Western Province
Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Paarl are the biggest centres for aquatic sports in the Western Province, with numerous smaller centres contributing a fair share of champions. The iconic Newlands Pool stands (above), with Table Mountain as a backdrop, was a venue for the South African championships for many years. Many of the towns in the Western Province have been able to maintain their municipal swimming pools.
There are also numerous beaches and tidal pools in the provinces used for life-saving and open water events.
Biathle and biathlon is popular in the platteland Afrikaans schools.
The Western Province Amateur Swimming Association (WPASA) was a founding member of the South African Amateur Swimming Union in 1899. It was produced many Springboks in all aquatic sports disciples.
Cape Town
Water polo, swimming, diving and lifesaving in Cape Town date from the earliest presence of the British at the Cape. The indoor pool at Long Street was the venue for the 1931 South African championships, and it still survives today. The many excellent schools and the university have a long history in aquatic sports.
Stellenbosch
The University of Stellenbosch and a number of excellent schools in the town have produced a number of Springboks in aquatic sports disciplines.
Paarl
Coach Frank Gray giving a clinic at the Paarl town swimming pool in 1966. The Paarl Swimming club was very active in those days, while the schools focus more on water polo now.
Worcester
The ethusiatic opening of the dorpswembad at Worcester in 1952. There were many municipal swimming pools built in the Cape Province, where swimming was sometimes a popular sport.
Smaller centres
Outside of the towns lie many smaller dorpies wioth municipal and school swimming pools. The wesetrn Cape seems to have retained more of its town swimming pools than the rest of the country. There are also many scenic open water swimming venues, like Cape Point (above) and tidal pools in the province.