Lots of anger down at the polo pool

One of my Cape Town acquaintances told me on the weekend of a conversation between a 13 year-old boy and his mother that was related to the WP Schools water polo authorities as they tried to work their way through the aftermath of the incident a fortnight ago when a 1^st team player had his jaw broken and several teeth knocked out by punch in the Bishops vs Rondebosch game.

The boy, the story goes, told his mother that he no longer wanted to play water polo. The reason was because everyone was always angry. The coach is always cross, the referees are cross, the parents in the stands are cross, the opponents are cross. Clearly, there’s just no fun to be had.

What a perceptive comment from a 13-year old, and, sadly, how true.

The schools involved in that incident have, apparently, investigated the matter and the player who threw the punch has been suspended for seven games. Everything, correctly, has been done behind closed doors, so there have been no statements and I can’t comment on how appropriate that sanction is.

What the Province people tell me is that the water polo fixture between those neighbouring schools, who have a longstanding rivalry that is entirely sporting and honourable in every other code, is often characterised by unpleasant incidents.

I’m not sure why that is, or if it’s even true, but I suspect the reason, as that child has pointed out, is that everyone around the game is angry.

I’ve spent the past weekend at a couple of the big tournaments on the go in Joburg and have, in the interest of research, stopped watching the action for a while at each one and observed the coaches, refs, and spectators. I hardly saw a smile, a friendly gesture or a kind word from anyone.

The coaches yell like madmen at their players throughout the games, the parents see nothing wrong in their offspring but spot all the errors and alleged dirty play of the opposition and the referees, who are copping it from everyone, seem to take it out on their whistles, which thankfully don’t feature peas anymore or they will all have been blown out of them long ago.

It makes for a highly emotional, white hot atmosphere, and it’s a wonder we don’t have more punches thrown by the players who are in the middle of it all.

I’ve been involved in water polo for over 40 years. If I was 13 again I would probably decide, like that perceptive boy in Cape Town that if I wanted to have fun playing sport, to look at another game.