SA Water Polo gets its ducks in a row, aiming for recognition by World Aquatics

This year has been turbulent for water polo in South Africa. A tussle for power between Swimming South Africa (SSA) and South Africa Water Polo (Sawp) went all the way to the Western Cape Division of the High Court in Cape Town.

Judge Judith Cloete ruled in favour of Sawp and against the urgent interdict brought forward by SSA. Judge Cloete found that SSA “does not have an exclusive right in perpetuity to govern or administer the sport of water polo in South Africa”.

The ruling allowed Sawp to continue operating as a non-profit, community-governed body, with its aims firmly set on being approved by World Aquatics, after which it will be eligible to govern the sport in place of SSA.

In the interim, Sawp has been getting its ducks in a row. Outside of the in-water events it organised, it now runs the Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Nelson Mandela Bay men’s and women’s water polo leagues, and all the Masters water polo programmes in South Africa.

Sawp held its inaugural annual general meeting last month, where it elected its first board of directors (having previously been led by an interim board) and adopted a memorandum of incorporation (MOI).

The MOI, according to Sawp, is a blueprint for the newly elected directors to “address the state in which water polo currently finds itself in South Africa, having been plagued by a lack of meaningful transformation, poor administration, a dearth of fundraising initiatives, and non-existent high-performance programmes for athletes”.

Its primary objective, said the organisation, is “to promote, develop and govern the sport of water polo in South Africa, making the sport accessible to all South Africans regardless of background, and catering to their water polo needs at every level, from learning the sport to representing the country at the highest international level”.

Inaugural tournament

The organisation has held water polo clinics for formerly disadvantaged young people in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape to help facilitate the growth of the sport across class lines.

It held its first tournament, the Gauteng Invitational, in May.

It followed this with the Winter Series in Gqeberha in August.

Last month, the Cape Town Invitational took place at Reddam House Constantia, with several Olympians taking part in the weekend-long tournament.

“We’ve shown that when passionate people take ownership, great things happen,” said Sawp’s interim CEO, Robbie Taylor. “The revival of South African water polo is being led by the very people who have built, coached, and played this sport for decades. From Olympians to school coaches, everyone here has skin in the game.

“Our goal is not just to manage the sport, but to reignite hope and opportunity for every player. We want to see water polo become truly representative of our nation — inspiring young athletes from every community to dream big.”

The new board of directors will appoint an official CEO and other members of the management team.

Seeking recognition

Sawp aims to “secure sustainable funding, [grow] partnerships with private sponsors [and continue] to expand community participation”, while attempting to gain official recognition from the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) locally and World Aquatics internationally.

“Sawp recognises World Aquatics as the sole international sporting authority entitled to make and enforce regulations for the encouragement and control of the sport,” said Taylor.

“Sawp will seek approval from World Aquatics to represent the sport in SA. Sawp has further committed to working with the relevant minister and Sascoc to further the sport of water polo.

“We are entering a new era for South African water polo — one where professionalism and passion coexist, and where every player, coach, and official can believe in the purpose behind what we’re building.”

SSA, meanwhile, has sent national teams to the following events this year: Africa Aquatics Development Water Polo Tournament (April), World Aquatics Championships (August), World Aquatics Men’s under-20 Water Polo Championships (June) and the World Aquatics Women’s under-20 Water Polo Championships (August).

Because SSA is recognised by Sascoc and World Aquatics and Sawp is not, the former is the only organisation that can award national colours to South African aquatic athletes.

Daily Maverick asked SSA’s operations manager, Mafata Modutoane, to expand on the work SSA had done in water polo this year, but had not received a response by the time of publication. DM