Swimming SA loses case against water polo body

Swimming SA (SSA) has suffered a blow in seeking to control all aquatic sports in the country after losing its legal bid to shut down the emergent SA Water Polo (SAWP).

Cape Town high court judge Judith Cloete on Wednesday dismissed the national federation’s case against SAWP with costs. 

“The applicant has failed to demonstrate any of the requirements for final interdictory relief,” she said in a written judgment.

SSA — the body responsible for swimming, water polo, diving and artistic swimming — sought to interdict SAWP, accusing the newly formed body of passing itself off as the national federation responsible for water polo and interfering in its running of the sport, among other issues.

SAWP said when it launched in March it had wanted to discuss taking over the running of water polo with SSA and, failing that, it would approach World Aquatics for recognition.

SAWP, which was established because of a perceived lack of interest and poor administration of water polo by SSA, argued that World Aquatics was the only body that could decide on its membership.

The judge referred to two international judgments — one involving the Indian Hockey Federation and the other the Russian Badminton Federation — which backed up the assertion that international federations have the only say about their memberships.

Cloete also found there was nothing to suggest SAWP was trying to usurp SSA’s role at this stage.

“SAWP is not purporting to hold itself out as a national federation,” she said. “That is the only right which the applicant has which is worthy of protection.

“I agree with the respondents that the applicant does not have an exclusive right in perpetuity to govern or administer the sport of water polo in SA.

“Accordingly, it has no right to prevent the respondents from taking steps to legally acquire that right in due course (including by establishing its legitimacy in the wider stakeholder community by creating the appropriate organisational structures in the interim).”

The judge added that there was no proof to back up SSA’s claim that SAWP was interfering in the administration of the sport.

“The evidence to which I have already referred demonstrates that from the outset the respondents have expressed the clear intention to engage with the applicant.

“Furthermore, the respondents set out a number of factual examples of prior attempts by various stakeholders and role players in water polo to engage with the applicant, all apparently to no avail.

“But in any event, the applicant has a suitable alternative remedy. All it has to do is inform the SA water polo community at large that, for so long as it remains the national federation ... national and international competitions fall under its auspices.”

The judge said SSA’s case was based on a misconception.

“Perhaps the applicant’s fundamental misconception is best demonstrated by the allegation in its founding affidavit that SAWP ‘cannot be recognised by World Aquatics’.

“As I have tried to illustrate earlier in this judgment, the applicant conflates its current status with excluding the possibility of any other national governing body replacing it in the sole and absolute discretion of the relevant international controlling body, that is World Aquatics.”

Should SAWP ultimately win recognition as the controlling body for water polo in SA, other disgruntled sports federations could follow suit.