2025 - a national schools' event welcomes 20 teams in 72 fixtures at 2 pools to set fire to the water in pursuit of the sought-after Ian Melliar Cup in this, the 18th edition of the Tournament.
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Ian Meliier's collection of local newspaper articles from the 1977 South African Aquatic Championships.
“I had a single goal as a young man, and that was to get to the Olympics. That was my end outcome,” Melliar revealed.
However, in the 1980s, that goal did not seem realistic. South Africa was under sanctions and unwelcome on the international stage because of apartheid. Melliar, who became aware of the system only when he was older and witnessed it in action, had robust discussions with his father on the downsides of a country espousing such a model of governance. He could not understand why it was in place.
“I just couldn’t believe how people were completely ostracised, telling them sorry you can’t swim here, that beaches were for whites only and you got to go there. It really got me going with my dad. I had many discussions about it with him. You can’t treat people like that. It’s impossible,” Melliar said.
However, with or without it, Melliar had resolved that his Mount Everest was the
“I realised early on that the only way I would get to the Olympics was as a coach or referee. I started my refereeing at school level in the Western Cape at junior school matches and then grew into the senior matches when I stopped playing club water polo,” he recalled.
He coached the Western Province Schools A and B teams from 1986 to 1992.
The first steps towards the realisation of his Olympics’ dream arrived in 1992 when the world was opening its doors to South African sportspeople and officials again. Melliar was part of a delegation of swimmers, water polo players, divers, coaches, and referees that was invited to Hungary for a tournament.
“There was a meeting at the end of the whole thing. An international panel had been watching us at some of the matches we officiated. They told us that there were four referees from South Africa that were accepted onto the international panel. They said that they thought they would pick only one referee, which would have been me, but we ended up with three,” Melliar said.
However, he had to wait another 12 months before he officiated in his maiden international water polo match. He was nominated to referee at the Junior World Championships in Cairo, Egypt. The veteran remembers the game as if was played yesterday.
“The match was between China and Brazil, their u20 teams. If my memory serves me right, China beat Brazil by two goals,” Melliar shared.
That was the beginning of a long and illustrious career of officiating at international events, in various age groups, and at World Cups as a neutral referee or with the South African team. However, the greatest moment of his career came seven years after his first international match. Melliar refereed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
“It was an amazing experience. I was one of the two referees who reffed in the first ever Women’s Olympic Games match between Australia and Kazakhstan in Sydney,” Melliar fondly recollected.
Almost 20 years after he had set the goal for himself, Melliar achieved it. He was 40. What made the experience even more surreal was that he was at the forefront of change in water polo, a change led by the Australian women’s team’s single-minded determination to be a part of the sporting showpiece.
“I have lived a blessed life. I got to experience something I had dreamed of for many years, and I also had the privilege of being part of a sport I love so much,” Melliar said.
