South African water polo bosses request independent review on World Cup selection

South African Women’s head water polo coach Nicola Barrett talks to her players during the World Aquatics Championships match against Italy on 18 July 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan. (Photo: Albert ten Hove / Orange Pictures)

By Keanan Hemmonsbey

12 Nov 2024

South African men’s and women’s Water Polo World Cup squads have come under scrutiny following the selection of ineligible players, according to the stringent selection criteria set by Swimming South Africa.

The chairs of the three largest water polo bodies in South Africa have collectively written to Swimming South Africa (SSA) requesting an independent review of its selection process. This move is a result of the announcement of the men’s and women’s national squads for the Water Polo World Cup in Istanbul next month.

SSA’s stringent selection criteria for the event – which includes ruling ineligible for selection athletes whose clubs did not show an intent to participate in the Senior National Water Polo Championships in March 2024 – has been criticised following the inconsistency of its implementation.

The three chairpersons, Duncan Woods of Cape Town Metro Water Polo, Tony Ferguson of Gauteng Water Polo and Peter Lavett of KZN Water Polo wrote a joint letter to SSA highlighting the “significant procedural irregularities in the selection process that raise serious concerns about fairness, transparency and adherence to published criteria”.

water polio selection review Time out for the South African Women’s water polo team with head coach Nicola Barrett, Tumani Macdonell, Kelsey White and Anna Thornton-Dibb during the World Aquatics Championships 2023 match against France on 24 July 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan. (Photo: Albert ten Hove / BSR Agency / Getty Images)

SSA published the selection criteria on 31 October. A week later, on 7 November, the national women’s squad for the World Cup was announced and the following day, 8 November, the men’s squad was announced.

The chairs promptly wrote to SSA about the national women’s team selection on the day it was announced and sent a letter about the men’s selection on 9 November.

To date, SSA has not replied to their grievances. SSA CEO Shaun Adriaanse – one of three people the statements were sent to alongside Ryan Weidemann and Lacy Mentz – also did not respond to Daily Maverick’s list of questions on the squads selected.

Ineligible

SSA’s disputed selection policy meant that only players from three men’s clubs – Rondebosch Meerkats, KwaZulu-Natal and High Performance Polo – and three women’s clubs – Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and High Performance Polo – would be eligible for selection.

This amounted to selecting from only 30% of the available player pool.

Nonetheless, SSA has chosen ineligible athletes, according to the association’s own criteria.

According to the letters from the three chairs, the 2023 roster of players was used instead of that of 2024, which simultaneously makes certain players eligible for election but also renders other players ineligible for selection, despite being in accordance with the 2024 selection criteria.

Essentially, players have been selected from clubs (which showed intent to participate at Nationals) they played for in 2023, despite playing for other clubs in 2024 — who did not show intent of participating at Nationals.

The selection appears to be an oversight caused by a lack of knowledge from the SSA of which players are at which clubs. This tallies with the lack of care shown by the umbrella federation for water polo over the past few years.

The men’s and women’s squad lists also include overseas-based players “who did not declare their intent to participate in Nationals 2024”. Athletes who missed the 4 October registration deadline for selection also form part of the squads.

“These selections ignore both the eligibility criteria and the written procedures,” the statement read.

Review

Because the Nationals didn’t take place this year, the Cape Town Invitational Tournament, which took place last month, was used as a stand-in World Cup selection trial.

However, the format of the Cape Town Invitational Tournament prevents players from regions such as KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape (where High Performance Polo is based) from participating.

water polo selection South African Women’s head water polo coach Nicola Barrett talks to her players during the World Aquatics Championships match against Italy on 18 July 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan. (Photo: Albert ten Hove / Orange Pictures)

Both KwaZulu-Natal and High Performance Polo’s men’s and women’s teams were among the six teams that showed intent to participate at the Nationals this year.

This means that the already tiny talent pool shrank even more.

The statement by the chairs also outlined that the selection panel “lacked full representation, with only two members attending, and one member also actively coaching a team in the tournament, raising potential conflicts of interest”.

“This flawed process exacerbates the longstanding concerns over SSA’s handling of water polo, eroding athlete morale, creating divisiveness, and diminishing trust in our sport’s national leadership,” the statement read.

“The experience of representing South Africa has been tainted for those athletes meeting all criteria, while others feel unfairly excluded or selected without merit.”

This has prompted the chairs of the three big water polo bodies in South Africa to call for an independent review of the selection process.

“Conduct a transparent, independent review to determine how and why the published criteria were disregarded and share these findings with the water polo community,” the statement read.

They’ve also requested a re-evaluation of the national men’s and women’s teams for the World Cup.

“Reconsider the selected team based on adherence to the original criteria, ensuring only eligible athletes are retained and qualified, previously overlooked players are fairly considered.”

They have also requested the establishment of an oversight committee to ensure these events are not repeated.

“Establish an ethical oversight committee to guarantee fair and transparent selection processes for all future national teams,” the letter continues. “This committee should be empowered to uphold the highest standards in all aspects of selection.”

At the time of publication, there has been no response from SSA to the letter from the chairs.

“Without these corrective actions, the integrity of our national water polo representation is compromised, and the spirit of the sport suffers,” it reads.

“We urge SSA to act decisively to restore trust, uphold fair play and honour the dedication of all our athletes.”

The Water Polo World Cup gets under way in under five weeks, from 18-21 December in Istanbul, Türkiye.

According to SSA’s team announcements, the final day to accept a spot in the World Cup squad is Wednesday, 13 November. Whether there will be a squad to play at the World Cup – with each athlete needing to cough up R54,500 to play and taking in all the dissatisfaction among the water polo bodies — remains to be seen. DM

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