Even more questions about MSSA answered!

1.) How does MSSA, help grow eSports in your country?

The short answer is that MSSA helps to grow eSports in SA through having gained acceptance as a sport by all the relevant governmental and non-governmental authorities.

Through such recognition eSports qualifies for funding from national, provincial and local government as well as from the national lottery.

The accreditation, although visible in the form of Protea Colours has had other far reaching effects as well. As a result of the accreditation, the MSSA is able to run official school championships and have official clubs established in schools. Not only that, but MSSA has assisted the development of official eSports clubs at university which has resulted in a number of gamers be awarded with sports bursaries at such universities. The accreditation has also lead to a greater public awareness as well as greater media coverage.

Through being a legal entity, the rules used govern eSports in South Africa have also created stability for the titles and for the gamers alike.

2.) Exactly how do you let teams qualify or proceed to become a representative of South Africa?

Selection of national teams is a year long process in South Africa.

Players from any team that is affiliated to a member club that finishes in the top 3, or top 20% (whichever is greater), at a Provincial or National Championship automatically qualify for National Team Trials. Since MSSA runs LANs in 6 out of the 9 provinces, many South Africans are afforded the opportunity of qualifying for Trials with little cost to themselves. Not only that, but MSSA runs on-line championships which too count towards qualifying for National Team Trials. To further reach all the outlying areas in South Africa, the MSSA allows the winner from any Regional Championship to attend the National Team Trials. There are 56 Regions in South Africa which consist of some of the most remote areas. Thus there is no excuse for anyone to not participate as the MSSA has made it as easy as possible to play in an official championships.

Selection of Provincial Teams is done very differently. The nine Provincial Directors are responsible for the selection of the Provincial Teams according to the rules established by the Provincial Boards of Control.

3.) If a strong amount of community members (e.g 80%) wishes that some changed be made to your organization, would you accept it?

MSSA is a properly constituted association. As such it is accountable primarily to its own members. The vague groups that claim to be the 'community' are often faceless and those speaking do not have the right or authority to speak on behalf of others as they have not been elected to do so.

Every committee member in the MSSA has been elected to be there and should any change be required, the membership is quite capable of doing so. In fact MSSA is the most democratic institution in South Africa as all member clubs have voting rights at all General Meetings, and all member clubs have the right to propose Registered Players for positions on any MSSA committee.

Therefore MSSA will not tolerate outside interference whether it be by government, or non affiliated individuals.

4.) What lies in the future for South African eSports? Do you see some great teams competing at the next Big event (e.g Dreamhack 2015, or ESL Katowice)

MSSA believes that SA has a bright future in eSports.

MSSA has sent teams overseas every year since 2005 except for 2008. In 2008, MSSA, instead of sending a team overseas, brought SK Gaming's CS1.6 and DotA team to South Africa in order to further promote gaming.

However, MSSA encourages any/or all clubs to also participate in the privately owned and run events. Clubs that are affiliated to the MSSA can use National Lottery funding for this purpose.

MSSA also helps clubs to get across to these events, for example, in 2013, MSSA obtained deferred exams from the University of Cape Town for two eN team members so that they could attend the ESWC.

MSSA believes that unless South African teams play in more overseas events, the standard in South Africa will not improve. Unfortunately overseas travel is an expensive endeavour, but MSSA is committed to getting more players overseas in line with further developing the game at home.

5.) Where does your support and funds come from to help you host local events? (e.g sponsors or subscription fees)

MSSA works on a system of registration and entry fees which does not bring in much money due to how little is charged. The rest of the funds that the MSSA receives comes from sponsorships, donations and grants.

One of the most loyal of MSSA's sponsors is MWEB.

6.) What is your employees or volunteers experience with competitive eSports?


MSSA does not have employees. All the officials are volunteers who dedicate their free time to the development and growth of eSports. Thus all those involved in the eSports Board of Control have a great deal of experience in eSports. Remember all officials are voted in - members would not vote in a person who is not knowledgeable in their field. While a person holds a position, there is also an upward learning curve as the officials have to deal with a greater degree of administration as well as the playing of the various titles.

More questions and answers about the MSSA!

What is Mind Sports South Africa?

• Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is a non-profit association that is the recognised national federation for board games, eSports, robotics and wargames. The MSSA is run purely by volunteers who are elected by the different member clubs at the Annual General Meeting. The Annual General Meeting is always held directly after end of play at the South African National Championships. As the recognised controlling body, the MSSA is the only authority for its codes in South Africa and is the only body that may legally award provincial and national colours. Thus it is the only body that can legally select teams to represent South Africa in international competition.

What is the MSSA Inter-school league?

• The league is designed to legally bring competitive eSports into the school environment, in which schools pit their best players against other schools in order to determine the best school in the country as done for waterpolo, swimming, etc.

How does someone get their national colours for e-sports?

• In order to get national colours for gaming, the gamer must first and foremost be registered as a member of a member club. Then, the gamer must participate in an accredited MSSA eSports event. However, participation alone is not enough. The gamer (and his team) must then finish in the top three, or the top twenty percent of teams in such event. Thus if there are six teams competing, the teams that finish in first, second and third places will qualify for trials. If there are twenty teams participating, then the top four will qualify, and if there are fifty teams participating, then the top ten will qualify for trials. When the Management Board has agreed to hold trials, all gamers who have so qualified are invited to participate. Then it it is at such Trials – which is always a LAN – that the team is selected.

I see that the MSSA is sending a women’s team to IeSF. How big is the market for women’s e-sports, and what is the local gaming scene doing to increase women’s participation?

• Certainly the women’s market is not nearly as big as it should be. It is necessary that any sport that wishes to grow must accommodate women at all levels. Thus the MSSA has policies in place for trying to increase the participation levels in this regard. The sending of the women’s team is just the most visible aspect of this policy.

How are the official games determined?

• The member clubs of the MSSA are responsible for choosing the games to be played at all MSSA events on an annual basis. The way in which this is done, is that the games choice comes up for review by the cub-committee, and all member clubs are requested to furnish their choices. Of course the Management Board may add additional games if they are required by the international federation.

What are the most popular e-sports games locally?

• Popularity of the games in general can only be answered by the publishers and the retailers. That is not what the MSSA looks at. The MSSA concentrates on competitive gaming and providing an outlet for competitive gamers. Thus, there may be a game that is fantastically popular among the gaming community, but because the game may not lend itself to competitive gaming, the MSSA may not cater for it. In terms of our figures, the most popular competitive eSports game in South Africa are without a doubt, Counterstrike, DotA, StarCraft II, FIFA and TEKKEN.

How has console gaming grown in the country in terms of e-sports?

• Console gaming has a number of advantages in terms of eSports. Because of its ease of access, lower cost, and standard systems, it has brought gaming to many who do not have the finances for computer gaming, and to many who do not have the know-how in terms of computer gaming. To start console gaming, all the gamer needs to do is ‘plug and play’. Thus console gaming has made huge strides in attracting many new gamers to competitive eSports who otherwise would have felt intimidated by the set up procedure. In the past three years, numbers of console gamers participating at MSSA events have doubled.

What’s the best way to become a professional gamer in South Africa?

• In order to become a professional gamer, my advice is to start while you are in school. The gamer must first develop a passion for the game and for competing while, at the same time learning to be part of a team. It is important for gamers to then train properly for the game. Simply playing does not equate to training. Training involves examining every aspect of the game and pushing it to the nth degree. Remember, that mistakes made in practice are often carried through into competition matches. Thus it is important to practice perfectly.... Once a gamer has earned provincial and national colours, the gamer would have been exposed to the international circuit. It is then that the gamer is ready to start thinking about becoming a professional. However, to be a professional, the gamer needs solid sponsorships and needs to be part of a team of like-minded individuals. Often the professional gamer will have to put gaming above all else in order to secure any form of sustainability as a professional gamer. It should be noted that the professional gamer would also have to register with the tax authorities as a professional as any income derived while being a professional would be taxed in his/her hands. Of course, any expenses directly related to conducting himself as a professional gamer would then also be able to be deducted.

How have your experiences been working with local LAN organisers and online league organisers?

• The MSSA has built up good working relationships with existing LAN organisers. The MSSA does not see itself to be a provider of LAN networks. Instead the MSSA is more concerned with helping existing LAN organisers to become more sustainable.

Why the decision to send players to IeSF and not to other privately owned events?

• For a start the costs involved are very different, but so are the visions off the privately owned events and the IeSF. The privately owned events belong to companies that are essentially in business to make a profit. On the other hand, the IeSF is an association not for gain that is attempting to get eSports recognised as a fully-fledged sport. The IeSF is trying hard to get eSports admitted into the Pan Asian Games and to get eSports accepted by the highest authorities in international sport. As an association, all member federations are responsible for the running of the IeSF and making the decisions that will determine the future of both the IeSF and of eSports in general.  Thus the IeSF is more in line with the MSSA’s own objectives, and the MSSA has a vested interest in making the IeSF work. However, that is not to say that the MSSA will not send a team to the other events if it can afford to do so.