INDEPENDENCE QUEST: SA body goes to World Aquatics for right to govern water polo

Independent water polo body, South African Water Polo (SAWP), has formally applied to World Aquatics to be recognised as a national body governing water polo in South Africa.

SAWP grew out of a movement that began in late 2024 and was registered in February 2025 as a water polo-specific alternative to Swimming South Africa (SSA), which runs all aquatic disciplines under a single umbrella.

Essentially, SAWP wants water polo to be governed and operated independently of swimming, artistic swimming and diving, which all fall under SSA’s control.

This step is also a reaction to nearly two years of court action and negotiations with SSA, which have come to nothing.

Importantly, SAWP is not seeking to replace SSA as the country’s member of World Aquatics. It wants to take over the running of water polo for two years, including picking national teams, while SSA keeps the membership and the formal right to enter teams in international competitions.

SSA, whose president and CEO were provisionally suspended by World Aquatics’ integrity unit in August, did not respond to questions from Daily Maverick.

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), which SAWP copied on its application, did send this reply.

“The recognised body for aquatics in South Africa is Swimming South Africa (SSA), as recognised by World Aquatics,” a Sascoc spokesperson said in an emailed reply to Daily Maverick.

“Only SSA can nominate athletes to represent South Africa for, amongst other pool-based sports, such as the water polo national team.

“It is up to Swimming South Africa to agree on their own process of selecting the team, and Sascoc cannot, as for any other federation, dictate the selection process to be followed. 

“Should SSA agree with SAWP that they will recognise the proposed pathway for qualification, Sascoc will follow the guidance from SSA.”

What SAWP wants

SAWP chief executive Robbie Taylor said the application and a cover letter went to World Aquatics’ legal and governance office in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 7 October.

In a WhatsApp message to Daily Maverick on 14 October, Taylor said an official from World Aquatics had verbally acknowledged receipt of SAWP’s application.

The request rests on Article 5.5 of the World Aquatics Constitution. Where more than one body governs aquatic disciplines in a country, World Aquatics’ Bureau can decide what rights a national body that is not a member may have.

This is important because Article 5.2 of the constitution says only one body per country can be a member.

“We have requested an urgent interim determination under Article 5.5 of the World Aquatics Constitution,” a statement from Taylor told SAWP’s members.

“This mechanism allows World Aquatics to formally recognise SAWP as a national body governing water polo in South Africa during a transitional period, ensuring our sport moves forward without waiting for lengthy domestic conflicts to resolve.

“Our primary mission is simple: protect the athletes. With the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic qualification cycle under way, our players urgently need stability, transparent and independent selection processes, high-performance coaching, and guaranteed access to international competitions.

“This application carries the voice of 2,052 registered active competitive players across South Africa, together with our partners at the Schools Waterpolo Association of South Africa (SWPSA), representing over 20,000 school athletes. The Federation – Swimming South Africa – has less than 100 registered active water polo players.”

In answers to follow-up questions from Daily Maverick, Taylor said “interim determination” was the organisation’s own label. The article itself makes no provision for an interim determination.

“We use the term ‘interim determination’ to describe our request for a reviewable, 24-month transitional arrangement while SSA remains the formal recognised World Aquatics member,” he said in a written response.

Taylor conceded that the 20,000 figure was hard to verify, describing it as the schools association executive’s “best educated guess”. In April 2025, then SSA president Alan Fritz told Parliament that SSA had never had more than 130 water polo players registered.

The rights SAWP wants include running national leagues and tournaments, operating its own national selection panels, delivering high-performance coaching, liaising directly with World Aquatics and Africa Aquatics, and guaranteed access for eligible players to international and Olympic qualifying competitions.

SAWP argues that Article 5.5 fits its request because it, not SSA, already runs the sport at home. “SSA does not operate domestic water polo leagues – we do,” Taylor said.

SAWP says it has given World Aquatics the undertakings its constitution requires, which include compliance with the anti-doping code. But Taylor said SAWP was still “in discussions” to implement an anti-doping programme and would comply fully once recognised.

Selection

Who selects the national teams appears to be where talks between SAWP and SSA broke down.

According to a log of its communications with SSA that SAWP supplied to Daily Maverick, SAWP sought clarification on 9 October of a counter-proposal memorandum from SSA, concerned that it would leave SAWP with no say over international programmes and selection.

A day later, it formally rejected the counter-proposal, saying it bore no resemblance to earlier discussions and that it stripped SAWP of its mandate.

The log does not make clear whether SAWP had SSA’s counter-proposal before it applied to World Aquatics.

The log, which SAWP acknowledges is its own version of events, records 34 messages and attempts at contact over 291 days. It begins with SAWP submitting a draft memorandum of understanding to Fritz on 23 December 2025.

The two bodies did not meet until 28 May 2026. Afterwards, SSA said they were exploring a “single integrated water polo formation” within the federation.

The log records no contact between mid-May and late August. It resumed after Fritz and CEO Shaun Adriaanse were suspended. According to SAWP, acting SSA president Zikie Molusi then proposed signing a memorandum within 10 days, by 25 September. That date passed without a meeting.

On 5 October, SAWP told Sascoc that SSA had shown no genuine intent to make progress. Two days later, it applied to World Aquatics.

From breakaway to court

SAWP rejects the label “breakaway”, though it was formed outside SSA’s structures.

Its founders were coaches, referees, administrators and players who had lost faith in SSA’s running of the sport.

The last straw for many was SSA’s decision not to send the men’s and women’s teams to the Paris Olympics, despite their qualifying.

SSA responded with a cease-and-desist letter, then an urgent application for a high court interdict.

In June 2025, Western Cape high court Judge Judith Cloete dismissed the application with costs. She found that SSA “does not have an exclusive right in perpetuity to govern or administer the sport of water polo in South Africa”, and that only World Aquatics could decide whether to admit another body.

Olympics

Taylor said the urgency came from the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle, with World Cup competition due to start in December for women and in January for men.

“SAWP could not stand by and allow another generation of South African water polo players to lose their international and Olympic opportunities due to domestic administrative delay,” Taylor said.

But Olympic places go to national Olympic committees, and Sascoc recognises SSA. Taylor said SAWP’s proposal keeps SSA as the member for formal entries, while SAWP would run technical, high-performance and selection operations.

There is precedent for independent water polo bodies. In the United States, USA Water Polo governs the sport under a single umbrella member of World Aquatics.

World Aquatics has also rebuilt failing federations. It expelled Mexico’s swimming federation in 2024 and recognised a new body in 2025. But Daily Maverick could find no case of it granting a non-member operational control while the incumbent remained a member.

Whether World Aquatics will hand those functions to a body that is not its member is now the question sitting in Lausanne. DM