Further enforcing good governance.

 

Past president Simphiwe Maphumulo (2010 - 2013) holds a position of Hon. Vice-President.

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

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is aware of the need, and in 2018 altered its Connstitution to bring one such person/s 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.

A full list of MSSA's past presidents is as follows:

Date	Name	Protea Colours
1985 - 2013	Colin Webster	Wargames*, Boardgames, Esports
2013 - 2016	Simphiwe Maphumulo	Boardgames*
2016 - 2017	Morizane Boyes (resigned)	Esports
2017 - 2018	Amanda Kwaza	Boardgames, Esports
2018 - 2021	Amanda Kwaza	Boardgames, Esports

*dennotes those persons who have won a World championships while playing for South Africa in a Protea team.

MSSA elections: Colin Webster enters the race for the presidency.

Colin Webster at the IeSF's 7th World Championships

Having been a founder of Mind Sports South Africa, Colin has seen it all.

From the very beginning when Mind Sports was not an accredited Sport, through to when MSSA was accepted as a sport until it became the body that it become today.

There is a great deal of speculation that Colin only stood down as President in 2013 as to not fall foul of the SASCOC rule that forbids a president of a national federation from holding such office for more than ten years on a continuous basis.

"It is true that I stood down in order to comply with the rules, but that was not the only reason!". remarked Colin Webster.

It seems as though one of the other reasons was to give others a chance at running the organisation.

Colin's great belief is that MSSA is a vehicle in which those administrating it take their instructions from the passengers. The passengers are the member clubs.

Colin too, only has good things to say about Simphiwe Maphumulo.

"Simphiwe came in at a difficult time, rose to the challenge, and steered MSSA safely through some pretty turbulent times".

However, under Colin's presidency (2005 to 2013), the following was achieved:

• MSSA was a founding member of SASCOC,
• eSports became recognised as a sport,
• MSSA sent teams to world championships every year,
• MSSA was a founder member of the Confederation for African eSport,
• MSSA hosted the African Continental Championships in 2008, 
• MSSA affiliated to IeSF, and
• MSSA affiliated to IeSMoD.

Of course there are those  that do not agree with Colin. Some have been quite malicious in their postings, while  the others have clearly not understood where MSSA is going and for what it stands.

Colin is nominated by the Old Edwardian Wargames Club.

Rumour has it...

Simphiwe Maphumulo playing a game of Morabaraba

With MSSA's Annual General Meeting (AGM) fast approaching, it is clear that there are a number of people willing to stand for positions to make MSSA even better.

From conversation held, and heard, in the corridors of power, it is rumoured that Simphiwe Maphumulo (MSSA's president) is not looking to do another term.

It was overheard that Simphiwe wants to step down from the Presidency in order to concentrate on the well-being of board games.

While that is a blow to the Presidency, it is certainly a gain for board games.

When looking back, every member, and Registered Player, will take pride in what Simphiwe achieved in his term.

His achievements include:

Simphiwe Maphumulo dealing with SABC TV

• Overhauling the Management Board in terms of how meetings were conducted,
• Devolving a greater amount of authority to various Boards of Control,
• Creating an even greater culture of responsibility among the Chairmen of the Boards of Control, 
• Maintaining MSSA's position of ethical correctness when dealing with SASCOC, and
• Ensuring that MSSA;s vision apropos the development of all gaming was maintained. 

When you consider that Simphiwe did all that he did as a non-paid volunteer, I am sure that all will realise his commitment to gaming.

The big question is, though, who will replace him. These are big shoes to fill!

IeSF ranks MSSA 5th for administration

IeSF have just sent out their rankings  of federations in terms of good governance and administration.

According to such rankings, South Africa's MSSA is ranked fifth in the world.

However, MSSA's President, Simphiwe Maphumulo, is more than satisfied with the ranking. The ranking shows MSSA's competitiveness within the international community, as well as its ability to deliver at home.

MSSA is competitive in everything that it does. From development of the games and players through to the the hosting of events, selection of teams and even its own administration.

Thus the General Secretary sees no reason why MSSA should not be able to attain a higher ranking.

Of course it does depend on every elected office-bearer doing their part.

Nevertheless, fifth is a good result, and a firm and solid foundation upon which to build.

The top ten countries are:

	Country
1	Azerbaijan
2	Korea (South)
3	China
4	Russia
5	South Africa
6	Romania
7	Philippines
8	Serbia
9	Georgia
10	Switzerland

SUPER LEAGUE – update 12 July 2016

Simphiwe Maphumulo (MSSA President) and Colin Webster

The Super League is an opportunity for wargamers, in the Senior Section, to battle each other for the honour to be crowned as the best player throughout the season. The top three players shall be awarded medals at the South African National Championships.

Those players that have qualified to participate in the National Team Trials, for the Senior Team, in the current and previous season (1 January to 31 December) are automatically entered into such league.

Points are awarded at provincial and national championships.

At provincial championships points are awarded as follows:

10 points for a win, 9 points for second, 8 points for third, 7 points for fourth, 6 points for fifth, 5 points for sixth, 4 points for seventh, 3 points for eighth, 2 points for ninth, 1 point for tenth. Each participating player who finishes after 10th position in a Provincial event shall also earn 1 point.

Participating players that umpire a Provincial Championship shall automatically receive 5 points.

At national championships points are awarded as follows:

20 points for a win, 19 points for second, 18 points for third, 17 points for fourth, 16 points for fifth, 15 points for sixth, 14 points for seventh, 13 points for eighth, 12 points for ninth, 11 points for tenth, 10 points for eleventh, 9 points for twelfth, 8 points for thirteenth, 7 points for fourteenth, 6 points for fifteenth, 5 points for sixteenth, 4 points for seventeenth, 3 points for eighteenth, 2 points for nineteenth, and 1 point for twentieth. Each participating player who finishes after 20th position in a National event shall also earn 1 point.

Participating players that umpire a National Championship shall automatically receive 10 points.

Current standings (as 12 July 2016):

Name	Club	total
Colin Webster	OE	25
Ewan Retief	OE	20
Terence Allright	OE	15
Jason Batzofin	STJ	10
Sean Barry	RP	9
Jacques Getzner	KMSC	9
Elishia Retief	OE	8

With the standings so close it is any ones call as to who will top the table in December. There are still four opportunities for players to participate this year:

Western Cape: 26 and 27 August

Eastern Cape: 24 and 25 September

Limpopo: 29 and 30 October

Nationals: 3 and 4 December

The next opportunity for players to better their standings is at Western Cape on the 26th and 27th of August.

Dust off you dice, sharpen your swords, spears, arrows and all other spiky things and get to the next tournament!

Rumour has it...

Simphiwe Maphumulo - President, Mind Sports South  Africa

Niina Kahela (Finland) with Morizane Boyes

Rumour has it that MSSA's President, Simphiwe Maphumulo, may not be standing for another term of office.

If that is the case, then who takes over?

Well, that will  be decided at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 4 December 2016.

The truth is that any fully-paid-up Registered Player may be nominated by a fully-paid-up member club.

Member clubs then use their votes to decide who is elected.

School clubs get one (1) vote for every ten members, and all other clubs get one (1) vote for every five members.

It would not be impossible to see Colin Webster again voted into the position. The clause inn the SASCOC MOI only prohibits (according to Tubby Reddy) a person from holding the position of President for more than ten consecutive years.

However, there may be better candidates in the wings.

Certainly Morizane Boyes is a good example of being  a good candidate.
Morizane joined the Management Board in 2013 as the person in charge of the Women's Desk.

While holding such position, Morizane  became accredited as MSSA's first female National umpire, and the world's first female international umpire.

Morizane has too put in countless hours promoting gaming among females,  and it is largely due to Morizane's efforts that MSSA's Protea Team for FIFA comprises a female gamer (Joline Bico).

However, MSSA will not know who all the 'runners and riders' are until 1 November 2016.

So, if you are looking at holding down SA's top job in gaming, talk to your club.

Democracy is exciting stuff!

Some questions about Mind Sports South Africa

Stephen Fowler de Witt has raised three questions apropos  the running of Mind Sports South Africa.

In order to create a greater awareness among gamers, the questions are answered here, 

Stephen Fowler de Witt's questions are in red, and MSSA's answers in red. 

Question 1: How many members is currently affiliated with MSSA? From that total amount of members. How many actually participate in E-sports? (I would like to know the number because the MSSA has told me before that we can join and change it from within. For us to have a majority vote, we would need the majority number of members. So it is important that this number is accurate).

Answer:

To fully understand the way in which MSSA operates, it is important to  understand the structure of MSSA.

Registered players are affiliated to clubs. Clubs are then affiliated to MSSA.

It is the club that is  the member of MSSA.

In order to operate a club, a club must have at least three Registered Players to be a legal entity. Some clubs affiliated to MSSA have over 200 registered players.

In total, there are 53 clubs  affiliated to MSSA throughout South Africa.

Since MSSA is a democratic institution, it  is important to note that all decisions made at every level are done through voting, and the majority decision always holds sway.

Question 2: Where is the current president of the MSSA? We never hear from him. Ever. Would like to communicate with him as well.

Simphiwe Maphumulo

Simphiwe Maphumulo was  elected as  the  President of Mind Sports  South Africa in December 2013. Simphiwe's term of  office comes  to  an end in December 2016 when new elections for such shall be held.

Simphiwe has served with distinction during his term of office and has had to  deal with many issues in his  portfolio.

It is not true that gamers have not heard from him. All press releases  issued are first approved  by the President before being issued by MSSA.

For people to contact the  President, they are welcome to do so by writing to MSSA's office.

Maryke Kennard receiving her Protea Colours from Ryan Boyes

Question 3: Who currently runs the E-sport sector within the MSSA? Would we be able to replace him once we all join?

The current Chairman of the eSports Board of Control is Ryan Boyes.

As stated many times previously, all positions are voted upon at the Annual General Meeting every December.

Positions  on the Management Board are all voluntary (in  other words, there is  no pay) and  are for a period of three years.

The positions available at the 2016 Annual General Meeting may be found on http://esportscommentator.blogspot.co.za/2016/03/quite-few-posts-up-for-election-at.html

As you will  no doubt notice, MSSA has publicised the positions since March 2016 so that everybody is aware of such.
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.

Quite a few posts up for election at MSSA's 2016 Annual General Meeting

Simphiwe Maphumulo - MSSA's President since December 2013

There is no doubt that the 2016 MSSA Annual General Meeting to be held in December 2016 will be an exciting affair.

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

The positions up for  election are:

1. President
2. 1st  Vice-President (in charge  of development)
3. 2nd vice-president (in charge of umpiring)
4. Board gaming representative
5. Card gaming representative
6. eSports representative
7. National  Schools Director
8. Women's desk
9. Legal adviser
10. Representative for gamers who are differently abled
11. General Secretary

Positions not eligible for election in 2016 are:

1. 3rd Vice President (in charge of events)
2. Figure gaming representative
3. Player's representative

Thus the 2016 elections will be more than interesting.

Never before have so many positions become available at the same time.

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.

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 gaming in South Africa.

Who will go, and who will stay, that is indeed the question.

St Andrews learner earns CoJ Colours for FIFA '15

Simphiwe Maphumulo (MSSA president) awarding CoJ Regional Colours to Blair Hamberger

The popular Electronic Arts title, FIFA '15, was played at the 2015 MWEB City of Johannesburg Regional Championships which were held at the Old Edwardian Society in Lower Houghton, in Johannesburg on the 17th of October 2015.

The Regional championships are seen as the first step towards entering the mainstream of competitive gaming. the athletes that enter such championships can  not only win medals, but can also earn Regional Colours as well as a place in the annual National Team Trials at which the official Protea Team is selected.

At her first ever MSSA championship, Blair Hamberger (of St Andrews) went on to fight her way into first place in the women's section.

A delighted Blair thus  received her City of Johannesburg Regional Colours and gold medal from MSSA President, Simphiwe Maphumulo.

Simphiwe wins again!

Simphiwe Maphumulo contemplating Johannes Makau's move

It was, as usual, an honour to see Simphiwe Maphumulo in action at the 2015 MWEB City of Johannesburg Regional Championships which were held at the Old Edwardian Society in Lower Houghton, in Johannesburg on the 17th of October 2015.

In a championship game of Morabaraba, the rules dictate that each player plays six games against his/her opponent. Each player moves first in three of the games.

Simphiwe showed just how  good he is. He literally demolished his opponents and only lost one game out of the 24 that he played during the day.

As a result Simphiwe finished in first place, earned his Regional Colours as well as earned his place in the 2016 National Team Trials.

The results for the Mens section are:

1. Simphiwe Maphumulo - Zola Draughts Club, Soweto
2. Johannes Makua - All Stars Gaming Club, Emalahleni
3. Sicelo Mabatha - Nageng Primary School - Vosloorus

Positions aplenty at the 2014 MSSA Annual General Meeting

Please note that the end of the year is rushing down upon us. As such there is a huge amount of administrative work to finish

before the Annual General Meeting to be held on 7 December 2014.

The AGM will no doubt be an interesting affair with Mr Simphiwe Maphumulo delivering his first annual report.

Much has been achieved this year, and much more is still to be done.

Of course little would have been achieved without the generous sponsorship from MWEB.

An interesting aspect of the 2014 Annual general meeting is that there are 10 positions that are available for election on the Management Board. This means that the majority of the positions are available which could mean that the MSSA may present a very different committee to what it has done in the past.

As everyone already knows, the MSSA is a democratic concern, where it is the decision of the committee that are enforced, and not the will of any one individual.

The 2014 elections may thus prove to be a watershed for all of the disciplines within the MSSA.

All gamers are reminded that only affiliated clubs may nominate players who are registered and fully-paid-up for positions on any of the committee, except for the Player's Representative.

Management Board: (3 year terms)

• Vice-President in charge of development
• Vice-President in charge of umpiring
• Vice-President in charge of events
• Board Gaming Representative
• Card Gaming Representative
• National Schools Director
• Board Gaming Representative
• Legal Advisor 
• Disabled Gamer's Representative

Please remember that a new Player's Representative also needs to be elected, but that is done by the gamers directly in terms of the rules. The Player's Representative has to be a player who has either Protea or National Colours and has officially represented South Africa in an international event and is under the age of 30 years old at the date of election. Member clubs do not vote for this position. Every player who is fully-paid-up may vote for this position.

Boards of Control: (1 year terms)

• Board gaming
• Card gaming
• eSports
• Figure gaming
• Schools
• Disabled

Provincial Directors: (2 year terms)

• All but Free State and Mpumulanga.

Regional Directors: (1 year term)

• All

If you are interested in standing for any of the top nine positions, you need to be at least 18 years old at the date of nomination, and you need to be nominated by a member club.

Nominations must be submitted by 28 October 2014.

Registered Players who are nominated must be fully-paid-up at the date of nomination and the date of election.

Results: MSSA's MWEB 2014 Mpumalanga LAN Championships - 24 & 25 May 2014

Once again HTS Witbank hosted the MSSA's MWEB Mpumalanga

However the growth in the number of gamers at the championships would not have been possible without the herculean efforts of Morizane Boyes, Bianca Henning, and Louis Brown.

The support being given by the schools is proving to be the back-bone of the MSSA  and is the most important part of the MSSA's development programmes.

Championships. The Championships were played on the weekend on 24 & 25 May 2014 and experienced solid growth among all sectors. Not only was there a general increase in the number of gamers present, and the number of games that were played, but there too was an increase in the number of female competitors.

There was no less than a seven fold increase in the number of females competing with  more females playing the game of Tekken Tag Tournament II© than males. Obviously the emphasis that the MSSA is putting on the development of females in gaming is starting to bear fruit. It is hoped that the 2015 championships will see even more female gamers especially now that the MSSA makes provision (in accordance with IeSF rules) to hold competitions in all titles for both female and male teams and/or players.

The support given by MWEB again proved to be invaluable to the MSSA, and as a result of such support members were able to enjoy the benefits of participating in an official LAN championship. It is through the official championships that gamers are able to qualify for colours and for national team trials. In other words, the official championships form part of a year year  long qualification process for gamers to  prove their worth in order to be selected to finally, and officially, represent South Africa in international competition.

Six member clubs from two provinces contested the championships.

At the championships, the Tuks Mindsport Club again dominated the League of Legends and Dota 2 events. However, the rest of the events were divided up among the Mpumalanga based clubs.

Special mention must be made of Kyle Turnbull who pulled out a surprise win over veteran Abubakar 'Mikkael' Ebrahiem at the 2013 MWEB Mpumalanga Championships. Kyle went on to further cement his dominance in the game of FIFA '14© by trouncing all opponents at the 2013 MWEB SA National Championships. Kyle confirmed his mastery of the game at the Mpumalanga Championships by once again winning all of his games at the Provincial Championships to automatically earn himself Provincial Colours.

Nadine Swart also deserves special mention. The diminutive Nadine totally dominated the game of Tekken Tag tournament II©. Her standard of play was indeed most impressive and Nadine lead the championship from start to finish. In fact, there are many of the MSSA officials who strongly believe that Nadine may just have a chance of earning herself a place in the 2014 Protea Team that will go to Baku, Azerbijan in November this year.

Only time will tell!

The winners of the different titles are:

BOARD GAMES

Morabaraba

Female – Premier				Male – Premier
Pos	Team	Club		Pos	Team	Club
1	Nomfundo Moyo	HTS Witbank		1	Simphiwe Maphumulo	Zola Checkers Club

eSPORTS

Call of Duty: Ghosts

Male – Premier (PC)
Pos	Team	Club
1	TFR	All Stars

Male – Premier (PS3)
Pos	Team	Club
1	Ash Meltdown	HTS Witbank

Male – Premier (XBox)
Pos	Team	Club
1	ELECTRA	HTS Witbank

COUNTERSTRIKE GO

Male – Premier
Pos	Team	Club
1	Delta 5 Gaming	All Stars

Dota 2

Male – Premier
Pos	Team	Club
1	TMSC Sabotage	Tuks Mindsport Club

Male – Schools
Pos	Team	Club
1	Grey Warders	HTS Witbank

FIFA '14

Male – Premier (PS3)
Pos	Name	Club
1	Kyle Turnbull	HTS Witbank

Male – Schools (PS3)
Pos	Name	Club
1	Sibusiso Mathizerd	Hoerskool Generaal Hertzog

Male – Premier (XBOX)
Pos	Name	Club
tie 1	Bomganjala Zwane Setlabocha Pudi	HTS Witbank

Male – Schools (PS3)
Pos	Name	Club
1	Armand du Preez	Hoerskool Generaal Hertzog

League of legends

Male – Premier
Pos	Team	Club
1	Senior Team	Tuks Mind Sports Club

OSU

Female – Premier				Male – Premier
Pos	Team	Club		Pos	Team	Club
1	Lucille Brown	HGH		1	Lejend Muir	All Stars

StarCraft 2

Female – Premier				Male – Premier
Pos	Team	Club		Pos	Team	Club
1	Morizane Boyes	All Stars		1	Jaco Botha	HTS Witbank

Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Female – Premier				Male – Premier
Pos	Team	Club		Pos	Team	Club
1	Nadine Swart	HTS Witbank		tie 1	Legend Muir Andrè Potgieter	All Stars HTS Witbank

Female – Under 24
Pos	Team	Club
1	Riana du Plessis	All Stars

Female – Schools				Male – Premier
Pos	Team	Club		Pos	Team	Club
tie 1	Nadia Nasson Zanele Kanye	HTS Witbank HTS Witbank		1	Martin van Niekerk	HTS Witbank

FIGURE GAMES

Ancients

Female – Premier				Male – Premier
Pos	Team	Club		Pos	Team	Club
1	Elisha Retief	Old Edwardian Wargames Club		1	Donald Mullany	Old Edwardian Wargames Club

In total, 29 gamers earned the right to wear Provincial Colours. A further 10 students were awarded Student provincial Colours and 12 learners were awarded High School Provincial Colours. All those that were awarded the various Provincial Colours were immediately given both their certificates and a high quality 195gsm golf shirt to indicate that they had received such colours.

The MWEB championships too saw a total of 95 gamers qualify for National Team Trials. With so many gamers qualifying for trials, there is no doubt that the MSSA will have sufficient teams in order to select teams to represent South Africa.

Photographs can be found on https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152856369719008.1073741880.146018324007&type=3