Water polo is
taking off in South Africa
like nothing you’ve seen before. Word from the Western Cape is that pools are being built
by the numbers to accommodate a dramatic increase in interest from both men and
women.
This holiday
season, the water polo community will have another great reason to celebrate, following
news from Swimming South Africa (SSA) that a new National Water Polo League
will be launched late January aimed at increasing strength on strength
competition.
The National
Water Polo league which has been 15 years in the making has come to fruition
following Samsung’s decision to come on board as the main sponsor. The concept
of the national league, which takes places in Gauteng,
KZN, and Western Province, was formulated by SSA’s GM for
Athlete Development, Rushdee Warley, and top South African international Water
Polo referee, Guy Pinker, who had this dream since 1992.
In the first year of Samsung’s involvement with
Swimming South Africa, the focus is on creating a competitive men’s water polo competition
but SSA are looking at ways and means to include women’s matches as curtain
raisers, promotional games etc, with an eye on incorporating a women’s league
for the future.
According to
Warley, with the way water polo is growing and the exciting nature of the
sport, SSA is keen to develop the level of the sport. "It’s about
getting the players to play at a much higher level, competing against each
other, strength-on-strength. At the moment its not happening regularly enough,
so by launching a national league like this where top players are playing
against each other on a regular basis, the objective is to raise the level of our
elite-level water polo."
Speaking to
gsport, Pinker was excited to share news of what happened behind the scenes
that led to the launch of this league. "I’ve been trying to put this process
together since 1992, when I became international referee. I picked up this
around the world that all the countries have these national leagues, but we
never had a sponsor for it.
"Lucky
enough, this year Samsung has come to the fore, so then Rushdee Warley and
myself put the process together, which we then submitted to Swimming South
Africa for their approval and now its becoming a reality."
Pinker said
that having the league in Gauteng, KZN, and Western Province was only the first stage of the
plan. The ultimate plan is to eventually have it in every major city in the
country."
"What’s good
about the sport is that you can carry on with the sport until much later life.
It is a physical contact sport but it’s not taxing on your body like road
running or rugby, or anything like that. It’s also a friendly sport – in the water,
its tough going, but outside the pool, it’s a very friendly environment."
"Because it
is still relatively new – [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][women] only started playing in the late nineties, so
they don’t have anyone older, about 35, who still plays water polo. The women
have only gone as far as the Commonwealth Games (in 2006), where they came
fourth. They still have a way to go. With time, we hope to have good selection
women’s water polo players, and we are trying to push the women’s game."
Steve La
Marque from KZN, a technical official who has strong knowledge on schools water
polo, told gsport that women’s water polo is one of the fastest growing women’s
sports in the country.
"To
incorporate this league into traditional fixtures that we have in Durban in as
far as school and ladies water polo is concerned – its going to mean that the
competition days are going to be festival atmosphere with lots of spectators
because that’s the big thing, you want to get the spectators down there to
watch it."
La Marque said integrating the Samsung
National Water Polo League with KZN’s schools program is going to be fantastic.
"Schools
water polo is huge. We did a survey a few years ago, and girl’s water polo is
the fastest growing sports in the girl’s schools at the moment. If we can carry
that through into a national program – that would be superb."
"There is no
distraction for the girls; the ones who play water polo, when they finish
school, they can carry on, whereas a lot of the boys will carry on with
cricket, rugby or hockey. From the girls’ perspective, we won’t lose our
talent, they can carry through; our girls’ water polo is strong!
According to La Marque, the biggest
problem is that entry level for water polo is now only in high school,
particularly among the girls.
"There are
hardly any primary schools that play water polo, so when they come to high
school; they opt to play a traditional sport. My suggestion to parents is to
let their kids play water polo if they can swim well but they’re not going to
be the top competitive swimmers, and are looking for a team sport that is very
physically demanding, and at the same time its conditioning."
The first
time gsport heard someone speaking passionately about water polo was back in
February when we featured an interview with South Africa’s national women’s
water polo player, Sarah Lee Harris (sister of Proteas cricket, Paul Harris),
who is currently studying at the University of the Pacific in Stockton,
California and plays for the Pacific Tigers.
Sarah, who
has just turned 20, started playing water polo in Grade 8, and said she loved
the sport from the minute she started. She was voted South Africa’s best women’s water polo
player after a sterling performance at last year’s Commonwealth Games with 15
goals to her name.
With the
launch of this new league, watch out for star women’s water polo players like
Sarah Lee Harris emerging. This league can only benefit the growth of women’s
water polo. Well done, Swimming South Africa!
Click here to find out more about how to play water polo
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