The struggles to deracialise South African sport : a historical overview

Abstract

This study examines struggles to deracialise South African sport. In the Colonial era and under Apartheid, sport has been racialised in South Africa, due to being entwined with the colour bar and later, the Apartheid political system. The struggles for political freedom and non-racial sport were therefore intertwined. These struggles evolved in methods and tactics with time given their duration and complexity. This thesis aims to undertake a historical overview of the struggles to deracialise South African sport, which culminated into the sport boycott in the 1970s. This is critical for history teaches people respect for insights from the past.1 Britain, South Africa’s strategic partner, became the main target of black people’s2 diplomatic efforts after 1910. By the late 1940s and 1950s, hopes for British support had shifted to the United Nations (UN) and its new African member States and the Olympic Movement. Inside South Africa, the Liberation Movement and the Non-Racial Sport Movement (NRSM) begun to emerge as a coherent force. The NRSM approached and petitioned the International sport Federations (IFs), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and local white-only sport bodies. South Africa’s official participation in the Olympic Games between 1908 and 1960 “excluded” black sportspersons in its teams and the struggles to challenge the status quo were initiated in the 1940s and were intensified in the 1950s. These struggles were halted in the early 1990s, paving the way for South Africa’s controversial re-admission into the Olympic family in 1992. Literature surveyed outlines the struggle to deracialise South African sport and an analysis of the impact of the latter on South Africa’s transforming sport landscape and society was undertaken. This study is grounded in a qualitative, historical and descriptive research design, with the aim of generating a body of literature and contextualising the sport struggles and the subsequent sport boycott campaigns. The latter was undertaken against the backdrop of the transition; from the era that was characteristic of application of Colour-bar and Apartheid sport policies and practices thereof, to the era of the ideal - egalitarian, non-racial and social democratic sport landscape.

Hierdie studie ondersoek die geskiedenis van die stryd om Suid-Afrikaanse sport te derassifiseer. Suid-Afrika het ’n lang geskiedenis van rassediskriminasie, en die stryd vir politiese vryheid en nie-rassige sport was aanvanklik vervleg.1 Hierdie stryd het oor tyd in werkswyse en taktieke gegroei, veral gegewe die duur en kompleksiteit daarvan. Die doel van hierdie verhandeling is om ’n oorsig te gee van die geskiedkundige ontwikkeling van die stryd binne sport wat uitgeloop het in die sportboikot. Dit is van kritieke belang, veral as mens die siening huldig en waardeer dat geskiedenis mense respek vir insigte uit die verlede leer. Brittanje was Suid-Afrika se strategiese vennoot, en daarom was diè land aanvanklik die hoofteiken van swartmense se diplomatieke pogings na 1910. Teen die laat 1940s en 1950s het die hoop vir Britse steun geskuif na die Verenigde Nasies (VN), die pas onafhanklike Afrikastate en die Olimpiese Beweging. Tuis in Suid-Afrika is ’n omvattende veldtog om Suid-Afrikaanse sport te derassifiseer onderneem deur swart sportlui, die Nie-Rassige Sportbeweging (NRSB) en die breër anti-Apartheidsbeweging. Die NRSB het die Internasionale Sportfederasie (IS), die Internasionale Olimpiese Komitee (IOK) en die plaaslike slegs-blanke sportliggame genader en by wyse van ’n petisie ’n beroep op hulle gedoen om die rasseprobleem in die land se sport aan te spreek. Suid-Afrikaanse amptelike deelname aan die Olimpiese Spele tussen 1908 en 1960 was gebou op rassediskriminasie teen swart persone, en die stryd om die status quo teen te staan is gevolglik in die 1940s begin en het in die 1950s geintensifiseer. Die stryd is kontroversieel beeindig in die vroeë 1990’s, wat die weg oopgemaak het vir Suid-Afrika se hertoelating tot die Olimpiese familie in 1992. Die literatuurstudie bied ’n oorsig van die stryd om Suid-Afrikaanse sport te derassifiseer en analiseer die impak daarvan op die transformasie van die sportlandskap en die samelewing. Die studie is gegrond in ‘n kwalitatiewe, geskiedkundige en beskrywende navorsingsontwerp, met die doel om ’n liggaam van literatuur te genereer en die sportstryd en daaropvolgende sportboikotte te kontekstualiseer teen die agtergrond van die oorgang van die kleurslagboom en apartheidsport na gelyke, nie-rassige en sosiaal-demokratiese sportlandskap.