Esports South Africa, and other games : Annual General Meeting

Showing posts with label Annual General Meeting. Show all posts

Saturday, 15 August 2020

How clubs offer to host official mind sports events.

Old Edwardian Mind Sports Club has hosted more MSSA events than any other affiliated club.

On 1 August 2020 Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) invited all members to suggest which events they want to see retained in the article "Getting ready for 2021".

Of course a number of member clubs have submitted their views, all of which are being collated and will be discussed by MSSA's Management Committee and the Board Gaming, Card Gaming, Esports and Wargames Boards of Control.

However, it is important to know how MSSA decides where each championship is held.

Regional Championships:

Regional Championships may be hosted by any member club. Even a club based in a different region may host a Regional Championship in an entirely different region should MSSA's Management Committee approve. Such was the case when the Old Edwardian Mind Sports Club hosted the eThekwini Regional Championship at the Durban Gaming Expo in July 2018.

The rules for hosting an official Regional Championship may be found here.

Provincial Championships:

Provincial Championships rotate among the member clubs within any such province. Thus only clubs within KwaZulu Natal may host the KwaZulu Natal Provincial Championships. Through actively pursuing this policy, provincial championships are held in various venues which allow clubs to grow their support base and obtain media coverage.

All online events are directly hosted by MSSA itself.

National Championships:

National Championships rotate among all interested member clubs based within South Africa.

As such the prestigious SA National Championships may be held in any city in South Africa. While some gamers may consider such to be inconvenient, it must be remembered that hosting the SA National Championships or the SA Schools' National Championships gives a huge boost to the host club. Such boost to the host club may be felt for many years afterwards in terms of increased membership, participation and media coverage.

However, to host any Regional, Provincial, and/or National Championship, the applicant member club must submit its application to host to the General Secretary by 1 November 2020.

Monday, 10 August 2020

MSSA advises of its affiliation and registration fees for the 2020/2021 season.

Mind Sports South Africa's Management Board increases all MSSA registration and affiliation fees by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) every year.

Thus registration and affiliation fees for the 2020/2021 season shall increase by the CPI (all sectors) of 4.6%, and as per MSSA's Constitution, all such fees are due and payable on the 1^st of November of each year.

Please note that if your club has an SLA for an event after the year-end (31 October 2020), such club must pay its affiliation fees and pay its registration fees for all its committee members by no later than 7 November 2020. Should such club fail to do so, such SLA shall be vitiated.

In order for any player to stand for any office, all such person's fees must be paid at the same time that such person is nominated.

Current Board Members are required to have their club membership fees and their own registration fees paid by 7 November 2020 - failing which, such Board Members are immediately suspended until such fees are paid.

Please note that other members that do not remit payment by 1 February 2021 shall have their affiliation terminated and their members shall not be allowed to participate in Mind Sport South Africa's events or team selection.

Members may only participate in a MSSA meeting if such member is fully-paid-up at the time of such meeting.

The fees for the 2020/2021 gaming year (1 November 2021 to 31 October 2021) are:

Affiliation fees per club per annum		R108.00 per annum
Registration fees:	Registered with MSSA	R115.00 per player
	Players who are members of school clubs	R10.00 per player

Please note that Registration Fees may be waived by the Management Board should a player have reached the age of majority and is unemployed, or if the player is a minor and his/her parents are unemployed.

Please note that the voting strength that any member has at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in December is based on the paid-up membership of such member at the date of the AGM.

Wednesday, 9 January 2019

Further enforcing good governance.

Past president Simphiwe Maphumulo (2010 - 2013) will be invited to hold a position on MSSA's Management Board.

It is a long established principle that all sports federations should have individuals on their management structures who are not adirectly beholden to any member.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is aware of the need, and as an attempt to meet such need has altered its Connstitution to bring one such person onto the Management Board.

At MSSA's Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 1 December 2018, it was unanimously agreed by all those eligible to vote to allow all past Presidents, who have completed all their terms and who currently do not hold an elected position shall be awarded the position of Hon. Vice-President.

Such Hon. Vice-President shall be entitled to attend meetings of the Council, and shall have power to vote at Executive and Management Board Meetings.

By bringing on past presidents who do not hold any other postions within MSSA, MSSA is able to draw on the vast knowledge base of such individuals, as well as have an individual on board who is more objective and detached.

Monday, 24 December 2018

The scope of South Africa's longest running awards for gaming has just got bigger.

Johan van Breda - MSSA's 2018 Volunteer of the Year.

Mind Sports South Africa's Management Board Awards are without doubt the longest running awards for gaming in South Africa. It could be argued that such awards are the longest running awards for rewarding such type of athletes in the world. Whereas the long running awards (like BAFTA) acknowledge the games themselves, MSSA's Management Board Awards acknowledge the contribution made by the very gamers/athletes themselves.

MSSA's Management Board Awards were initiated in 2009 to reward excellence not specifically provided for in MSSA's Constitution.

When reading through the names of those previously honoured, the reader is quickly reminded of MSSA's rich history. The names are not just names, these are the men and women who have made an incredible contribution to the various mind sports in South Africa.

Yet, the awards fell short in acknowledging the contribution of so many other Registered Players. Thus under the direction of MSSA president, Amanda Pakade, MSSA's highest legisative body, being the Annual General Meeting, agreed to widen the scope of such awards.

Thus the awards are now more representative of MSSA's membership, of the work being done, and of society as a whole.

It should be noted by the reader that the catagories for Writer of the Year, Social Media Person of the Year, and Sponsor of the Year are open catagories and apply to anyone that has given their 'all' to the development of esports as a sport.

The awards now take into account the following categories:

Mind Sports Person of the Year
Board Gamer of the Year
Esports Player of the Year
Wargamer of the Year
Team of the Year
Volunteer of the Year
Umpire of the Year
Coach of the Year
Educator of the Year
Writer of the Year
Social Media Person of the Year
Sponsor of the Year

As usual, MSSA's Management Board shall request all members to make submissions by 31 August.

Sunday, 28 October 2018

Gearing up for 2019.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is gearing up for one of its biggest years ever.

2019 is pregnant with possibilities, and MSSA is aiming to take advantage of every single opportunity. MSSA's Management Board is enthusiastic and excited about 2019

Thus with MSSA's new financial year starting on 1 November 2018, MSSA again reminds all member clubs that they need to have paid their fees by 1 November 2018 should the member club wish to:

Nominate Registered Players for office,
Offer to host events in 2019, and
Propose motions to be discussed at the AGM.

Member clubs also need to have paid their fees before the AGM should such Member Club wish to vote.

In order to count as paid-up, all a club has to do is have paid its annual affiliation fee of R100.00 and the Registration Fees of at least 3 players.

It is that easy...

Thursday, 18 October 2018

Time to get your nominations in - deadline 1 November 2018

All member clubs in good-standing may attend and vote at MSSA's Annual General Meeting.

Any full-paid-up Registered Player is able to stand for any position as long as a member club nominates such player, and another member club seconds such nomination.

There is no doubt that the 2018 MSSA Annual General Meeting to be held on 1 December 2018 will be an exciting affair.

Not only will there be some important proposed changes to the Constitution, but a number of the positions on the Management Board are also up for grabs.

Management Board positions up for election are (3 year terms):

President
Three out of the five Vice-President positions
Esports Representative
National Schools Director

Provincial Director positions up for election are (2 year terms):

Eastern Cape
Gauteng
KwaZulu Natal
Mpumulanga
Northern Cape
North West
Western Cape

Regional Director positions up for election are (1 year term):

Thus the 2018 elections will be more than interesting.

It should be noted that no person may be elected into more than one position.

The Management Board has worked well over the past number of years, and it will indeed be interesting to again see democracy at work.

As it can be seen from the above, MSSA does not hold truck with 'succession plans', but instead trusts entirely on its membership applying its mind and electing the right people to further promote all the disciplines under is jurisdition.

Also read:

The position of MSSA's Players' Representative is up for election at the 2018 SA National Championships.

Saturday, 13 October 2018

Draft Calendar of Events for 2019.

Representatives of MSSA's member clubs deliberating on issues.

The Calendar of Events for 2019 will only be finalised at Mind Sports South Africa's Annual General Meeting on 1 December 2018.

Even though there has already been a deal of discussion and deliberation by MSSA's ManCom and member clubs, changes may still be effected at MSSA's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 1 December 2018.

The draft Calendar of Events for 2019 is as follows:

2019 Calendar of events

Date	Event	Discipline	Venue
19 JANUARY	Umpires’ Course - Gauteng	All	TBD
2 & 3 FEBRUARY	27^th Old Edwardian Summer Championships	Ancients, Checkers, PES 2019, Morabaraba	Old Edwardian Society, 11 Ninth Ave., Lower Houghton
9 FEBRUARY	On-line Inter-school Provincial Championships	TBD	On-line
23 & 24 FEBRUARY	37^th GAUTENG Championships	Board games, Card games, eSports, wargames	TBD
2 MARCH	Umpire’s Course – Western Cape	All	TBD
23 & 24 MARCH	23^rd WESTERN CAPE Championships	Board games, Card games, eSports, wargames	TBD
6 APRIL	Provincial Online Student Championships	TBD	Online
20 APRIL	10^th Provincial Online Championships	TBD	On-line
27 & 28 APRIL	Provincial School Championships for all provinces	Board and Figure games	TBD
4 & 5 MAY	National Team Trials	Board games, Card games, eSports, wargames	To be held in the province that has the most qualifiers.
11 MAY	Umpire’s Course – Mpumulanga	Umpiring course	TBD
25 & 26 MAY	18^th MPUMALANGA Championships	Board games, Card games, eSports, wargames	TBD
25 MAY	FINANCIAL AGM	Meeting	TBD
15 & 16 JUNE	SA School Championships	All	TBD
6 JULY	Fezile Dabi Regional Championships	To be determined	TBD
Week ending 19 JULY	1^st round of School League for 4 term schools.	TBD	Online
19 & 20 JULY	Capricorn Regional Championships	To be determined	TBD
27 & 28 JULY	25th KWAZULU NATAL Championships	Board, Figure and eSports	TBD
3 & 4 AUGUST	16^th FREE STATE Championships	All	TBD
10 AUGUST	Provincial Online Championships	TBD	On-line
24 & 25 AUGUST	24^th NORTH WEST Championships	Board games, Card games, eSports, wargames	TBD
TBA	Indigenous Games	Morabaraba	To be determined by SRSA
7 SEPTEMBER	Sedibeng Regional Championships	To be determined	TBD
Week ending 13 SEPTEMBER	1^st round of School League for 3 term schools.	TBD	Online
21 & 22 SEPTEMBER	16^th EASTERN CAPE Championships	All	TBD
28 & 29 SEPTEMBER	8^th LIMPOPO Championships	All	TBA
1 NOVEMBER	Submit nominations of office-bearers	Admin	mindsportssa@iafrica.com
7 & 8 DECEMBER	33^rd S A NATIONAL Championships	All	TBD
7 DECEMBER	36^th NATIONAL CONVENTION	Annual General Meeting	TBD
TBA	SRSA's S A Schools Championships	Morabaraba	To be determined by SRSA

Notes:

International events still need to be included.
Inter-Provincial events need to be included.
Inter-Regional events need to be included.
Regional events still need to be included.
Club events need to be included.
Regional Championships need to be included.

Esports South Africa, and other games