Meet the umpire - 2021 Gauteng Online Championships.

Jessie Joubert (ZAG Academy) has had a long association with Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA).

Having started as a player while at Rondebosch High School in Cape Town, Jessie moved seemingly effortlessly up the ranks t0 be inducted into the 2016 Protea Team that participated in IESF's 8th World Championships that was held in Jakarta.

Being ever mindful of the importance to give back in order to further promote the sport, Jessie became an accredited umpire in 2018. Further pursuing his interests in umpiring, Jessie went on to successfully complete IESF's International Referee Certification.

Today, 29 May 2021, MSSA is indeed fortunate to have Jessie umpire its annual Gauteng Online Championships.

Under Jessie's careful watch, the championship is inn good hands.

Also read:

• Thomas Brown to referee at WCA
• Why attend a MSSA umpiring course?
• MSSA names its candidate for IESF's International Referee Workshop.
• Calendar of  Events: 2021

Advantages of affiliation: IeSF's Athlete's Commission

Madelaine Leander - Sweden's member  on IeSF's Athlete's Commission

In Advantages of affiliation we looked at the advantages of being affiliated to MSSA, however now we will look at the advantages of being affiliate to the International eSports Federation (IeSF).

The International eSports Federation has the responsibility and duty to manage and to monitor the everyday running of eSports, including for those on the programme, the practical organisation of events during the Games. IeSF also undertakes to supervise the development of athletes at every level. 

IeSF also undertakes to govern esports at world level and ensure the promotion and development of esports. As such IeSF monitors the everyday administration of esports and guarantees the regular organisation of competitions as well as respect for the rules of fair play.

Thus IeSF, as a non-profit organisation, finds itself in the best possible position to cater for the welfare and protection of the athlete.

Organisations run by private companies will always have, as their first priority, the profit of the organisation. Welfare and development of the athlete will  always be secondary, if that.

Thus, the Athlete's  Commission, as set up by IeSF, which is the first such body for eSports, is the only true organisation which is able to protect  the athlete.

IeSF set up its Athlete's Commission at the WCA's sponsored IeSF's Summit held in Shanghai on 31 July 2016.

Since then there has been a flurry of activity from profit making ventures trying to emulate IeSF.

The difference is, IeSF as a non profit body will outlast them all.

In a class of her own.

Kath Cossi

Kath receiving her  official accreditation

Kath (behind the gamers) refereeing

At the recent IeSF National Qualifiers held by CBDEL in August, in Brazil, Kath Cossi refereed the entire event.

The event was held  over  three days, and, although  Kath was there for all three days, she showed no signs  of tiring whatsoever.

Kath is the only female in the southern hemisphere who is currently an IeSF accredited referee.

Having earned her accreditation in May 2016 at the WCA sponsored event, Kath has remained fully committed to promoting esports at every level.

However, do not think for one moment that petite Kath is a pushover. Kath is a hard task-master and none of the gamers dare contest her decisions.

Jason Batzofin is on IeSF's Athlete's Commission

Koen Hubert, Young Ho Lee, Mr Jun (President of IeSF), Jason Batzofin, and Leonardo Ribas

At the prestigious Global eSports Summit hosted by both WCA and IeSF, IeSF announced the formation of its Athlete’s Commission.

The Commission mirrors the best practices of all sporting codes that are already members of the IOC, and is designed to help protect and care for all athletes within eSports by giving them a voice as previously undreamed of.

To ‘get the ball rolling’, IeSF has hand-picked the founders of such commission, while in future, the candidates shall be elected at IeSF World Championships.

The Athlete’s Commission shall too be represented on IeSF’s Management Board which will allow the eSports athletes a direct say inn how eSports is governed.

South Africa should thus be extremely proud that there is a South African who is one of the founder members of the Commission.

Such South African is none other than Jason Batzofin, who is also MSSA’s Player Representative.

Jason Batzofin has earned his Protea Colours in both 20!5 and 20!6 and has performed with distinction on MSSA’s Management Board.

The Athletes that serve alongside Jason on the Commission are also giants in the field of eSports, being:

• Young Ho Lee (South Korea)
• Leonardo Ribas (Brazil)
• Koen Hubert (Netherlands)
• Madelaine Leander (Sweden)

To assist the fledgling committee, IeSF has retained the services of five time Olympian, Charmaine Crooks.

There is no doubt that the commission shall meet its objectives and delver a safer environment to all eSport athletes.

120 Officials from e-Sports and Sports Industries to Attend Global e-Sports Executive Summit Shanghai 2016

120 officials from e-sports and sports industries will participate in the Global e-Sports Executive Summit,which will be held by International e-Sports Federation (IeSF) in Shanghai, China for 2 days, from July 30^th to July 31^st.

The goal and vision of the summit is to share ideas between key stakeholders in different e-Sports industries to align understandings and ensure e-sport develops in the right direction and manner. Also the summit will involve the participation of the international sport society to openly discuss the potentials of e-Sports and its synergies it can produce together with traditional Sports.

Key stakeholders in diverse e-sports industries will be attending the summit. Games related companies, such as Blizzard Entertainment, Wargaming, Smilegate, Mail.Ru, Tencent Games, and Garena. Professional e-sports teams from NAVI and FCShalke04 have also decided to participate in such event. e-Sports peripheral companies such as Sony Interactive Entertainment and Logitech, together with live streaming companies from Twitch, SPOTV, LeSports, and sport media from SinaSports, Daily Dot, The Score will also attend the summit.

The summit will also involve the presence of key roleplayers within the international sports society. Charmaine Crooks, the 1984 LA Olympic silver medalist who was elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) athlete’s commissions, and an executive board member of Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), together with Vlad Marinescu, former SportsAccord general director, and Patrick Nally, who is regarded as father of sports marketing and the CEO of West Nally, will attend as a panel member of panel discussion during the summit.

The agendas of panel discussion will be;

• e-sports, road to official sports
• good causes, universal value, and social responsibility in e-sports,
• athlete welfare
• clean e-sports environment
• -what is the platform for the next generation e-Sports and how it can change your lives, will be discussed during the summit on July 31^st

“We expect the Global e-Sports Executive Summit will be the place where various e-sports and sports officials could speak together on the synergy of e-sports and traditional sports. IeSF plans to host the summit as an annual event for e-sports partners to discuss e-sports development and have relationships with international sports society. We request for all e-sports partners, fans and traditional sports officials who are interested in e-sports for your continuous interests and support,” said Byung Hun Jun, President of IeSF.

END.

<Attachment> Agenda and Panel list of Panel Discussion on Global e-Sports Executive Summit

Agenda	Panel List
eSports, Road to Official Sports	Tim Reichert (FCShalke04), Colin Webster (IeSF), Vlad Marinescu (Rsportz), Jay Shin (Smilegate), Yanfei Li (WCA)
Good causes, universal value, and social responsibility in e-sports	David Yarnton (Gfinity), Magnus Jonsson (IeSF), Akihito Furusawa (Japan e-Sports Federation), Yevhen Zolotarov (NAVI), Charmaine Crooks (NGU Consultants), Pavel Varabei (Wargaming)
Athlete welfare	Spike Laurie (ESL), Alex Lim (IeSF), Charmaine Crooks (NGU Consultants) Leonardo Ribas ( Brazil, eSports athlete)
Clean e-sports environment	Kevin Morris (Daily Dot), Anna Rozwandowicz (ESIC), Tim Reichert (FCShalke04), Sean Conroy (Genius Sports), Colin Webster (IeSF), Patrick Nally (West Nally)
What is the future platform for e-Sports and how it can change your lives	Eddy Lim (IeSF), Tom Keefer (US e-Sports Federation), Patrick Nally (West Nally), Brian So (World Mobile Games Inc.)

WCA 2016 promotes e-sports in China

South Africa's Thomas Brown opening the WCA2016

The World Cyber Arena 2016 (WCA2016) China and APAC Pro Qualifiers Season 1 (S1) finals took place at the China National Tennis Center in Beijing on May 21.

Fifty-seven players in teams from China, Australia, South Korea, Malaysia and Philippines won in the six official games, including CS:GO, Hearthstone, Dota II, StarCraftII, Warcraft 3, and COS, have advanced to WCA2016 global finals that will be held in Yinchuan, capital of northwestern China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region this December.

The event was opened by Thomas Brown (from All Stars Club, Witbank, South Africa) who is the first South African to referee an international eSports event on foreign soil.

The WCA, held by Yinchuan government and Yinchuan International Game Investment Co Ltd, is an international e-sports event that has been held thrice. Under the slogan "Hero's Arena, Player's Dreamland", it is committed to promoting the developments of e-sports events and the sector and attracting more people to participate in e-sports.

China's e-sports sector has boomed in recent years under positive policy and social environment. The number of e-sports users has reached 124 million and the output value of the e-sports sector has reached 27 billion yuan by the end of 2015, and the overall market of e-sports in China is expected to exceed 50 billion yuan in the future, according to the 2015 China e-sports Game Analysis Report released by iResearch, a Chinese consultancy company.

According to WCA spokesman Li Yanfei, the E-Sports industry has a large amount of enthusiastic young fans that should not be underestimated.

As the titled sponsor of WCA2016, Lesports of LeEco Holdings Co, enters the field to create an e-sport ecosystem, Lei Zhenjian, founder and Chief Executive said with the government's positive promotion and capital pouring into the sector, e-sports is rapidly rising in China.

"The standards and business model of e-sports still needs to mature. And as a young sector, e-sports has diverse possibilities in its profitability," said Lei.

The IeSF's Referee course is under way!

Mind Sports South Africa's (MSSA) candidate (Thomas Brown) to the IeSF's International Referee Conference in Yinchuan landed safely on 12 May 2 016.

Thomas takes his place among referees hand-picked by members of the IeSF from Argentina, Brazil, China, Indonesia, South  Korea, the Netherlands, and the Phillipines.

This referee course is sponsored by the World Cyber Arena and is  designed to improve refereeing on an international level, as well as create a cadre of international referees that may be used world-wide.

The referees under going such training  are:

Jose Latronico, Argentina
Kathleen Rossi Cossi, Brazil
Lingfei Gong, China
Yifan Zhang, China
Stanley Tjia, Indonesia
Sungwon Lee, South Korea
Namki Kim, South Korea
Jeroen Den Hartog, Netherlands
James Chua, Philippines
Thomas Brown, South Africa

Thomas Brown to referee at WCA

On 27 April 2016, Mind Sports South Africa reported that Thomas Brown would be sent by MSSA to China for further training.

Thomas Brown

Like all benefits, they do not just fall out of the blue. Years of dedication, loyalty, hard-work and perseverance all have a part to play in the rewards and benefits that a person earns.

So it is true for Thomas as well,

Thomas has officiated at no less than 15 Mind Sports South Africa's eSport events and has run 22 of his own events while he has been a member of MSSA.

But now, there is even something greater in store for Thomas.

After attending the International Referee Conference in Yinchuan, China, Thomas shall move to Beijing where he will be the first ever South African to referee at a major international event.

Thomas will, in Beijing, referee at the WorldCyberArena 2016 Season 1 final.

WCA tournament is a platform to promote the role of Chinese E-sports development which cannot be ignored. WCA started in 2014 to access overseas markets for China's outstanding gaming platform products, but also to provide for the exchange of game products at home and abroad.

With a huge following, WCA will no doubt prove an interesting starting block for Thomas to launch his career as an international referee.

IeSF announced the establishment of International e-Sports Academy with $2M investment

Mr. Xuefeng Xu, General Manager of Yinchuan International Game Investment Co. Ltd (left) is shaking hands with Mr. Alex Lim, Secretary General of IeSF (right)

International e-Sports Federation (IeSF) and Yinchuan International Game Investment Co. Ltd held press conference regarding the establishment of International e-Sports Academy in Beijing JW Marriot Hotel, China on 10^th of March 2016. Both entities have signed an agreement to establish International e-Sports Academy on 8^th of March, 2016.

The status of e-sports is rising day by day and e-Sports market is also growing rapidly, however, the infrastructure of e-sports, especially on training system for professional human resources, is not systematically organized yet. Moreover, the young talents who want to access the e-sports scene go through difficulties to find the right direction. For this reason, IeSF have met various global e-sports partners and prepared to develop and operate the e-Sports training program which e-Sports workers, players, and various e-Sports organizations and companies can benefit from.

Yinchuan International Game Investment Co.Ltd had same point of view on establishing International e-Sport Academy and showed active intention to participate on this project early this year. As they have promised to invest $ 2 million United States Dollar on International e-Sports Academy for 5 years starting from 2016, IeSF can now build infrastructure to train professional e-Sports human resources who could lead the e-sports society.

In 2016, the first year of International e-Sports Academy, IeSF and Yinchuan International Game Investment Co.Ltd plan to develop online and offline training program to train referee and broadcasting human resources by priority, and extend the range of program to train coach and marketer in the following year. Also, IeSF is looking forward to develop e-sports master course where graduates will have opportunity to do internship program at e-sports organization, game developer, and broadcasting company.

Furthermore, IeSF will gain a foothold that e-sports talents can access not only e-sports industry but also other sports industry. With this, IeSF expects e-Sports talents to reach various international sports federations and sports industry which will naturally expand the continuous exchange in both industries. IeSF, by narrowing the gap between e-sports and traditional sports, plans e-Sports to grow as traditional sports in near future.

Mr. Byunghun Jun, the President of IeSF said “e-sports is a fledgling industry. To let e-Sports grow as traditional sports, the foundation of training professional e-Sports human resources should be settled. IeSF, the international sports federation pursuing e-sports to be recognized as the traditional sports, will keep concentrate on the business which IeSF can only do, and cooperate with all e-sports partners which are league organizer, broadcasting company, game developer, each national federation, international sports federation.”

Mr. Alex Lim, the Secretary General of IeSF said “IeSF has finally earned the opportunity to act as an international federation after the establishment of IeSF. IeSF will expand more business starting with International e-Sports Academy. Moreover, IeSF will especially support national federations to build e-Sports infrastructure in each country.”

▶ About IeSF

The International e-Sports Federation (IeSF) is an International Governing Body for e-Sports, established in 2008. Currently IeSF consists of 43 National Federations, who are approved by governments in their countries. As e-Sports has been regarding as one of potential Sport disciplines, many of National Sport Authorities such as Ministry of Sport and National Olympic Committees have been recognize such National e-Sports Federations, as official Sport Governing Body.

Since 2009, IeSF has been hosting e-Sports World Championship every year. More than 400 people from all of IeSF National Federations and more countries participate in the event, as National Athletes approved by their government. All broadcasting contents are delivered to all around the world through online streaming platforms, with more than 2 million viewerships.

IeSF also cooperates with various International Sport Bodies. IeSF manages and operates e-Sports event in Multi Sports Events in the world. Also IeSF has been approved as one of the official signatories of World Anti-Doping Agency in 2013. After approval, IeSF has been conducted doping test for every event, like other sports with IeSF’s own Anti-Doping code. In 2014, IeSF was approved as an International member of TAFISA (The association For International Sport for All), and will manage e-Sports program in 2016 TAFISA World Sport for All Games.

With rapid growth of e-Sports, IeSF is aiming for being affiliated in SportAccord. Regarding perceptions toward e-Sports from National Sport Authorities, it is expected that e-Sports can be admitted as one of official sport discipline in near future, with the recognition of IeSF by SportAccord.