Winners of MSSA's 33rd S A National Championships.

Charlize Seremak went straight from MSSA's SA National Championships to IESF's 11th World Championships.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) held its 36th South African National Championships at Fakkel School of Skills on 7 and 8 December 2019.

As usual, the school was a superb host, and the championships ran smoothly and without a hitch.
MSSA's SA National Championships is the last event of the year, and is without doubt, the most important championships on the South African calendar as any player witshing to qualify for selection to the South African National Squad, from which the South African National Protea Team, shall be selected must participate at such SA National Championships. Of course there are exceptions in certain cases, but in such cases, MSSA must be contacted prior to the event. 

Having run for 36 continuous years, MSSA's SA National Championships is breaking records. However, not all the various disciplines have been played for the full 36 years. Wargames heads the bill at having been played at all 36 National Championships, with Board games (in the form of Morabaraba) having been included in 1996. Shortly thereafter, in 1997, checkers made its debut. It was only in 2005, even though MSSA had been running Provincial Esports events since 1998, that Esports made its way into the SA National Championships.

Despite the pedigree of the other disciplines, it is now esports that contributes the largest amount of participants, and has more games (periods) being hosted than any othe discipline.

Even with esports only having been represented at MSSA's SA National Championships since 2005, it makes the esports portion possibly the oldest running esports national championships in the world!

Eleven (11) games (periods) were played, of which one (1) was a wargame, two (2) were board games and the remaning eight (8) were esports titles.

It must also be stressed that only titles that are played at SA National Championships, qualify to have teams selected that will earn Protea Colours. There are exceptions to the rule, but they are exceptions...

The championship was hard fought, and the standard exhibited showed a marked improvement over previous years.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Title	Name of player/team	Club	Colours awarded
Ancients (DBM)	Terence Allwright	Old Edwardian Mind Sports Club	National Federation Colours
Checkers	Melikaya Nonyukela	Vultures	National Federation Colours
Clash Royale	Dale Spolander	Northcliff High School
	Daniel Lombard	Monument Park High School
	Wesley Pachai	Curro Klerksdorp
Counterstrike: GO	Team FiB	Monument Park High School	National Federation Colours
DotA 2	Pr0NHS	Northcliff High School	National Federation Colours
FIFA '19	Zuko Nomaqhiza	Curro Klerksdorp
FIFA '19 - High School	Kagiso Moagi	Curro Klerksdorp
Hearthstone -- Female	Vicky van Der Merwe	ZAG Academy	National Federation Colours
Hearthstone	Grey Craven	Curro Aurora
Morabaraba - Female	Saudah Bhaimia	Curro Klerksdorp	National Federation Colours
Morabaraba	Aidan Voster	Curro Aurora
Paladins	BOO Implode	BOO Gaming	National Federation Colours
Street Fighter V	Theunis van der Merwe	Hoerskool Klerksdorp
	Leonard Loftus	Masters of Mind Sports
Tekken 7 - Female	Charlize Seremak	ZAG Academy	National Federation Colours
Tekken 7	Shaun Claudio Lopes	North West University - Vaal	National Federation Colours
Tekken 7 - High School	Cilliers Swanepoel	Curro klerksdorp

Also read:

• Esports titles selected for all MSSA's Premier Provincial and National Championships

• Esports titles selected for all MSSA's School Championships.
• Esports titles selected for all MSSA's Student championships.
• 2020 Calendar of Events
• The various events held by Mind Sports South Africa.
• Why schools and universities should invest in esports.
• New National Team Selection Criteria
• Selecting the national Protea teams for Mind Sports South Africa.
• MSSA's umpiring course - 25 January 2020.

Transfer season - 1 November 2019 to 28 February 2020

It is only through being a  member of an affiliated club, that a player may earn a spot in the National Protea Team.

In order to transfer from one club to another, a Registered Player needs to settle all of his debts with his current club, and apply to such club to leave.

MSSA, only allows this, unless in exceptional circumstances, to happen in the period 1 November to 28 February.

The reasons for only having one transfer period is to:

• Create stability in in both clubs and teams
  
  In the past, gamers were known to 'clan hop'. While this at the time may have rewarded certain players with immediate gratification (in sponsorships, prize-money, etc.) it did  nothing to allow a club to fully develop the gamer. If a club is not sure about the length of time that a gamer will be a member of the club, the club is more likely to abuse the gamer's skills and not further develop the gamer. So it has been in the past where MSSA has seen some gamers move from one club to another as soon as the club offered the gamer that little bit more.
  
  Teams that also stick together, learn how to deal with each other as a group, deal with problems, and work better as a team.

• Rationalise membership
  
  In terms of  MSSA's Constitution and Regulations, a Registered Player may only represent one club. The club that the Registered Player may represent is the first club that the Registered Player joined in the season. Such club is  then known as the 'first claim' club and only such club  may enter  the person into championships or count his/her membership for voting rights.
  
  Thus, MSSA's records apropos membership do not  show 'double-dipping' as a Registered Player may only be shown as a member of only one club and are  quite accurate.

• Ensure sustainability of clubs
  
  The strength of any  association remains  its members. Since it is the clubs that are the members of MSSA, it is vital that MSSA protects and  develops the clubs themselves. By regulating the movement of players, clubs are better able to budget and plan for how they want to develop themselves.

Thus the transfer 'window' is now open. If you as a player want to transfer your allegiance from one club to another, do it before 28 February 2020...

Also read:

• Esports titles selected for all MSSA's Premier Provincial and National Championships

• Esports titles selected for all MSSA's School Championships.
• Esports titles selected for all MSSA's Student championships.
• 2020 Calendar of Events
• The various events held by Mind Sports South Africa.
• Why schools and universities should invest in esports.
• New National Team Selection Criteria
• Selecting the national Protea teams for Mind Sports South Africa.

Turkish Open World Cup - Antalya, Turkey

Rules & Regulations

1. Organization:

FMJD - Brazilian Draughts Section Coordinator : Mr. İbrahim İSMAYİLOV
mail address : ibragim2002@mail.ru

2. Venue & Official hotel of the organization:

Corendon Hotels & Resorts
Grand Park Lara
Kemerağzı Mahallesi Yaşar Sobutay Bulvarı No: 339 Lara – Aksu – Antalya
www.corendonhotels.com.tr

Registration : Accommodation is possible only in the hotel, provided by organizer

3. Program:

4. Technical details:

4.1 Games rate – 1h20’ + 1 per move
4.2 Open – 9th rounds, FMJD Swiss system on Solkoff truncated with the following order of tie braking decisions:

1. Solkoff truncated
2. Solkoff plus
3. Solkoff Baliakin
4. Full Solkoff truncated

4.3 Offical FMJD software Draughts Arbiter will be used
4.4 All FMJD rules are valid

5. Competitions fee:

50 Euro per/person ( if residing in official hotel )
100 Euro per/person ( if residing in other hotel )

6. Prizes:

7. Hotel:

Corendon Hotels & Resorts
Grand Park Lara
Kemerağzı Mahallesi Yaşar Sobutay Bulvarı No: 339 Lara – Aksu – Antalya

www.corendonhotels.com.tr

Double room – 40 € ( per person / per day ) ( all inclusive - non-alcoholic )
Single room – 60 € ( per person / per day ) ( all inclusive - non-alcoholic )

8. Applications:

Deadline for registration and reservation of the hotel
* to be received before the 20th of February by the FMJD-64 Section.
* apply by e-mail to ibragim2002@mail.ru

9. Bank account for electronic payment of the hotel accommodation:

* Bank account on the electronic payment of the participation fees
Euro IBAN : 93 0006 4000 0023 4070 5687 00
Swift Kod : ISBKTRIS
Name : IBRAHIM ALIHAYDAR
* Deadline of subscription payment : 20th of February 2020

10. Transport:

The organizer will organize shuttle from and the airport of Antalya. The fee is airport - hotel –
airport 30 (Euro) both ways and should be notified to the organizer not later than March 3rd.

This document has been approved by:

İbrahim İSMAYİLOV
FMJD - Brazilian Draughts Section Coordinator

Selecting the national Protea teams for Mind Sports South Africa.

South Africa's 2019 Protea Esports Team which attended IESF's 11th World Championships. The sponsors of the team are EnerGHack, Partnermedia, NWU, ZAG Academy, and Tuluntulu.

With the selection of any team there are always those who claim that they could have done a better job at selecting the team.

It does not matter which sport it is, it could be rugby, football, netball, hockey, and so forth, but there are always members of the community who are quite vociferous about their opinions.

Sometimes, however, such critics are right. 

There is always someone out there that does know better. There is always someone who can make a great contribution.

Thus Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA), being truly aware of the talent that exists in South Africa, has opened the Selection Committee to interested persons who do not have to be Registered Players.

There is now, no reason, to be a side-line selector.

MSSA needs four individuals to be its selectors for 2019. At least two have to be Registered Players, while the other two do not have to be Registered Players.

However, the people elected as Selectors shall sign the Undertaking and keep all discussions confidential.

All Selector's shall be suitably qualified for the role, which shall include, but not be limited to: 

• previous experience as a selector, 
• previous international experience as a player or involvement with competitive gaming, 

The emphasis shall always be placed on knowledge of the level of competition required at international level.

Mind Sports South Africa thus requests all interested persons to send in ttheir applications, together with a CV., to mindsportscorrespondence@gmail.com by 15 January 2020.

Also read:

• Changes to the Selection Committee.
• The new national team selection criteria.

The Best Newcomer Award for 2019 goes to...

Blake Govender was South Africa's flag-bearer at IESF's 11th World Championships - Seoul.

Every year at Mind Sports South Africa's (MSSA) Annual General Meeting (AGM), the member clubs have agonized over who should be awarded the Best Newcomer Award - well that is from 1987...

The award may only be awarded to the Registered Player who, in the eyes of the Annual General Meeting (AGM), has done exceptionally well in his/her initial stages of membership.

Blake Govender (Oakhill School) from the Western Cape has been awarded such award for the 2019 year.

Having excelled in many an official school championship and league event, Blake caught the eye of the Selection Committee which catapaulted him into the highest levels. However, none would have been possible without the support of the club as well as of the Educator-in-Charge, Diana Barnard.

Blake was selected to represent South Africa at IESF's 11th World Championships. His sportsmanship was a credit to South Africa, and he was selected to be South Africa's flag-bearer at tthe opening ceremony.

His achievements over the past year is an adventurous tale that may rank with most romances.

The total list of those awarded such prestigious award are as follows:

YEAR	BEST NEWCOMER	CLUB
2019	Blake Govender	Oakhill School
2018	Sebolelo Motlhabi	North West University - Vaal
2017	Simone Beck	Valhalla
2016	Joel van Wyk	All Stars
2015	Wynand Meiring	BeZerK Gaming
2014	Barry West	Knights Mind Sports Club
2013	Mohamed Wasim Lorgat	Energy eSports
2012	Lyrene Kűhn	Knights Mind Sports Club
2011	Robert Botha	PolarFluke
2010	Jonathan Grobler	Hillcrest Wargames Club
2009	Xola Magwaza	Knights Mind Sports Club
2008	Benjamin Williams	Pretoria Boys High School
2007	Jonathan Grobler	Hillcrest Wargames Club
2006	Werner Buter	Maritzburg Christian School
2005	Thembile Nquezo	Castrol Team
2004	Jonathan Newman	Maritzburg Christian School
2003	Simphiwe Maphumulo	Alexandra High School
2002	Teresa Chen	Maritzburg Girls' High
2001	David Scholtz	Maritzburg Griffons
2000	Attilla Molnar	Westville Historical and Military Modelling Society
1999	Andre Tonkin	Krugersdorp High School
1998	Rudolph Joubert	Peninsula Wargames Group
1997	Thembinkosi Hambiyane	Gauteng Draughts Association
1996	Richard Ligault	Technikon Witwatersrand
1995	Jaco Vermeulen	Potchefstroom Krygspele Vereeniging
1994	Damien Enslin	Peninsula Wargames Group
1993	David Smith	Old Edwardian Wargames Club
1992	Jethro Marks	Old Edwardian Wargames Club
1991	David Young	Northern Suburbs Wargames Club
1990	Dennis White	Easterns Wargames Group
1989	Bruce Cahill	Easterns Wargames Group
1988	Grant Casey	Johannesburg Wargames Society
1987	Hal Couzens	Johannesburg Wargames Society

Also read:

• Esports titles selected for all MSSA's Premier Provincial and National Championships.
• Esports titles selected for all MSSA's School Championships.
• Esports titles selected for all MSSA's Student championships.
• 2020 Calendar of Events
• The various events held by Mind Sports South Africa.
• Why schools and universities should invest in esports.
• New National Team Selection Criteria

Esports titles selected for all MSSA's Premier Provincial and National Championships.

South Africa's Protea DotA 2 team in action at IESF's 11th World Championships - Seoul.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) has a selection process through which all esports titles are selected for use at Provincial and National Championships.

The process takes into account those  titles which are used at International Esports Federation'(IESF) World Championships, and those esports titles which are popular among the member clubs.

But saying an esports title is popular is not enough. Just because a title is popular online among recreational gamers, does not make it popular among the hard-core competitive esports athletes who will attend LAN championships.

Thus, for any esports title to be considered for consideration to be included in Provincial and National Championships at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), at least one Regional Championship must be held in such esports title to prove that it is able to attract competitive esports athletes to a single venue.

It should also be noted that age restrictions for esports titles vary from country-to-country. An esports title may have a 12 age restriction in one country and may then have an age restriction of 16 in another.

It is therefore important for parents to check the age restriction of the esports title in the country of residence as such age restrictions are established to protect the mental health and well-being of the child.

It should also be noted that changes may be made to the line-up in exceptional cases. If IESF selects a title not on the list for use at its World Championships, then MSSA shall include it.

Titles previously selected for the past 5 years by IESF are:

Year	Title
2019	DotA 2
	PES 2020
	Tekken 7
2018	Counter-Strike: GO
	League of Legends
	Tekken 7
2017	Counter-Strike: GO
	League of Legends
	Tekken 7
2016	Counter-Strike: GO
	League of Legends
	Tekken 7
2015	League of Legends
	StarCraft II

A lot of time has been invested in determining the esports titles for 2020, and the comprehensive list is as follows:

Period/genre	Title	Platform	Age restriction	Players
Shooter	Counter-Strike: GO	PC	16	5 v 5
	Paladins	PC/console	12	5 v 5
Sport	FIFA '20	Console	3	1 v 1
	PES 2020	Console	3	1 v 1
MOBA	Dota 2	PC	12	5 v 5
	Clash Royale	Mobile	12	1 v 1
	League of Legends	PC	12	5 v 5
	VainGlory	Tablet/mobile	12	3 v 3
Fighting	Tekken 7	Console	16	1 v 1
	Street Fighter V	Console	12	1 v 1
Card	HearthStone	Various	7	1 v 1

Also read:

• Esports titles selected for all MSSA's School Championships.
• Esports titles selected for all MSSA's Student championships.
• 2020 Calendar of Events
• The various events held by Mind Sports South Africa.
• Why schools and universities should invest in esports.
• New National Team Selection Criteria