Winners of MSSA's 34th S A National Championships.

Anneka Lourens (Hoërskool Klerksdorp) not only won her section, but also earned National  Federation Colours in doing so.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) held its 36th South African National Championships for esports as an online event, and its Figure gaming as a physical event. Esports was only played on  5 December 2020, while the Figure Gaming (wargames) event was held at the Old Edwardian Society on 5 & 6 December 2020. 

The SA National Championships for Board Gaming shall be held at the Old Edwardian Society on 12 December 2020.

MSSA's SA National Championships is the last event of the year, and is without doubt, the most important championships on the South African calendar as any player wishing to qualify for selection to the South African National Squad, from which the South African National Protea Team, shall be selected must participate at such SA National Championships. Of course there are exceptions in certain cases, but in such cases, MSSA must be contacted prior to the event. 

Having run for 34 continuous years, MSSA's SA National Championships is breaking records, and is the oldest and most well established championship for the games offered by MSSA. However, not all the various disciplines have been played for the full 34 years. Wargames heads the bill at having been played at all 34 National Championships, with Board games (in the form of Morabaraba) having been included in 1996. Shortly thereafter, in 1997, checkers made its debut. It was only in 2005, even though MSSA had been running Provincial Esports events since 1998, that Esports made its way into the SA National Championships.

Despite the pedigree of the other disciplines, it is now esports that contributes the largest amount of participants, and has more games (periods) being hosted than any other discipline.

Even with esports only having been represented at MSSA's SA National Championships since 2005, it makes the esports portion possibly the oldest continuously running esports national championships in the world!

Nine (9) games (periods) were played, of which one (1) was a wargame, and the remaining eight (8) were esports titles.

It must also be stressed that only titles that are played at SA National Championships, qualify to have teams selected that will earn Protea Colours. There are exceptions to the rule, but they are exceptions...

The championship was hard fought, and the standard exhibited showed a marked improvement over previous years.

Eighteen (18) players earned National Federation Colours. National Federation Colours are automatically awarded to all Registered Players that win all their games at the SA National Championships.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Title	Name of player/team	Club	Colours awarded
Ancients Figure Gaming - Premier	Colin Webster	Old Edwardian Mind Sports Club
Ancients Figure Gaming - High Schools	Elwyn Jones	Old Edwardian Mind Sports Club
Ancients Figure Gaming -Handicaps	Greg Laycock	Old Edwardian Mind Sports Club
Clash Royale - Premier	Willie van Rensburg	Hoërskool Klerksdorp
Clash Royale - High Schools	Henco Volschenk	Hoërskool Klerksdorp
Clash Royale - Female	Anneke Lourens	Hoërskool Klerksdorp	National Colours
Counter-Strike: GO	ZAG CS:GO	ZAG Academy	National Colours
DotA 2 - Premier	GoochSons	ZAG Academy	National Colours
HearthStone - Premier	Aidan Vorster	ZAG Academy
	Kyle Vorster	ZAG Academy
Paladins - Premier	BooImplode	Boo Games	National Colours
PES - Premier	Naeem Thomas	PES Society
Street Fighter V- Premier	Theunis van der Merwe	Hoërskool Klerksdorp	National Colours
Tekken 7 - Premier	Jonathan Brown	Team PlayBell	National Colours

Also read:

• MSSA elections allow change and growth.
• MSSA remains a dynamic institution.
• Preventing dominance by any one club.
• Advantages of affiliation
• Calendar of  Events: 2020
• Upcoming events: South African National Board Games Championships - 12 December 2020.
• Affiliation: Schools
• Affiliation: Private clubs
• Esports titles selected: MSSA's School Championships.
• Esports titles selected: MSSA's Premier Championships.
• Results of MSSA's 10th Annual Online Championships for High Schools
• Results of MSSA's Western Cape Online Provincial Championships.
• Results: MSSA's 11th Provincial Online Championships
• Results: Gauteng Online Provincial Championships.
  
• Test Match results: South African Protea DotA 2 team rises triumphant.
• Test Match results: DOTA2: South Africa vs Azerbaijan
• New National Team Selection Criteria
• Selecting the national Protea teams for Mind Sports South Africa.

Colours and the National Squad.

Members of the BOO! Protea Esports Team that were victorious against Namibia in June 2018.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is busy determining its national squads for the 2018/2019 period.

Registered Players are only members of the squad from the date of selection until the date of the next year's National Team Trials (NTT).

However, only those players who are selected from the squad to play in an international match actually receive their Protea Colours.

Even though MSSA does everything within its means to get all members of the squad to play in an international match, sometimes even the best laid plans fall into disarray and some squad members never get  that special opportunity of representing the country in an official international match.

That is why, all members of the national squads are awarded National Federation Colours according to their division.

Thus members of the senior squad are immediately awarded National Federation Colours, and members of the junior squad are immediately awarded Junior National Federation Colours.

Then as soon as such players are selected from the squad for the team, Protea Colours are awarded.

Such rule applies to all the disciplines being Board games, Card games, Esports and Wargames.

Thanks to those that do.

Volunteers making it happen.

Many people think that serving on a non-profit body as a volunteer is only something that happens when there is an event taking place.

However, that is not true.

Being a volunteer often means that you put in more dedication than what you put into your paying career.

The reason for such is that when you  get home from a long day at work, instead  of just switching off, the volunteer then applies his/her mind to the issues confronting the non-profit organisation.

There is planning of the year's events, preparation of the national teams, ensuring that the administration is up to date, and sometimes having to pick up the slack of others who are not as enthusiastic.

Without such dedication, organisations like IeSF, IWF, FMJD, MSSA, and all the other national federations, would not exist.

A position on a national federation, while looking good on a curriculum vitae, is more than that, it is a passion, a calling, a wish to leave a legacy behind and to see others benefit in a way that is only made possible by those who put  in and ask for nothing in return.

To all those that serve on committees, gamers, whether they know it or not, thank you!

What makes a national federation?

It seems as though, as much as I try to explain what makes a national federation, there are still a few people who remain blissfully unable to understand what I am indeed writing!

Maybe looking at the law would help!

All sport and recreation in South Africa is governed by the Sports and Recreation Act of 1998 (as amended). Yes this is an Act of Parliament passed by the highest authority in the land – parliament! As such it really does not matter as to whether the reader agrees with it or not, it is the law!

But, what does the Act say in this regard?

It reads as follows:

“National Federation: means a national governing body of a code of sport or recreational activity in the Republic recognised by the relevant international controlling body as the only authority for the administration and control of the relative code of sport or recreational activity in the Republic;”

So, what does that mean?

Simply put it means that first the international body recognises the national federation and then the government recognises such body.

This means that some people have really misunderstood the entire process.

While such persons are claiming that some international events were not official, it seems now that they indeed are as recognition begins with the international federation.

So, again, a national federation is a national federation when the international body recognises it to be so, and an international event is official when the international federation says it is.

Have fun!