Clear win for SA Water Polo as Swimming SA sinks in court

The organisation scored a decisive court victory, ending SSA's exclusive control over the sport. By Craig Ray

- By Craig Ray

The breakaway South Africa Water Polo (SAWP) organisation has won the legal right to exist and could even evolve into the sport's national federation, according to a judgment handed down by the High Court in Cape Town against Swimming South Africa (SSA).

In a strong ruling after an urgent application brought by SSA for a final interdict against SAWP, Judge Judith Cloete found that SSA “does not have an exclusive right in perpetuity to govern or administer the sport of water polo in South Africa”.

It’s a huge blow for SSA, whose years of well-documented poor governance could be coming to an end in water polo at least. The court ruling will also come with a heavy bill, estimated to be about R1-million, after SSA was ordered to pay costs.

SSA, as the recognised national federation for aquatic disciplines, including water polo, by both the National Sport and Recreation Act (NSRA) and World Aquatics, sought to prevent SAWP from trying to administer or govern water polo in South Africa and from interfering in SSA‘s affairs.

Judge Cloete found this to be against both the framework established in (or by) the NSRA and against the Constitution.

“The definition of ‘national federation’ in the NSRA makes no mention of only one national governing body being permitted to qualify as such in South Africa,” Judge Cloete said in her judgment.

“Although the definition refers to ‘a national governing body’, it does not necessarily follow that there can be only one such body for all aquatic disciplines in this country.

“The applicant [SSA] cannot seriously suggest that the respondents [SAWP] do not have the constitutionally entrenched right to freedom of association contained in section 18 of the Bill of Rights, and that the same applies to any individual water polo player wishing to join the respondents...”

SAWP’s mandate