When the French Rugby team played a 'mixed' team in South Africa last year, many people in New Zealand asked themselves and each other if this represented a breakdown in apartheid sport, a move in the right direction.

The question was answered by a number of newspaper editorials, sports writers and headline writers. We were told that this did in fact represent a real breakthrough, that multiracial sport was just around the corner, and that if the All Blacks went to South Africa in 1976, this process would be speeded up.

It would be very encouraging if we could believe that this 'mixed' team that the French played did in fact represent a breakthrough. Hart has been campaigning for six years now against apartheid sport. If there had been a breakthrough, we certainly would not try to pretend it had not happened - we would welcome it. But there has been no breakthrough; the 'mixed' side the French played did not represent a breakdown in apartheid sport; there has been no change in the apartheid structures in South African sport.

This was made quite clear before the game was played. It was made quite clear again after the match had been played. It was made clear by the people who control South African sport - the South African Government.

Apartheid Sport will Stay

There it is in a nutshell. The two invitation sides are designed to allow international teams to visit. Nothing else. The French had said that if such a game was not arranged they would cancel their South African tour When it comes to tests, whites will represent South Africa. Apartheid sport will stay, and it will stay because the Government has decided so.

Reports in New Zealand newspapers have quoted the reactions of several South African Rugby personalities to the game against the mixed side. Dr Dannie Craven, Chairman of the whites-only South African Rugby Board, Mr Cuthbert Loriston, President of the coloureds-only South African Rugby Federation and the blacks only South African Rugby Board all well corned the match. This is hardly surprising, for all three rugby bodies are apartheid sports bodies; they accept apartheid sport and although from time to time they might criticise some aspect of the Governments sports policy, they have over the past decade done nothing to seriously challenge the whole apartheid sports structure.

Little mention has been made in the New Zealand press of a fourth South African rugby body - the non-racial South African Rugby Union. SARU is only one of many non-racial sports organisations in South Africa.

Although these non-racial sports bodies have large membership and outstanding sportsmen they are the subject of abuse, harassment, smears and cold-shoulder treatment. The Government harasses them; white and coloured apartheid sports bodies generally either ignore, try to ignore them, or if they can't do that, smear them; international sporting bodies until recently, have given them the cold shoulder, and the western press ignore or misrepresent them.

What are these non-racial sports bodies? How did they come into being? What do they want? Above all else, what have they got to do with us?

White Control of Sport

For the past seventy years sport in South Africa has been controlled by white South Africans (20% of the population). With one exception (table tennis) it is the white-only South African sports bodies which are members of international sporting bodies. Only whites represent South Africa internationally. The white sports bodies have the best facilities, equipment and opportunities. With a high income and plenty of leisure, white sport flourishes. The benefits that white South Africans get from the apartheid system they have imposed is not just confined to higher wages, better education, superb health-facilities. It covers every aspect of their life, including sport.

Blacks and coloureds suffer under all aspects of apartheid, including sport. No black or coloured South African is allowed to belong to the same sports body as a white. Blacks and coloureds have to have separate sports bodies. So do Asians. Under no circumstances will the South African Government, or the rich and influential white sports bodies allow people of different coloured skins to play together in the same team. With few well publicised exceptions, (for international propaganda purposes - to try and fool us) anyone who is not white has to be content with domestic competition within their own racial grouping. All of this coupled with low incomes (many below the poverty datum line) plus poor or no sporting facilities, black and coloured sportsmen have no opportunity to develop their potential; often they have nowhere to even play their sport.

Frustration and Exile

The history of black and coloured sport has been one of frustration and exile. The best African and coloured sportsmen have, for the past twenty years, been forced to leave South Africa in order to further their sporting careers. All of them would have preferred to have remained in South Africa and represent their country. Yet because of the colour of their skin, their Government and the white sports bodies told them that they were not allowed to.

Some of the sportsmen that suffered in this way and were forced into exile are well known here in New Zealand. For many years Precious McKenzie was the best South African weightlifter in his weight division, but the South African champion was still a white, regardless of his lower standard. Basil d'Oliveria (cricket), Jake Ntuli (boxing), Ron Eland (weightlifting), Jasmat Shiraj (tennis), are a few of those who were forced to emigrate in order to develop and further their sporting careers.

Black Sportsmen Get Organised

Black and coloured sportsmen were not prepared to put up with apartheid sport. They wanted the right to represent their country internationally, and to play sport on an equal footing with all sportsmen in the Republic, regardless of the colour of their skin.

From 1956 onwards there were sporadic attempts by black sportsmen to challenge apartheid sport both inside South Africa and at an international level. In 1956 the International Table Tennis Federation expelled the whites only South African body and gave affiliation to the organisation which effectively represented black South Africans and was pledged to non-racialism.

This was the first time the world had heard the term 'non-racial sport' mentioned in a South African context. This first major victory against a racist sports organisation encouraged non whites in other sports to press for justice and fair play.

In 1958 the South African Sports Association was formed to attack in a coordinated way white supremacy and exclusiveness on the sportsfields of South Africa. But the response was frustration. The international sporting bodies either ignored S.A.S.A.'s request for meetings, or referred them back to white South African sports bodies. The white South African sporting bodies had no intention or wish to give up their position of absolute control of national and international sport.

The frustration encountered during these four years before 1962 stiffened the determination of the leaders of non-racial sport to fight for the total abolition of racialism in South African sport. Whereas the aim of SASA had been international participation for black sportsmen within the framework of segregation with national sport, a new mood emerged. The South African Non Racial Olympic Committee (SAN-ROC) was formed in 1962 to push not only for international participation for black sportsmen, but also for integrated non-racial sport inside South Africa.

SAN-ROC rapidly became a popular and effective organisation amongst black and coloured sportsmen. Inside South Africa its support increased dramatically, gaining widespread support from the Republic black and coloured sportsmen. Internationally, SAN-ROC coordinated campaigns which resulted in whites-only South African sporting bodies being expelled from a number of international sporting bodies.

The South African Government replied by banning the SAN-ROC leadership and later the organisation. SAN-ROC went into exile, and is now based in London.

The Non Racial Sports Bodies

But the struggle inside South Africa for non-racial sport continued. There are now non-racial sports organisations in all major sports (including rugby, cricket, tennis, swimning). They have very large memberships and some outstanding sportsmen amongst their ranks. They are all members of the non-racial South Africa Council of Sport, established in 1970 to protect and coordinate those struggling for non-racial sport.

This after all is no more and no less than what exists in every other country in the world. It is no more and no less than the implementation of the Olympic principles of sport, which spell out in unequivocal terms that there should be no racial discrimination in sport.

How much support do the non-racial bodies enjoy. The short answer is that the majority of black and coloured sportsmen support non-racial sport. Hundreds of thousands belong to the various non-racial bodies. With all the cards stacked against them, the non-racial sporting bodies are flourishing.

It is also clear that the majority of blacks and coloureds in the country, whether they are sportsmen or not, support the struggle of the non-racial sporting bodies.

It is worth remembering that Basil d'Oliveira, a Cape Town boy, was once a national hero to black and coloureds, and on his first visit home a few years ago he received as close to a ticker tape welcome as Cape Town could manage. Yet when he became involved in Colin Cowdrey's cricket tour of South Africa he was shunned during his visit. The extreme unpopularity of his willingness to play in a team which would play against segregated racially selected teams was made quite clear to him, and he dropped his plans. If that could happen to someone of d'Oliveira's prestige then there is clearly widespread belief in and support for the non-racial principles of sport.

The response of the South African Government, white South African sports bodies to the non-racial page 11 bodies provides the clearest evidence of South Africa's committment to racist sport.

Harassment, Abuse and Intimidation.

If South Africa were moving toward non-racial sport as we keep being told, it would be reasonable to assume that these non-racial sports bodies would receive encouragement from the Government and white sports bodies. Exactly the opposite is the case, the non-racial sporting bodies have been harassed, abused and intimidated by the Government.

Mr C.M. Bassa, President of the internationally recognised South African Table Tennis Federation, had his passport withdrawn after competing in the world championships in Stockholm.

Morgan Naidoo, President of the non-racial S.A.A.S.F. was visited by the Special Branch of the Police on several occasions, was once threatened. In June 1972, he was dismissed from his employment with the Rembrandt Group of Companies of Dr Anton Rupert, only three days after he had issued a statement on behalf of his Federation, announcing that the Federation had broken all ties with the white South African Amateur Swimming Union. Last year, following S.A.A.S.U.'s expulsion from the international swimming body FIMA, Morgan Naidoo was served with a five year banning order.

Mr Hassa Howa, immediate past president of the non-racial South African Cricket Board of Control and current vice president of the S.A.S.C., was prevented by the Government from attending a meeting of the International Cricket Conference in London where he was to put the case for the affiliation of SACBA to the international body. He has had his passport removed, and earlier this year was prevented by the Government from visiting New Zealand.

Last year the Government told Norman Middleton, President of the non-racial Soccer Federation that he could attend the Annual General Meeting of FIFA, the International Football Association if he was prepared to sign a sworn statement before he left stating that he would do nothing while he was at the meeting which would be detrimental to (white) South African Soccer interests. Middleton refused.

This compares with the case with which an apologist for apartheid sport such as Leslie Sehume (who was in New Zealand last year) is able to obtain a passport and travel overseas speaking out as a mouthpiece of official Government Policy.

Continued Surveillance

Whenever non-racial federations arrange matches or competitions the South African police never fail to turn up. On numerous occasions they have asked for the names of all participants. On several occasions they have stopped matches being played.

The response of the white sports bodies internally has been either to ignore the non-racial bodies, to abuse them, as Dannie Craven has frequently done, or to adopt a paternalistic attitude. Internationally, white sportsmen and white sports administrators shield behind Government policy.

'Racial white sportsmen and sports administrators religiously follow Government policy because it gives them something to hide behind. Thus they continue to take advantage of their protected and priveleged position while mouthing platitudes that they are in favour of non-racial sport but cannot oppose the policy of the Government.' - Morgan Naidoo.

But as soon as they are threatened with isolation, they make repeated representation to the Government for 'concessions'. Unfortunately the only concessions they have asked for are those which they think will be sufficient to stave off isolation.

Multi-National Sport

While Leslie Sehume was in New Zealand he said that the Government's multi-national sports policy was breaking down apartheid in sport, and that eventually it would lead to an end to apartheid in sport. This is nonsense, yet it is the nonsense the South African Government would like us to believe

The South African Government are attempting to pull one of the biggest con tricks in international sport. In response to the pressure South Africa is facing from the international sporting community, the Government has realised that if they were not be be completely isolated from the international sports fields, there would have to be a change in policy. What the Government has done is to come up with a policy which gives the appearance of change (thus satisfying the international community), but which in reality reinforces and further extends apartheid in sport (thus satisfying the white electorate).

The success of the policy depends upon South Africa's ability to persuade the world that real change is occuring. It is therefore vital that the non-racial sports bodies are not permitted to leave South Africa and tell the true story. What is the true story? What changes have there been since the multi-national sports policy was introduced in 1971.

Do people of different colours play together in the same teams? No. Has there ever been mixed trials to select a South African team? No. Have the different racially exclusive sports bodies been joined together into one single sporting body? No.

What changes have there been? White, Coloured and Black teams are occasionally allowed to play with each other in the context of International tournaments. At these tournaments the whites represent South Africa and the Coloureds and Blacks represent their racial grouping only. Black and Coloured teams are allowed to play against touring international sides.

Multi-national sport, rather than bringing sportsmen from different racial grouping together into the same team, keeps them apart. But we are being asked to believe that it is leading towards the breakdown of apartheid in sport. Far from it. Multi-national sport is a double dose of apartheid sport.

Stanley Uysm, writing in the Johannesburg 'Sunday Times' (20 April 1975) believes that the multi-national sports policy has created a 'potential minefield.'

He goes on: 'there is a fundamental difference between multi-national and multi-racial sport. The former causes race divisions to reinforce team partisanship and to channel spectator and player emotions into race outlets. Multi-racial sport in unsegregated stands could help to knit black and white players and black and white spectators into groups that are not racially defined.'

Multi-National Farce

When white sports administrators wish to organise 'multi-national' meetings to hoodwink the world, the Government waives the 1966 Group Areas Act (which makes inter racial functions illegal on public premises). But when the non-racial organisations want to hold matches, they must face either rejection or constant harassment by the police.

At the moment the sports policy in South Africa is balanced on a knife edge, trying to reconcile the pulls of world opinion with the demands of its own hard liners.

Whether white supremacy will remain in the saddle of South African sport to a large extent depends on the outside world. If we capitulate now and allow her back into the fold, the so-called multi-national policy will be frozen solid and there will be no reason for white South Africa to move any further.

But if the world stands firm and demands the full and uncompromising introduction of non-racial sport at club level, then the Government will be forced to change in the knowledge that international opinion will be satisfied with nothing less than fully integrated club-level sport and national teams selected on merit by non-racial sporting organisations.

Student Policy

While Massey and Canterbury Student Associations are having fierce debates and referendums to decide their policy towards sporting contacts with South Africa, Victoria's policy has been clear for a number of years.

At the 1969 Annual General Meeting students decided that "All sporting contacts between New Zealand and South Africa, and New Zealand Rhodesia should cease, and nut be resumed while South Africa and Rhodesia permit politic's to influence their sporting decisions." and in 197 2 donated $500 to the Halt All Racist Tours Movement and reaffirmed its "unreserved support".