From its establishment in 1910 until 1994, South Africa was a country created out of four political entities - the two former British colonies of the Cape and Natal, and the two Afrikaner republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. For sporting purposes, these were divided into smaller provinces.

Each province is distinct in its economy, geography, and history.  For example,  Transvaal was a densely populated and industrialized province. Its main centre was the city Johannesburg, with numerous big schools and municipal swimming pools. In contrast, the Orange Free State was a large and sparsely populated province with few large towns. The majority of Free State dorpies with one school in each - and an unheated municipal swimming pool. Many of those facilities are now dead pools. 

The geography of the sub-continent played a big role in the history of aquatic sports. The Pools and other Places - the swimming pools, rivers, beaches, dams - are defined by their location. Heated pools - and indoor pools -  were few and far between. The inland provinces were on the highveld, which is up to 1500m above sea level, and where winter temperatures dropped below freezing. Along the sub-tropical coast, the swimmers from Natal could train outdoors for most of the year 

Each province had its own education department, rooted in its particular history. The whole country, outside the cities, was largely Afrikaans speaking, while cities had more English schools. Notable exceptions were the wealthy rural English private schools found in Natal and the Eastern Cape. Aquatic sports are traditionally favoured by English schools, while Afrikaans schools dominate the rugby and netball rankings in 2020.