I agree with Adrian. In South Africa we are blessed with the quality of fish at our disposal.

Many guys tend to think a guy that shoots a Marlin is automatically a "great spearo" when in fact 99% of the time it takes no skill other than pulling a trigger to shoot it.
Granted, landing it is a different story, but that is purely due to the power of the fish. Place a good shot, patience and you will land it.

Go try and shoot a big Blacktail and see how far you get. Apart from being in very rough water they are super bright and won't present you with an easy shot, if any at all.
Go out one day and try and shoot ten species.

Yes there are issues with CMAS and the way they operate. MAybe it is time for change. Maybe it is potentialy good for SA spearfishing.

BUT, don't for a second underestimate the likes of the European divers. Currently, Jaco Blignaut is the only diver in SA remotely in that league. Anyone of the top teams come out here and dive against SA we will in all probability get a serious klap. Most of those guys are fully professional or in the countries that allow it, commercial.

That is why guys want to compete there. Because you want to measure yourself to the very best. Yes, we would like to do it without all the shenannigans that seem to happen to the SA team every time Jaco competes. Unfortuantely ulterior motives seem to prevent this and scupper our competing.

I just had a look at the CMAS website which has the recent worlds results as well as world rankings and cannot help but notice that Australia are also absent from both pages, as are we. Is there another body? Why do Australia not compete at CMAS Worlds?

Report on the banning of SAUFF

Unbeknownst to any of the SAUFF committee member, there was a change to the registration process for competing in world events sanctioned by CMAS, from a paper submission to a web based submission.

If any “unpaid” licences for competing in previous world events where outstanding then the web based registration process could not be completed. Despite the full payment of over €4500 to the organisers, we were never informed that we have not complied fully with the CMAS process. In fact there was no communication from CMAS with regards to the payment of the outstanding licence fees. In the past there has been no problem in sorting these payments out and South African competitors have competed in zones and world events with these outstanding fees not causing issues. A number of these fees date back 4 years.

The organisers, FEGAS, and CMAS were very aware that the South African competitors where in Spain as they competed in a friendly competition weeks before the start of the event and had valid licences for diving in Spain. It is surprising that other Federations knew about this problem before any of the South African team or committee members, weeks before the start of the event. The South African side was deliberately kept in the dark and at no time did CMAS make an effort to discuss this issue with us.

Three days before the event I went to the organisers and spoke to them about the registration and I was assured that everything was in order. That evening, Jaco Blignaut and I went to drop off the flag and we were told that there was an “issue”, the same afternoon that we had received an email from FEGAS, not CMAS, informing us there was a technical issue that needed to be sorted out.

I spoke with the CMAS disciplinary official who informed me that there was an outstanding internet submission that was required. The next morning as soon as possible I paid the outstanding amount of €485 personally and forwarded proof of payment to CMAS who confirmed the payment. With the help of SAUSF we completed the outstanding forms and submitted them.

Despite full payment they flatly refused to discuss the matter as they said there was a disclosure on the web site that these fees had to be paid 30 days before the competition. Again there was no information about this given to us, nor any communication from CMAS about this prior to the boys landing in Spain, or at any time before the registration with the Spanish Federation. One would have thought that there would have been some effort to communicate the fact that there where outstanding “issues” before the massive effort of the South African competitors.

For three days I fought to get the boys permission to be able to compete. We had complied with all the outstanding requirements as soon as we knew about them. This was the first time these requirements were implemented.

CMAS could have allowed us to compete, but decided against it due to a technicality.

I cannot explain how gutted and disappointed I was with the treatment of an issue that could easily have been resolved. The South African competitors have sacrificed more than most as we are self-funded and all full time employees. This means not only having to pay in full for the trip themselves but also having to take up unpaid leave in some instances or forgo job opportunities.

SA spearfishing was made a political example of on purpose as we are a tiny federation with little recourse and we were used as a pawn to “make a point”, but were a significant threat in terms of competing for the top spots.

Making a point of disallowing us to participate goes against the very nature of what sport is about. Putting politics before fair competition highlights how CMAS, in my opinion, has lost sight of what they are there for.

There could have been many other ways of resolving this issue positively and in the best interests of competitive sport. We are desperately unhappy with the attitude of the regulating authorities and cannot understand why this prevailing attitude should be allowed to continue. It is surely not in the best interests of building this sport for the future.

I have organised a meeting with the South African authorities on Monday the 16th July to discuss a way forward and will keep all those involved informed on any progress.

Yours Sincerely,


________________
Iain Ewing
Chairman

It is well know that CMAS have a sharp knife. it is pointless trying to go against it. There is however an acountability issue. Proffesional spearfishing and competing at that level should be managed by a full time employed commitee. Well we can only plan for the next one i suppose, and hopfully Jaco is still available.
I am gutted and pissed off!!