REFERENCE TO “WHITE” SWIMMING ASSOCIATION IN MY REPORTS DURING MY STINT AT THE DAILY IN THE 1970s STIRRED ANGER AMONG WHITE SPORTS LEADERS

 

 

When researching through my files when I was working for the Daily News from the late 1960s to the end of 1980 I came across one incident in which the sports leader of a swimming association complained to my editor about referring to them as a white organisation.

At this time the Daily News was situated at 85 Field Street (now Joe Slovo Street) in central Durban.

In my work for the Daily News at this time, I covered mainly struggle stories involving anti-apartheid sports organisations, extra-parliamentary organisations such as the Natal Indian Congress, the South African Students Organisation (SASO) and independent trade union movements.

When covering anti-apartheid sports organisations, I went the extra mile to report on almost all sides of the struggles by non-racial swimming, soccer, cricket, tennis and table tennis organisations.

Mr Morgan Naidoo, who was the president of the non-racial swimming federation even while being banned by the former apartheid regime, led the struggles for non-racialism along with giants such as Archie Hulley and D K Singh.

In my reports on Morgan Naidoo and the non-racial swimming federation, I always made it the point that they were struggling for the rights of all swimmers – irrespective of race, colour or creed.

And when referring to the establishment swimming association, I did not shy away from calling it a white union.

This led to the Natal Amateur Swimming Association, which catered for only white swimming athletes, to complain to my editor, Mr John O’mally, about my reportage in September 1973.  The president of the association at that time, Mr Mike Mortimer, wrote to my editor and said that I was not being fair by referring to his swimming body as a white organisation.

Mr O’mally asked me for my response, and this is what I wrote on September 2 1973:

 

“Letter from Natal Amateur Swimming Association”

 

I am surprised that Mr Mike Mortimer, being the president of the above body, does not know his swimming facts. Before criticising us about our factual reporting he should have checked the facts himself.

The South African Amateur Swimming Union was in fact expelled and this decision was taken by the FINA (world swimming body) Bureau in Belgrade on August 30 (1973).

The resolution reads: “The SAASU be expelled from FINA until such time as an integrated single body is constituted, which in fact controls and governs the sport of swimming.”

The resolution became effective upon notification of same by the FINA Bureau to SAASU in a letter dated August 31, 1973.

The three-man commission that visited South Africa was, according to our files headed by Dr Harold Henning, president of FINA.

The South African Amateur Swimming Federation, headed by Mr Morgan Naidoo, is a non-racial body because it does not admit clubs that discriminates against members on the grounds of race, colour or creed. Its constitution is open and the doors are open even for whites to become members.

The South African Amateur Swimming Union, on the other hand, does not admit members of the different race groups to affiliate to it. Some of its clubs constitutionally restrict membership to whites only. Therefore, we refer to it as the white body. – M. Subramoney – ends subrygovender@gmail.com Sept 16 2021