SASWCA is the non-profit body that runs national competition, affiliates clubs, and selects who represents South Africa.
Next competitionExcellence Era Cup02Mandate
SASWCA is a non-profit association and South Africa’s member of the World Street Workout and Calisthenics Federation. That membership is how a South African athlete reaches an international start list.
We run the national calendar, we set the rules those competitions are judged by, and we keep the register of clubs, athletes and judges that the sport is organised around.
The international pathway
The WSWCF runs the world championship structure that national champions feed into, and South Africa has hosted a World Cup stage in Johannesburg.
An athlete who wants to compete internationally does it through a registered club, a national event, and this association. There is no other route.
Vice Chairman
Massimo Flaiani
03Activities
01
We run the national calendar and set the scoring tables. Two disciplines: freestyle, judged on difficulty and execution, and endurance, scored on repetitions. Entry is open to any registered athlete.
02
Clubs apply, the board reviews the application, and approved clubs go onto the register. Affiliation puts your club in front of athletes looking for somewhere to train, and it lets your members enter national events.
03
A competition is only as good as its judging. SASWCA registers judges, briefs them on the scoring tables before every event, and keeps the standard consistent between competitions.
04
Most South Africans still train on whatever bar they can find. We lobby municipalities and partners for public calisthenics parks so the sport does not depend on private gym access.
04Disciplines
Freestyle is judged by a panel. Endurance is counted against a clock. Both run as national championships, and both feed the same route to the WSWCF.
Freestyle
Two minutes alone on the bar, to your own music, to qualify. The top six go through to battles, seeded so first meets sixth, and each competitor gets two one-minute rounds. Judges score three categories: strength, skill, and the combinations built out of them.
Freestyle Nationals ran at Jeppe Quondam on 22 February 2025, and again on 18 April 2026.
Read the judging rules
Endurance
A circuit of four stations: muscle-ups, pull-ups, dips and push-ups. Two minutes of work at each, two minutes of rest between, athletes rotating in groups of three or four. A judge stands at every station and verifies the count. The top four men and top four women go through the whole circuit again for the podium.
Per station, then two minutes rest
Endurance Nationals ran at Elevate Athletic in Honeydew on 25 April 2026.
Read the full structure05Membership
Free
Enter national competitions, appear on the athlete register, and become eligible for national selection.
Free
Officiate at national events. Judges are briefed on the scoring tables before every competition.
Fees
Membership is free at the moment. There is nothing to pay and no banking detail to sort out: complete the form and the board reviews your application within 5 to 7 business days.
06Contact
Whether you compete, judge, or run a club, the first step is the same. Send your details and we will come back to you within 5 to 7 business days.
Not ready to join? Open Saturday is free, runs on the last Saturday of every month, and needs no membership.