Showing posts with label Meetings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meetings. Show all posts

Wednesday, 23 October 2024

Nominations are needed for 2024 AGM.

Colin Webster is the current MSSA president, and past IESF president. Only when there is an active committee are the rights of all athletes protected.

Mind Sports South Africa's elections are fast approaching. MSSA is the only South African national federation that allows an athlete to be elected onto its Board as well as allowing a fast, and direct, path for administrators while cutting out 'dead-men's shoes'.

All elections are done on a staggered basis. The system of doing the elections on a staggered basis allows MSSA to have a greater degree of stability as the entire Management Board is not able to be elected at any one time which preserves MSSA's continuity and knowledge base.

An interesting aspect of the 2024 Annual General Meeting is that there are 5 positions that are available for election on the Executive and Management Board. Where positions are vacant, the newly elected Board will co-opt Registered Players to the position. A co-opted Registered Player only serves out one year in the position in which he/she is co-opted and resigns prior to the General Meeting.

As everyone already knows, the MSSA is a democratic organisation, where only decisions of the committee that are enforced, and never the will of any one individual.

All athletes are reminded that only affiliated clubs may nominate players who are registered and fully-paid-up for positions on any of the committee.
  • A member club nominates the Registered Player on the prescribed form, and
  • The Nomination Form has been submitted to MSSA on or before 1 November 2024, and
  • The Registered Player is fully-paid-up for the 2024/2025 year as at the date of nomination, and
  • The club nominating the Registered Player has paid its affiliation fees for the 2024/2025 season on or before 1 November 2025.
However it should be noted that only persons who meet the following criteria may be elected on to the Management Board:
  1. Have served a full term on the Management Board, or
  2. Have served a full term as Provincial Director, or
  3. Have served two full terms as Regional Director, or
  4. Have served two full terms on a Board of Control, or
  5. Have earned at least ten (10) Protea caps, or
  6. Have served three years on the club committee of which they are currently a member.
  7. Be resident in South Africa for at least 186 days of the Calendar Year. Should such terms of residency not be met, such Elected Member shall be automatically removed and such position be declared vacant, and
  8. Only persons who have completed a full term on the Management Board may stand for the position of President.
The positions up for election are (3 year terms):
  1. President
  2. One Executive Officers
  3. Women's Desk
  4. Card-Gaming Representative
  5. National School's Director (This position must be held by an Educator)
The following Provincial Directorships are also available (2 year terms):
  1. Eastern Cape
  2. Free State
  3. Gauteng
  4. KwaZulu Natal
  5. Limpopo
  6. Mpumalanga
  7. Northern Cape
  8. North West
  9. Western Cape
All the following 56 Regional Directorships are also available for election (1 year term).

Thus the 2024 elections will be more than interesting.

There is no doubt that the committee has worked well over the past number of years, and it will indeed be interesting to again see democracy at work.

A breakdown of the positions on the Executive Committee and Management Board are as follows:

ELECTION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
PRESIDENT:To be elected in 2024 - Incumbent Colin Webster (Old Edwardian Mind Sports Club)
VICE PRESIDENTTo be elected in 2026- Incumbent Johan Van Breda (ZAG Academy)
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS (4 out of 5 available positions)1 x to be elected in 2024
2 x to be elected in 2025
2 x to be elected in 2026 - 1 incumbent Letladi Lekolwane (Tuks Esports)
GENERAL SECRETARYTo be elected in 2025
ELECTION OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD
WOMENS’ DESK:To be elected in 2024
BOARD-GAMING REPRESENTATIVE:To be elected in 2025
CARD-GAMING REPRESENTATIVE:To be elected in 2024
COMPUTER:-GAMING REPRESSENTATIVE:To be elected in 2026 - Incumbent Simon Zandstra (ZAG Academy)
FIGURE-GAMING REPRESENTATIVE:To be elected in 2026 - Incumbent Terence Allwright (Old Edwardian Mind Sports Club)
NATIONAL SCHOOLS DIRECTOR:To be elected in 2024
LEGAL ADVISORTo be elected in 2025
PLAYERS’ REPRESENTATIVETo be elected in 2026 - Incumbent Armand van der Colf (TuksEsports)
STUDENTS REPRESENTATIVETo be elected in 2026 - Incumbent Saudah Baimia (Knights Mind Sports Club)
DISABLED GAMER'S REPRESENTATIVETo be elected in 2026- Incumbent Sjoert Zandstra (ZAG Academy)

Additional reading:

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Saturday, 30 October 2021

Reminder: Nominations required by 1 November 2021.

Amanda Kwaza (MSSA President) will oversee major changes  to MSSA's Board with the possibility of 11 new Board members being voted in.

Only Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) runs accredited, and official, regional, provincial, and national championships and leagues.

Any event not accredited by MSSA is essentially a flawed event as not only does it not have any accreditation, but it is not able to ensure the metal and physical health of the participants.
Thus serving on Mind Sports South Africa's Management Board is not for the faint-hearted as there are many tough, and some unpopular, decisions to be made on a continuous basis.

It is during these times when Board members have to stand up and be counted, times when you know that it is the right decision, albeit not a popular one. It all comes down to ethics.

Even bearing all the above in mind, the work is done gleefully by a core of volunteers who seek no reward other than seeing the various disciplines and games grow, and watch the athletes attain their full potential.

Every club may nominate athletes for the Board, and since retiring officers are not automatically made eligible for re-election, even retiring officers need to be nominated by a member club in good standing, if the following criteria are met:

  • A member club has nominated the Registered Player on the prescribed form, and
  • The Nomination Form has been submitted to MSSA on or before 1 November 2021, and
  • A Letter of Undertaking has been submitted by the nominee, and
  • The Registered Player is fully-paid-up for the 2021/2022 year as at the date of nomination, and
  • The club nominating the Registered Player has paid its affiliation fees for the 2021/2022 season on or before 1 November 2021.

However it should be noted that only athletes who meet the following criteria may be elected on to the Management Board:

  • Have served a full term on the Management Board, or
  • Have served a full term as Provincial Director (2 year terms), or
  • Have served two full terms as Regional Director (1 year term), or
  • Have served two full terms on a Board of Control (1 year term), or
  • Have earned at least ten (10) Protea caps, or
  • Have served three years on the club committee of which they are currently a member.
To stand for the position of president, the nominee shall have served a full term on the Board.

All elections are done on a staggered basis, so, although the Management Board consists of 16 members, only 11 positions may be contested at the 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM). The system of doing the elections on a staggered basis allows MSSA to have a greater degree of stability as the entire Management Board is not able to be elected at any one time which preserves MSSA's continuity and knowledge base.

The positions available on MSSA's Management Board are all 3 year terms and are:
  • President
  • Four Executive Officers
  • Disabled Gamers' Representative
  • Computer Gaming Representitive
  • Disabled Gamers’ Representative
  • Card Gaming Representative
  • Board Gaming Representative
  • Wargaming Representative
Also read:
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Tuesday, 29 June 2021

The deadline is 1 November 2021.

 

Amanda Kwaza (MSSA President) will oversee major changes  to MSSA's Board with the possibility of 11 new Board members being voted in.

Only Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) runs accredited, and official, regional, provincial, and national championships and leagues.

Any event not accredited by MSSA is essentially a flawed event as not only does it not have any accreditation, but it is not able to ensure the metal and physical health of the participants.
Thus serving on Mind Sports South Africa's Management Board is not for the faint-hearted as there are many tough, and some unpopular, decisions to be made on a continuous basis.

It is during these times when Board members have to stand up and be counted, times when you know that it is the right decision, albeit not a popular one. It all comes down to ethics.

Even bearing all the above in mind, the work is done gleefully by a core of volunteers who seek no reward other than seeing the various disciplines and games grow, and watch the athletes attain their full potential.

Every club may nominate athletes for the Board, and since retiring officers are not automatically made eligible for re-election, even retiring officers need to be nominated by a member club in good standing, if the following criteria are met:
  • A member club has nominated the Registered Player on the prescribed form, and
  • The Nomination Form has been submitted to MSSA on or before 1 November 2021, and
  • A Letter of Undertaking has been submitted by the nominee, and
  • The Registered Player is fully-paid-up for the 2021/2022 year as at the date of nomination, and
  • The club nominating the Registered Player has paid its affiliation fees for the 2021/2022 season on or before 1 November 2021.
However it should be noted that only athletes who meet the following criteria may be elected on to the Management Board:
  • Have served a full term on the Management Board, or
  • Have served a full term as Provincial Director (2 year terms), or
  • Have served two full terms as Regional Director (1 year term), or
  • Have served two full terms on a Board of Control (1 year term), or
  • Have earned at least ten (10) Protea caps, or
  • Have served three years on the club committee of which they are currently a member.
All elections are done on a staggered basis, so, although the Management Board consists of 16 members, only 11 positions may be contested at the 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM). The system of doing the elections on a staggered basis allows MSSA to have a greater degree of stability as the entire Management Board is not able to be elected at any one time which preserves MSSA's continuity and knowledge base.

The positions available on MSSA's Management Board are all 3 year terms and are:
  • President
  • Four Executive Officers
  • Disabled Gamers' Representative
  • Legal Advisor (only a qualified lawyer may hold this position)
  • Computer Gaming Representitive
  • Disabled Gamers’ Representative
  • Card Gaming Representative
  • Board Gaming Representative

Also read:

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Monday, 16 November 2020

'Tis the season....

In a democratic organization presidents come-and-go, but the institution, if properly founded, endures.

In December 2020 South African esports athletes will see both International Esports Federation (IESF) and Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) hold their annual general meetings. 

Under South Africa's own Colin Webster (who served on IESF's Board from 2013 to 2018, and as IESF President from 2018 to 2020), IESF has become more-and-more democratic. In comparison to IESF's Statutes in 2009, IESF today is a totally different organization where all member national federations are able to have their say.

Mind Sports South Africa,, which was founded in 1985, was fortunate enough to have democratic principles enshrined in its constitution right from the beginning. Thus in MSSA member clubs are afforded the opportunity to guide the future of MSSA. In MSSA, member clubs have a representative vote, which allows true majority rule. With every member club able to propose office-bearers, every member club is a dynamic participant in the success of MSSA.

At both IESF's and MSSA's 2020 annual general meetings there are a number of elections taking place.

No matter who wins the elections, such elections are a triumph of democracy and procedure. Of course there are always winners and losers, but as long as the majority's choice triumphs, no matter how painful it is to the losing side, the institution itself is strengthened. 

It is important for all to respect the outcome, and to work in a positive manner with those elected into office. As long as the institution's constitution is robust, and enforces good governance - as does MSSA's, there is nothing to fear.

Properly thought out constitutions prevent capture, encourage gender equity, and promote good governance on every level. Certainly MSSA's constitution passes such test, and all member clubs can equally enjoy the fruit of such association.

Also read:

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