Esports South Africa, and other games : May 2019

Thursday, 30 May 2019

Closing date for entries for MSSA's Inter-School League.

There are over 60 schools affiliated to Mind Sports South Africa.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA), the largest membership based organisation for gaming in South Africa has just revealed the closing date for entries for its annual online Inter-School League.

The league started back in 2010 thanks to the input and support of ASUS, and since then has continued to grow in popularity.

Today, there are no less than 64 schools affiliated to MSSA and those that participate in the online school league offer there learners the opportunity of playing in the only official school league in the country.

By playing in the official school league, learners are able to earn:

Medals for finishing in the first three places in the various game titles, and
School Provincial Colours, and
A berth in the 2020 MSSA National Team Trials.

Over the years, the league has been refined to accommodate the wishes of the membership. As such the league has been split into leagues that accommodate both the three and four school terms.

The entry fee is R34.00 per player.

The entry dates are as follows:

League	Entry date	Starting date
Inter-School League	1 July 2019	19 July 2019

The titles to be played are:

Clash Royale
CounterStrike: GO
DotA 2
FIFA '19
HearthStone
League of Legends
Paladins
PES mobile
StreetFighter V

In keeping with Mind Sport South Africa's policies re development programmes, entries are free and gratis to registered players who are unable to afford to enter such championships should the member club formally request assistance. Such applications must be directed to the MSSA at: e-mail: mindsportscorrespondence@gmail.com

Players who are registered with any school may participate.

Players are reminded that the majority choice of rules as at the closing date for entries shall be used.

Entry fees can be deposited directly into Mind Sports South Africa's account, held at ABSA Bank, account number, 90 4766 7676.

No entries shall be accepted without MSSA having received proof of payment.

All entries must be entered onto the entry form that may be downloaded from https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VEYdTjmTj6FvqNDftSz9QdAYsiOiRaaI7EUY_rKxDUI/edit#gid=0

The following Medals may be awarded at MSSA's 2019 Annual Inter-School League:

HIGH SCHOOL (FEMALE): Medals shall be awarded to the first three high school scholars.
PRIMARY SCHOOL (FEMALE): Medals shall be awarded to the first three high school scholars.
HIGH SCHOOL (MALE): Medals shall be awarded to the first three high school scholars.
PRIMARY SCHOOL (MALE): Medals shall be awarded to the first three high school scholars.

Colours and National Team Trials:

Provincial Colours: All Players who win all of their Matches at MSSA's 2019 Annual Inter-School League will earn Provincial Colours.
Provincial Colours: All Players who score within the top 50% in a specific Period at a Provincial Championship, and who also score within the top 50% at MSSA's 2019 Annual Inter-School League in the same period and in the same year, shall earn Provincial Colours.
National Team Trials: All Players that score within the top 20% or top three places, whichever is greater, in a specific Period at a Provincial or National Championship will be eligible for selection for the National Squad.

Also read:

Wednesday, 29 May 2019

Reminder: MSSA's Annual South African Schools National Championships - 15 & 16 June 2019

Scenes from 2018 school events.

Mind Sports South Africa's (MSSA) South African Schools' National Championships is the perfect start for players to launch themselves into top level competition.

Many of South Africa's top players who have represented South African Protea teams in international competition have come through the ranks at such South African Schools' National Championships.

MSSA is proud of its reputation of promoting youth in its national teams, and as a result, most of MSSA's teams that have represented South Africa have had a component of players that were learners who were still in High School.

Thus it should be noted that such South African Schools' National Championships not only counts towards players earning Provincial and National Colours, but also counts towards MSSA's selection process.

All gamers are reminded that MSSA's South African Schools' National Championships are an open championship. In other words any registered player, who is currently a registered learner, is entitled to enter the championship – no matter where they live.

For additional information, please contact MSSA at mindsportscorrespondence@gmail.com

Details are as follows:

Championship Details:

Host Club: Fakkel School of Skills, 20 Jan Smuts Ave., Sasolburg
Entry date: 31 May 2019.
Date of Championships: 15 & 16 June 2019
Accommodation: Please telephone the school to see if there is accommodation available at (016) 976 0470.

Member clubs must enter their teams/players by downloading the entry form on Googe Drive and submitting it to mindsportscorrespondence@gmail.com. The entry form may be found on: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VEYdTjmTj6FvqNDftSz9QdAYsiOiRaaI7EUY_rKxDUI/edit#gid=0

Players who are registered with any school may participate.

Also read:

WADA launches ALPHA 2.0 Anti-Doping eLearning course for athletes

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to launch an updated version of the Athlete Learning Program about Health and Anti-Doping (ALPHA) course on its Anti-Doping e-Learning Platform (ADeL).

Initially launched in 2014 – and developed with the help of athletes, leading psychologists, behavioral scientists, education technologists, e-learning specialists and prevention specialists – ALPHA represents a holistic, values-based approach and offers a pragmatic and positive alternative to the traditional approach to the prevention of doping. The course has already been successfully completed by over 22,500 of ADeL’s 35,000 subscribers.

The new ALPHA 2.0 preserves the course’s original content but adopts a fresh new look and feel, along with improved interactive activities. The updated course also includes athlete testimonial videos, which provide a point of reference and are proven to be an effective means of peer learning. The course is initially being launched in English with the other 5 ALPHA languages (French, Croatian, Japanese, Spanish and Slovenian) to follow this year. ALPHA 1.0 remains available for everyone in all languages.

The updated ALPHA 2.0 has been broken down into eight digestible lessons, taking approximately 10 minutes to complete each one. The course aims to improve retention and meet the needs of the modern learner for bite-size courses. ALPHA 2.0 is also mobile-friendly so athletes will be able to easily access the course through their smart phones or tablets.

The course’s first six lessons address the World Anti-Doping Code’s requirement for athletes to be educated on the following:

Doping control
Whereabouts
Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs)
Results management processes
Medical reasons not to dope, and
Ethical reasons not to dope

Lessons seven and eight offer practical help on how to stay clean and how to resist the pressure to dope, which encourages athletes to develop positive and proactive plans to avoid doping in a way that is particularly meaningful for them.

The end of the course features The Play True Pledge, which allows athletes to demonstrate publicly their commitment to clean sport by sharing The Pledge on their social media accounts. There is also a post-course test to assess the knowledge of the athletes – a score of 80% or higher is required for certification.

To access the ALPHA 2.0 course, simply register on ADeL or log in to your existing account. If you register as an athlete, ALPHA 2.0 will be featured automatically on your home page. For other roles, you can find the course in the Library section. In order to help users navigate through the platform, WADA has also created an ADeL User Guide, which should help users fully benefit from the ADeL platform.

For any questions or to provide feedback on ALPHA 2.0 or other ADeL resources, please direct your emails to adel@wada-ama.org.

Friday, 24 May 2019

IESF announces DOTA 2 as First Game Title for 11th Esports World Championship

DotA 2 has been announced as a game title for IESF's 11th Esports World Championships.

International Esports Federation (IESF) hereby announces DOTA 2 as the first official game title to be included in the 11th Esports World Championship in Seoul, Korea.

Considered to have universal appeal, DOTA 2 has been selected by IESF. According to Global Esports Market Report 2019 sourced from “Newzoo”, DOTA 2 has ranked in the top 3 as the most watched game titles on Twitch and YouTube Gaming with 250.4 million hours.

According to MSSA president, Amanda Pakade, DotA 2 was last played at such World

The South African Protea Team with Team China.
Team China (famous for having won the 2014
edition of 'The Invitational', also went on to
narrowly beat Romania at IESF's
2014 Esports World Championships - Baku.

Championships in Baku (2014) to which Mind Sports South Africa sent an official Protea team. "The 2014 Protea team performed well against some very stiff international competition, and MSSA was more than satisfied with the overall result," enthused Amanda.

IESF’s Esports World Championship is the only annual International Esports competition based on nationality. IESF’s Esports World Championships has been held every year since 2009, and is supported by all its 54 National Member Federations which hold national qualifiers in order to select representative teams.

IESF is currently in the process of selecting additional game titles and shall make the final announcement for all official and demonstration game titles after completing all negotiations with the Game Developers.

For more information regarding the 11th Esports World Championship please see IESF’s website: https://www.ie-sf.org/

Also read:

Thursday, 23 May 2019

2019 Esports World Championship: December 11 to 15, 2019

IESF's 11th World Championships.

International Esports Federation (IESF) hereby announces the dates for its upcoming 11^th Esports World Championship to be held in Seoul.

Following the very successful World Championships in Kaohsiung, IESF’s 11^th Esports World Championship shall be held in Seoul, South Korea, from 11^th to 15^th December, 2019.

For over 10 years, Esports World Championship has established its status as the only International Esports World Championships based on participation from Member National Federations.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) has participated at every IESF World Championships since 2009, and is considered by many to be a valuable member, especially since South Africa was the first country to recognise esports as a sport.

With the ever increasing number of IESF Member National Federations continually growing, such membership has now increased to 54 nations, and, as a result of such growth, IESF’s 11^th Esports World Championship is a dynamic Esports World Championship reflecting the diversity and representation of its member federations.

For more information about IESF’s previous Championship history, such can be found on the following link: https://www.ie-sf.org/our-tournaments/

Also read:

Wednesday, 22 May 2019

THE WAY FORWARD - IESF'S ACTING VICE-PRESIDENT.

Magnus Jonsson is now serving as the acting Vice-President.

With the unexpected resignation of Silviu Stroei from International Esports Federation's Board, a position has opened up on the Board which IESF will have to fill as soon as possible if the Board is to continue to fire on all cylinders.

As a stop-gap, IESF has temporarily appointed Board member, Magus Jonsson, of Sweden, to act as Acting Vice-President. Such appointment shall only be in force until the Board appoints a Board member formally to hold such office.

It is the President's considered opinion that such position must be filled as soon as possible for the following reasons:

Should the President be absent, it is the Vice-President that must immediately step up to the plate and continue with the President's workoad, and
The Vice-President has oversight of the World Championships.

Thus IESF's Board has selected Magnus Jonsson to act as acting Vice-President until further notice.

Colin Webster, President of IESF, says of Magnus, "Magnus is a valued Board member who has served IESF well during his terms of office and is more than capable of acting as a caretaker of such an important office."

Tuesday, 21 May 2019

MSSA's Annual South African Schools National Championships - 15 & 16 June 2019

Scenes from 2018 school events.

Championship Details:

Host Club: Fakkel School of Skills, 20 Jan Smuts Ave., Sasolburg
Entry date: 31 May 2019.
Date of Championships: 15 & 16 June 2019
Accommodation: Please telephone the school to see if there is accommodation available at (016) 976 0470.

Players who are registered with any school may participate.

Also read:

Creating an esports textbook.

Professor Gil Fried (University of New Haven) at IESF's 2018 Global Esports Executive Summit (GEES).

Esports needs a textbook, and now someone is doing something about it.

Professor Gil Fried (University of New Haven) is in the process of writing a new textbook on the esports industry. Prof. Fried hopes to publish the book with Human Kinetics in 2021. To do justice to such an extensive topic, Prof. Fried shall be editing the book along with several other professors who teach esports related classes. When the book is completed, International Esports Federation (IeSF) will review it, and possibly endorse it.

However, to ensure that the work is the best possible, professionals in the industry who might want to write about specific topics are invited to do so. It is anticipated these elements can be from around 4-10 pages on specific topics.

It could be a great way for someone to tell a story about their company/business and reach a large number of future students studying sport and esport management.

The topics that Prof. Fried are looking for people to cover include:

Who are the various stakeholders and what are their roles.

Title developers- such as Activision Blizzard, Riot Games, Nintendo, Sony, etc…
Players- professional and amateur
Governance- IeSF, college, high school, leagues
Teams and leagues- how are they formed, structured, and managed
Promoters/event managers
Marketers- selling games, selling athletes, selling events, branding, sponsorship
Broadcasters
Coaches
Team owners
Gamblers
Fans

How are games developed
Tools used in the industry- Gaming equipment, platforms, programs, streaming, VR/AR, AI, etc….
Content management
Delivery services
Information technology
How are games marketed
Financial issues in esports
Legal issues in esports
What is involved in putting on esports tournaments?
Fairness, ethics, and cheating in eSports
Esports and gambling
Careers in esport
Esports entrepreneurship
Where is the industry going?

If you are interested in getting involved with this project please do not hesitate to contact Professor Gil Fried who can be reached off line at gfried@newhaven.edu.

Monday, 20 May 2019

Reminder: MSSA's 2019 Mpumalanga Provincial Championships - 25 & 26 May 2019.

Mind Sports South Africa

You want to be selected for the 2019 Protea Team, then read this.

MSSA's 2019 Mpumalanga Provincial Championships is part of the process of selecting the 2018 Protea teams that will attend the various World Championships and participate in various test matches.

All gamers are reminded that MSSA's 2019 Gauteng Provincial Championships are an open championship. In other words any registered player is entitled to enter the championship – no matter where they live, or their category of membership.

You may contact MSSA at mindsportscorrespondence@gmail.com

Details are as follows:

Championship Details:

Hosting Club: Curro Secunda
Venue: Curro Secunda, Cnr of Nelson Mandela and Coen Brits St., Secunda, 2302
Entry date: Athough the entry date of 17 May 2019 has passed, MSSA is able to take in limited amounts of late entries in certain of the titles. Please contact mindsportscorrespondence@gmail.com should you wish to submit a late entry.
Date: 25 & 26 May 2019.

Member clubs must enter their teams/players by downloading the entry form on Googe Drive and submitting it to mindsportscorrespondence@gmail.com. The entry form may be found on: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1c_Lu-tZwr4q_p7Je9DWooQHLsQXPSe5aEUbs_VynGzw/edit#gid=871100982

Also read:

WADA FOUNDATION BOARD MOVES FORWARD WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF GOVERNANCE REFORMS

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

On 16 May 2019 the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) Foundation Board (Board) held its first meeting of the year in Montreal, Canada. The 38-member Board – which is composed equally of the Sports Movement and Governments of the world – met to discuss progress regarding WADA’s priorities and other important matters concerning the Agency and the future of clean sport. The full-day Board meeting, which was open to the media and observers, included a number of presentations, discussions and decisions.

On 15 May 2019, WADA’s 12-Member Executive Committee (ExCo) met and made several decisions and recommendations, which then came before the Board.

WADA Presidential Nominee

At the start of the meeting, WADA President Sir Craig Reedie congratulated Poland’s Minister of Sport and Tourism and former 400m sprinter Witold Banka who, on Tuesday, was nominated by the Public Authorities as their preferred candidate for the position of WADA President when Sir Craig stands down at the end of 2019. He also thanked Mr. Banka’s opponent in that nomination process, Marcos Diaz, Vice-Minister of Sports of the Dominican Republic, and pointed out the positive and respectful way in which the process was carried out.

By way of response, Mr. Banka thanked the Public Authorities for the confidence shown in him by nominating him as their preferred candidate. He also thanked Mr. Diaz and stated that he looked forward to working hard with him and all stakeholders to strengthen WADA.

The new President will be elected by the Board at the fifth World Conference on Doping in Sport, which will take place in Katowice, Poland, from 5-7 November, and will assume the role for a three-year term from 1 January 2020.

Governance Reforms

The ExCo approved a detailed timeline for further implementation of wide-ranging governance reforms that were agreed at the November 2018 meeting with work on that progressing well.

In particular, the ExCo approved the appointment of an independent agency to identify and vet members of the inaugural Nominations Committee, which will have a pivotal role in recruiting and vetting candidates to occupy senior governance positions within WADA in the future, such as President, Vice-President, Standing Committee Chairs and members of the ExCo and Board.

Sir Craig said: “Any strong organization will constantly review its governance structures and, last November, the Board approved a raft of far-reaching reforms intended to make WADA stronger and fit for the future. An important element of that is the formation of a Nominations Committee to help ensure that the right people in terms of the requisite level of skills and independence, serve in those key roles within WADA.

“The review of WADA’s governance model has been extensive and has clearly shown WADA’s willingness to adapt. In an ever-changing world, WADA’s role has grown and evolved since its current governance model was first formed. It is right that the structure should develop as well and should continue to be looked at in the future.”

The range of reforms approved in November are part of the beginning of an ongoing process of governance review within WADA.

Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA)

Further to the ExCo’s September 2018 decision to reinstate RUSADA as compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code (Code), both the ExCo and the Board received an update regarding management of the data and samples collected from the former Moscow Laboratory earlier this year.

Since the Board’s November 2018 meeting, separate WADA delegations visited the Moscow Laboratory in Russia and, in January, extracted 24 terabytes of analytical data (equivalent to more than 24 million documents) and, in April, 2,262 samples, which were securely taken to a WADA-accredited laboratory outside of Russia.

The authentication process is still ongoing for some data but has already confirmed that a very high percentage of the data collected in the Moscow Laboratory is authentic and matching with the copy of the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) that WADA’s Intelligence and Investigations (I&I) had acquired through a whistleblower in November 2017.

Armed with this material, as well as other evidence, WADA’s Intelligence & Investigations (I&I) has started providing International Federations (IFs) with evidentiary packages, which IFs will assess with the view to taking the cases forward as Anti-Doping Rule Violations. WADA will work in close collaboration with IFs and, in cases where IFs choose not to take action, the Agency will review the facts, discuss with the relevant IF and reserves the right to bring them forward to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Director of Intelligence and Investigations Gunter Younger said: “WADA continues to make real progress on this long-running and complex case. Thanks to the fact that we have been able to access the data and the samples, we are now currently in the process of building strong cases that we will present to International Federations. Indeed, we have already delivered some of those evidentiary packages and more will follow in the coming weeks and months.”

Conduct at WADA Meetings

Yesterday, WADA issued a statement in relation to allegations of improper conduct by two ExCo members at its September 2018 meeting. The findings of the full, independent investigation, carried out by US law firm Covington and Burling LLP, were discussed extensively at the ExCo and presented to the Board by the firm today.

The related report, which is published in full, is available for everyone to read. In addition, the ExCo took the step of releasing the unedited recording of the meeting in question, as well as transcripts. This has been done in the interests of transparency and full disclosure and are the actions of an organization determined to lay bare the facts of the matter. At every stage, WADA has taken this matter extremely seriously.

The investigation found there was no bullying or harassment and the September ExCo meeting will consider the four recommendations made by Covington relating to the Agency’s governance policies, training and protocols and is committed to making improvements as appropriate.

University Chair in Anti-Doping

The Board approved plans to establish a multi-disciplinary Chair on Anti-Doping and Sport at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada, in order to respond to a demand for more education and research in this field. The intention is that this initiative will also create further partnerships with other universities in the world.

Clenbuterol

The Board approved an amendment to Article 7.4 of the World Anti-Doping Code which allows laboratories and results management authorities to close as “no case to answer” matters involving athletes testing positive for clenbuterol when established that it is as the result of ingesting contaminated meat products.

It has been scientifically established that an athlete can test positive for clenbuterol at low levels following ingestion of contaminated meat in a small number of countries where this is an issue.

The issue will be addressed in the forthcoming 2021 Code and International Standard for Results Management. However, until these instruments come into force, this interim solution is required so that valid meat contamination cases are dealt with fairly.

To this end, WADA will circulate details of this decision to all stakeholders in advance of 1 June when this amendment comes into effect.

OTHER MATTERS

Hosting agreement with Montréal International

Following the celebration on 15 May marking the extension of WADA’s agreement with Montreal International for the Agency to remain in the city until 2031 at least, Canada’s Minister for Transport, the Honorable Marc Garneau addressed the Board on the importance of WADA’s continued presence in Montreal.

Mr. Garneau pledged the Canadian government’s support for WADA and for clean sport, stating Canada’s full confidence in WADA’s ability to regulate and oversee the global fight to protect clean sport and committing to partnering with WADA in that process.

Sir Craig thanked the Minister for his presence at the meeting and for Canada’s longstanding and ongoing support.

Athletes

The Board heard a report from Chair of the Athlete Committee Beckie Scott, including an update on the working group set up to look at the global representation of athletes with the view to strengthening the athletes’ voices further on the WADA ExCo and Board. Broader consultation and the development of a new draft will be the next steps.

Fellow Athlete Committee member Ben Sandford updated the Board on the Anti-Doping Charter of Athlete Rights, which will be tabled for endorsement at the World Conference on Doping in Sport in November, as well as the proposal from WADA’s Athlete Committee to create an Athlete Ombudsperson position for anti-doping matters. Discussions on this proposal will continue over the coming months.

Laboratories

The ExCo approved the application for King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to become a candidate laboratory as it seeks to gain WADA approval to carry out blood sample testing as part of the Athlete Biological Passport program.

The ExCo approved the removal of candidate laboratory status from the Anti-Doping Analysis Laboratory of the University of Chile in Santiago, Chile.

Code Review

The Board received an update on progress with the ongoing review of the Code and the International Standards, which continues as per the agreed process. The intention is for them to be approved at the 2019 World Conference on Doping in Sport and come into force on 1 January 2021.

Finance

The Board received an update on the finances of the Agency and approved the accounts for the year-end 2018.

Next Meetings

The ExCo will next meet on 23 September in Tokyo, Japan. The ExCo and Board will both hold meetings during the World Conference on Doping in Sport in November in Katowice, Poland.

Monday, 13 May 2019

MSSA's 2019 Mpumalanga Provincial Championships - 25 & 26 May 2019.

Mind Sports South Africa

Championship Details:

Hosting Club: Curro Secunda

Venue: Curro Secunda, Cnr of Nelson Mandela and Coen Brits St., Secunda, 2302

Entry date: 17 May 2019.

Date: 25 & 26 May 2019.

Member clubs must enter their teams/players on the entry form sent to member clubs.

Also read:

Never forget!

Amanda Pakade, MSSA President, proudly wearing MSSA's logo as designed by the late Fred Brownell.

The Department of Arts and Culture has paid tribute to 79-year-old Fred Brownell who passed away on the night of Friday, 10 May 2019. Fred Brownell was the man who designed SA's iconic democratic national flag.

Minister of Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa said he was distraught to learn of the passing "of a true South African hero whose name is etched in history"

Although the name of Fred Brownell is one that is synonymous with the designing and producing the flag of post-democratic South Africa, Mr. Brownell also designed Mind Sports South Africa's logo in 1991.

As State Herald, Fred Brownell designed the logo specifically for the MSSA in 1991 to best represent all the games as administered by the MSSA. Thus the Janus Knight for MSSA came into being.
Amanda Pakade, MSSA President, stated that his passing, "is a great loss to South Africa", and "the true value of his contribution to South Africa will never be fully appreciated".

The logo is made up of the following aspects:

The double-headed knight chess piece: The knight chess piece is already an international symbol for army battle school. The symbol represents tactical and strategic thought and training. By making the symbol a double-headed knight, it also incorporates the concepts of considering the opponent's moves and shows the mental versatility of gamers.

The circle: The circle represents the rules to which all the games are played, and the unity of all the games that the MSSA represents.

Also read:

SA flag designer passes on

Esports South Africa, and other games

Thursday, 30 May 2019

Closing date for entries for MSSA's Inter-School League.

Wednesday, 29 May 2019

Reminder: MSSA's Annual South African Schools National Championships - 15 & 16 June 2019

WADA launches ALPHA 2.0 Anti-Doping eLearning course for athletes

Friday, 24 May 2019

IESF announces DOTA 2 as First Game Title for 11th Esports World Championship

Thursday, 23 May 2019

2019 Esports World Championship: December 11 to 15, 2019

Wednesday, 22 May 2019

THE WAY FORWARD - IESF'S ACTING VICE-PRESIDENT.

Tuesday, 21 May 2019

MSSA's Annual South African Schools National Championships - 15 & 16 June 2019

Creating an esports textbook.

Monday, 20 May 2019

Reminder: MSSA's 2019 Mpumalanga Provincial Championships - 25 & 26 May 2019.

WADA FOUNDATION BOARD MOVES FORWARD WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF GOVERNANCE REFORMS

Monday, 13 May 2019

MSSA's 2019 Mpumalanga Provincial Championships - 25 & 26 May 2019.

Never forget!

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