a “can-do" approach to any challenge she faced, while deeply caring for those around her, as she tried to be the best person she could be: wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, business executive, colleague, Sunday school teacher, and – back in the days – pentathlete with specialisations in long jump and hurdles. We hope that the bursary will help Anika and Kwezi achieve their personal goals in 2019, and indeed grow in every sphere of life."

According to Ilhaam Groenewald, Chief Director of Maties Sport, they are honoured to continue Bettie Harmsen's legacy on behalf of her family.

“Student-athletes are very special people, because it is expected of them to balance both their academic and sport performances. The continuation of the Bettie Harmsen scholarship demonstrates, that with Maties Sport and our two recipients meeting this objective, partnerships can grow from strength to strength."​