These are the men that lead...

Jessie Joubert (left) and Matthew Smith (right)

Like any other sport, cyber-athletes sink years into preparing for the big one.

The big one comes around  every year in the form of IeSF's annual World Championships.

South Africa has a proud record at such World Championships as, not only is the team much liked, the team punches way above its weight.

Even with the poor infrastructure in South Africa, the South African team, through its hard work and dedication is currently ranked 12th in the world.

Thus MSSA is busy going through  the process of selecting its various teams.

MSSA has now finished the selection of the team captains for CounterStrike: GO and League of Legends. The team captains will now participate in the selection of the teams.

The two selected to lead the CounterStrike: GO and League of Legends Protea eSports teams are:

• CounterStrike: GO - Jessie Joubert
• League of Legends - Matthew Smith

Jessie Joubert:

Is currently in Matric in Rondebosch High for which he plays in school championships. In other games, Jessie represents Anteria Gaming.

In 2015, Jessie earned High School Western Cape Colours, Senior Western Cape Colours, High School National Federation Colours as well as Senior National Federation Colours for CounterStrike: GO.

Then in 2016, Jessie received re-awards of High School Western Cape Colours and Senior Western Cape Colours.

Jessie has an unbeaten record in MSSA competition play having never lost a match. 

Matthew Smith:

Matthew competes for Tuks Mind Sports Club - an official club based at the University of Pretoria.

In 2015, Matthew earned his Senior Western Cape Colours and was selected to represent South Africa in the Protea Team that officially represented South Africa at IeSF's 7th World Championships in Seoul. The team came up against very stiff opposition, yet performed better than any other previous South African team.

Matthew too has an unbeaten record in MSSA competition play having never lost a match. 

It is in Jessie and Matthew, upon whose broad shoulders, the leadership, inspiration, and skill, that the MSSA put their trust to deliver a great team to participate in IeSF's  8th World Championships - Jakarta.

MSSA knows that they shall not fail.

22nd Annual KwaZulu Natal Championships - 9 & 10 July 2016

The 2010 MSSA Protea COD 4 team - all from KZN.

Maritzburg College in Pietermaritzburg shall be hosting the 22nd Annual KwaZulu Natal Championships on 9 & 10 July 2016.

KwaZulu Natal Championships has always been popular among gamers  and has helped many  a gamer  achieve both provincial and national colours.

Since 2000, over 15 gamers from KwaZulu Natal have been called up for duty in various Protea teams. Such players/gamers have travelled to the USA, South Korea, China, Namibia, Botswana, Greece, the United Kingdom, and Finland in order to officially represent South Africa  in international competitions.

MSSA's KwaZulu Natal Championships counts towards eligibility to the 2017 National Team Trials (NTT) and, as such, there is much interest by a number of clubs and teams in such event.

All readers are reminded that the closing dates for entries is 1 July 2016.

Details for each of the disciplines may be found on:

Board games
eSports 
Wargames

At such championships the KwaZulu Natal Provincial Team shall be selected to represent the KwaZulu Natal in the Inter-provincial Test Matches.

Proposed change to MSSA Constitution

From MSSA facebook page:

"Proposed change to Clause 39 of the Constitution:

REPRESENTATION ON COMMITTEES

1. No member shall be allowed to have more than 40% representation on any committee if other members have delegates who are standing for the available positions, and
2. Should a female stand for a position on any committee and should males already have 50% representation on such committee, then all nominations for males for the position for which any females are nominated, shall be vitiated."

But what does  the clause mean, and what is the expected outcome?

First, the clause means that as long as their are enough candidates  for a position, no one club can dominate any MSSA committee. The MSSA Management Board consists of 13 members, so, as long as the positions  are contested, no more  than 5 members may come from any one club. Only if the positions are contested may a club acquire more  than 5 positions on such board.

The expected outcome  is that more member clubs  will  be represented on all  the committees to ensure that greater input is given which will further enhance the level of decision making and 'robustness' of MSSA.

Second, the clause concerning female participation allows the possibility for gender equality on all MSSA committees. If males  have at 50% of the  positions  on a committee, and the  other positions are contested  by both male and female, then the male's nomination shall  be vitiated. However, should there not  be any females wishing to  stand  for the  position, a male may then be elected  to such  position.

The expected outcome is  that such clause  will  do much to encourage more females to stand for positions and  take their rightful  place in the administration of MSSA.

Of course, this needs to  be voted  upon at  the AGM in December to be adopted.

To change MSSA's constitution, a two-thirds majority is  needed of both clubs  and votes.

Growth of the official Protea Team eSports South Africa

MSSA's Janus knight and the Protea badge awarded to all official sports teams

MSSA's National Teams have grown from just two players in 2009 to 12 players in 2016. As expected MSSA has entered the IeSF's 8th World Championships to be played in Jakarta on 6 to 9 October 2016. With the implementation of an official ranking in 2011, South Africa is ranked as follows:

Year	Venue	Position
2015	Seoul -  South Korea	12th
2014	Baku -  Azerbaijan	13th
2013	Bucharest -  Romania	10th
2012	Cheonan -  South Korea	18th
2011	Andong -  South Korea	13th

MSSA lodges entry to 8th IeSF World Championships

Gabriella Isaacs

And so the wheels are turning as MSSA follows due process in selecting the team that will officially represent South Africa at the 8th IeSF World Championships in Jakarta in October 2016.

MSSA held its National Team Trials on 4 June 2016 and is now just in the process of finalising the team.

There are three titles on offer in 2016 by the IeSF, and MSSA has entered all three.

The game titles entered are:

• CounterStrike: GO
• HearthStone, and
• League of Legends.
  

It should be noted that South Africa is currently ranked as the twelfth best nation in eSports,  and MSSA has every intention of maintaining, or hopefully, bettering its overall ranking.

All  South Africans can be very proud of the fact that MSSA has always entered all titles at every IeSF World Championships.

Of course there has been a great deal of effort that has gone into the 'back-end' as MSSA continues to hold more events than any other eSports organisation as well as committing itself to holding  events in every province - which can be a costly affair.

MSSA's next events in June and July are:

• The Free State Provincial Championships,
• The KwaZulu Natal Championships, and
  
• The S A Schools Championships.
  

Establishment of IeSF's Athletes Commission and South African representative thereof

The International e-Sports Federation (IeSF) is taking steps to establish an Athletes Commission to protect the right and interest of e-Sports athletes, while continuing its journey to be recognized by International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The establishment of an Athletes Commission is one of the core criteria in the IOC recognition process, as it ensures the voice of athletes is heard.

In order to establish such a structure, IeSF will work together with e-Sports athletes and implement necessary procedures one-by-one for the Athletes Commission to function in the proper manner. The commission shall voice the e-sports athlete's rights, interests, and welfare.

Jason Batzofin

The process to establish the Athletes Commission will start with the 45 member nations of IeSF, encouraging athletes to register for all game titles. As an initial stage of commission development, athletes with international competition experience shall be recommended by each National federation. To support the formation and taking into account that majority of e-Sports athletes are in their youth, IeSF plans to organize an advisory group of experienced members in the sports field to give insight and knowledge to the athletes representatives.

It should be noted that MSSA, has had such an Athlete's Representative on its committee since 2005. As such, South Africa is ahead of the curve, and already ready to serve the interests of its athletes at the highest possible level. Such representative is elected by athletes who have earned senior Provincial  or National colours every third year at MSSA's AGM. The current representative is Jason Batzofin. Jason first earned his Protea Colours in 2014 for wargames, and then in 2015 earned such colours  for both  wargames and eSports.

The Goal of IeSF is to give support and offer conceptual aid for the Athletes Commission to become an organization which can grow into an independent structure for athletes in which they can voice their opinions freely. The Commission shall also participate in the decisions of IeSF key agendas to reflect its opinion and contribute to the e-sports momentum.

IeSF will work together with the Athletes Commission to work on touch points which has been an issue for e-Sports athletes. Crucial issues such as the VISA process have always been a problem for e-Sports athletes since many countries do not recognize it as an official sport. However IeSF wishes to solve this by making e-Sports recognized as a true sport, working together with the Athletes Commission.

IeSF has supported e-Sports athletes in VISA issues for the past 8 years during its annual World championships, working closely with each host country governments. IeSF has resolved cases during Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games (AIMAG), indorsed by OCA (Olympic Council of Asia).

Moreover IeSF supported PESO(Philippine e-Sports Organization) DOTA 2 athletes with residential Visa and Sports Visa, in cooperation with the Korean government and KeSPA (Korean e-Sports Association). Working together with various international sports organizations and various government officials, IeSF is now extending the support to all athletes of the e-Sports industry, and would like to achieve this together with the Athletes Commission

Opening ceremony at 6th IeSF World Championships - Bucharest

The Athletes Commission shall begin its first activities during the 8^th e-Sports World Championships which is jointly hosted by TAFISA at its World Sport for All Games in October this year. At such event, the opinions of the national athletes shall be recorded, while also discussing Anti-Doping and other ethical topics during the session. With the information and interest gathered during the World Championship, it will act as a valuable source to constitute the Commission which shall officially begin to function in 2017.

“The Athletes commission is not only where the voices of the athletes heard, but it is an important sector which can advise IeSF in taking its steps for the future e-Sports development. IeSF will be in full support to establish of the Athletes Commission and will make sure to be in constant communication with one another. We would like to encourage athletes and ask for continuous support for the commission to be formed in the proper manner and direction” said Alex Lim, Secretary General of IeSF, “The current global e-Sports Academy, underdevelopment of IeSF, will be focusing on welfare and second life career developments of the athletes. For it to function as a realistic and practical education program, IeSF will work closely with the Athletes Commission to integrate its opinion and needs”