May professional esports athletes play in MSSA events?

Alwyn Venter (White Rabbit Gaming) watching his team

As seen in the article 'Does pride, not money, spur growth in esports?' which tentatively explored the link between amateurs and professionals, I feel that there needs to be greater clarity on the issue.

The reason for such is that MSSA has been inundated, since the publication of such article, by professional gamers asking if they may participate in MSSA's 2016 South African National Championships in December.

The short answer is YES, yes they may - as long as certain conditions are met.

In fact there are already a number of professional clans that  have also started non profit clubs that are now affiliated to MSSA. Anteria Gaming and White Rabbit Gaming are examples of such clubs.

The conditions are:

1. The  player must be registered to MSSA through a non-profit association or non-profit company (NPC), and
2. The player must be a fully-paid-up registered player.

Considering that registration fees for 2016/2017 are R5.00 per annum (if a member of a club based at a school) and R95.00 for all others, the cost is not expensive at all.

Through participating in MSSA's 2016 South African National Championships, players are able to qualify for the 2017 National Team Trials.