Flourishing into the future...

Gamers in competition.

With MSSA's election having been concluded on 4 December 2016, there are a number of new faces on the committee.

While many gamers do not really care about who is on the committee, all gamers should be aware that it is these volunteers that make things happen.

Yes, they are all volunteers. The MSSA office-bearers are not rewarded financially, and do it out of a sense of dedication and passion to see others do well.

That is the strength of Mind Sport South Africa.

The fact that there are so many people willing to work for free, and to put others before themselves, shows  that not only is volunteerism in South Africa alive and well, but that MSSA will grow and flourish in the years to come.

Some volunteers are only around for a short time, while others are around for a little longer.

All are valued!

25th OLD EDWARDIAN SUMMER WARGAMES CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 25th OLD EDWARDIAN SUMMER WARGAMES CHAMPIONSHIPS shall be held at the Old Edwardian Society, 11 Ninth Avenue, Lower Houghton, Johannesburg, on 4 & 5 February 2017.

The championships shall start on both days at 9H00. The figure-games shall be played on both 5 February 2017.

This is an open championship.

Ancients (DBM v 3.2), 9H00 – 17H00 on both days with 2 games per day. 

FIFA '17, 9H00 – 17H00 

Entry fees are:

• Wargames: R80.00, and
• Checkers, FIFA '17 and Morabaraba: R50.00 each.

All MSSA rules shall apply for Checkers, FIFA '17 and Morabaraba. 

However for Ancients wargames the championship uses the very popular 600 points format where losses are carried forward. Should you require the full rules, please contact Colin Webster.

Fees must please be deposited into the Old Edwardian Society's account, which is:

OEWC

F.N.B. - Killarney

Branch Code 256205

Account Number 62071433115

Players that enter Ancients must note that players may use two army lists, and that the' MSSA's scoring systems shall be used.

All entries and army lists, if applicable, must be forwarded to Colin Webster at wargames@iafrica.com

Yours faithfully

Colin Webster
Chairman
Old Edwardian Wargames Club
11 Ninth Avenue
LOWER HOUGHTON
2198
Tel: 011 828 4994
Fax: 086 641 7313
e-mail: wargames@iafrica.com
URL: https://www.facebook.com/OE.wargames?fref=ts

IeSF co-opts Vinzenz Koegler to Board.

Vinzenz Koegler.

With Eddie Lim having had to resign from the Board, due to work issues, a vacancy opened up on IeSF’s Board. 

Immediately the existing Board started to examine the many valid possibilities for a replacement.

The problem was that there were so many good upstanding candidates from which to choose. As the deliberations raged on, one person stood out as the popular choice.

That man was the 30 year old Vinzenz Koegler!

Vinzenz has an impressive involvement in esports.

Vinzenz has been involved in esports ever since he laid his hands on a Commodore 64. His involvement did not stop at playing, but went on to try and make a better world for gamers. Thus in 2011 Vinzenz joined the Swiss E-Sports Federation, and shortly thereafter was elected as president of such body in 2012.

It was not surprising that Vinzenz was re-elected to the position of president of the Swiss E-Sports Federation in October 2016. His dedication, commitment and attention to detail made him an obvious choice.

Having earned a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering and Master's in Biomedical Engineering, Vinzenz applies such knowledge of both his formal qualifications to the passion that he has for esports.

One of the main focusses that Vinzenz has is to ensure that players, teams and event organizers have close relations in order to grow the sport. Such focus ties in perfectly with IeSF’s policy of “Protect the Player”.

There is no doubt that Vinzenz will be a veritable asset to IeSF and will help drive IeSF forward to meet its goals.

Welcome aboard Vinzenz!

Wishing you all the best.

On behalf of The President, Morizane Boyes, and the entire Management Board, MSSA wishes to take this opportunity of wishing all our members and Facebook followers a Blessed Festive Season and a prosperous 2017.

For those of you travelling, take care on the roads as we want you to be able to participate in the exciting 2017 season that lies ahead.

More questions about MSSA answered.

A gamer having fun at the 2016 SA National Championships.

What is the difference between the MSSA and any other governing body that runs sport in South Africa?

All sport in South Africa is run according to the Sport and Recreation Act of 1998 (as amended). According to the Act, the bodies that are recognised by the government and by the Department are the sole authority for the sports under their control.

All sports are run according to their own Constitutions which are decided upon by their members.

Thus it is the very people who have the biggest interest in the sport who have the say in what happens. 

It is the members that decide what happens, it is the members that elect the officials and it is the members that provide the vision for years to come.

Also, because of the legal nature of the federations, no one owns a federation. Thus federations are free of the ownership issues that haunt the privately owned companies.

Is there politics involved when affiliating with MSSA?

All of life is of a political nature! As soon as you negotiate the purchase of a bus ticket you have entered into the political life of the country. Thus it is true that there is politics inherent in the system. 

However, the politics is there for the betterment of the game and its players. 

Because of the politics, members can negotiate from time-to-time the introduction of new titles, the attendance of the team at different events and so forth and so on. 

Without politics, you would have an not have a truly democratic system, and would more than likely have self-appointed officials who would act as despots who would order things to happen without the option of negotiation.

Thus the nature of the politics in the MSSA is getting agreements between the interested parties. The only people who are dissatisfied with how the meetings are run are those who want everything done their way and those who cannot see the other person;s point of view. All decisions are made through voting, and it is the majority opinion that holds sway!

Paula Loftus now in charge of card gaming

Paula Loftus.

On Friday, 22 July 2016 I wrote an article on Paula Loftus becoming MSSA's first ever female Provincial Director.

Paula worked hard, took on added responsibilities (such as umpiring at the 2016 SA National Championships) and ensuring the growth of gaming in the Free State.

Thus at  the 33rd Annual General Meeting, Paula was elected into the position of Card Gaming Representative.

The term of such office is three years, and the responsibility of such office is to look after the card games that are played at official national championships.

With Paula at the helm, MSSA expects great growth in the discipline.

Schedule for 2017 Provincial and National LAN Championships

Gamers at a MSSA LAN.

MSSA has just released the schedule for eSports for Provincial and National LAN Championships.

While much remains the same, there are three notable changes.

CounterStrike: GO is moved to Saturday, and Battlefield 1 is scheduled for Sunday.

The game, VainGlory, is also scheduled to be played on Sundays at such LANs.

The schedule is:

Important changes to MSSA's Inter-Club Ladder rules.

Northcliff High School in action.

MSSA's Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 4 December 2016 saw the council of member clubs make some important revisions to the inter-club ladder.

First important change:

Rules that changed now allow the inter-club ladder to be played on Regional, Provincial, and National levels for all categories.

Thus a club like Jeppe Boys, could theoretically become the City of Johannesburg, Gauteng  and SA National ladder champions for both schools and senior ladders.

Of course that would require a number of games to be played, but who would shy away from playing games?

Second important change:

The next important change  is that the restriction of whom may be challenged has been removed. Thus a team just entering the ladder may pick-and-choose who they want to challenge. In theory a team could go from being unranked to being the top ranked team.

The ladder should thus be a great deal of fun, and will, no doubt, help teams prepare for LAN championships and National Team Trials. In turn, teams will be further prepared for the international circuit.

The rules are:

INTER-CLUB LADDER

1. All affiliated clubs shall be invited to participate.
2. Initially teams shall be listed in order of ranking.
3. Inter-club tests may be held in each period.
4. Inter-club test matches may be held on Regional, Provincial, and/or National Championship levels for schools, university, and/or open as well as for the categories as per LAN championships.
5. If held on a Regional level, then such Regional Director shall be responsible for the notation of challenges, the collation of results, the write-ups of results, and the lodging of dates on MSSA’s Calendar.
6. If held on a Provincial level, then such Provincial Director shall be responsible for the notation of challenges, the collation of results, the write-ups of results, and the lodging of dates on MSSA’s Calendar.
7. If held on a National level, then such Gaming Representative shall be responsible for the notation of challenges, the collation of results, the write-ups of results, and the lodging of dates on MSSA’s Calendar.
8. All teams shall only consist of Registered Players.
9. Clubs may enter any number of teams.
10. Results shall be submitted to the Management Board before 9H00 the day after the test was held.
11. Any team may challenge any other team in the same ladder.
12. The Chairman of the relevant BOC must be copied in on all challenges.
13. The challenged team has five (5) working days (for esports), and twenty-one (21) working days for board gaming and figure gaming, to respond and play the match.
14. A team that is challenged as per the above rules that does not play the game within five (5) working days (for esports) and twenty-one (21) working days for board gaming and figure gaming, automatically defaults and counts as having lost the match.
15. A team challenged during any official MSSA event while both teams are participating in such event, and are paired by the umpire to play against each other, must play such challenge.
16. The winning team takes the place of the losing team, if the losing team is listed higher.
17. It the winning team is listed higher, the winning team remains in its current position.
18. If the losing team is listed higher than the winning team, the losing team drops one position on the listing.
19. The highest listed team, per period, at the end of the SA National Championships is given the title of SA LADDER Champions.

Three firsts!

'Wolfpack' receiving National Federation Colours.

At the recent South African National Championships a team made up entirely of women did what no other team has  ever done before.

The team ‘Wolfpack’, is the first all female team to play CounterStrike: GO in the National Championships. Added to that, the team was the first female team to be awarded National Federation Colours for CounterStrike: GO.

If the above was not enough, the team too is the first all female team to be ranked  in the top ten CounterStrike teams in South Africa.

The  team is currently ranked 8th in South Africa.

The team thus qualifies  for MSSA’s National Team Trials that shall be held in June 2017.

‘Wolfpack’ is made up of the following players:

Esmari Swart (captain),
Blair Hamberger,
Tiffany Truter,
Lara Rudolph, and
Marisa van der Westhuizen.

Updated CounterStrike: GO rankings are released.

'Wolfpack' in action.

MSSA has just released the latest official CounterStrike; GO rankings for South Africa.

While Anteria is now the top ranked team, special mention must be made of the all female team 'Wolfpack' that has stormed into 8th place overall.

Wolfpack showed just how good they are at the South African National Championships, and their current ranking reinforces such.

These rankings shall be used for seeding teams at all Provincial and National Championships - except for the school championships which have their own rankings.

The rankings are therefore:

Pos	Name of Player	year	Club	Points
1	TERA| Qube	16	Anteria	389.1
2	VOID	16	St Johns	349.4
3	Delta 2	16	All Stars	304.9
4	VxP Knights	16	Vexxed Phoenix	303.7
5	PORAXYSM	16	ALL STAR	285
6	VIGILANTES	15	TV	270
7	flikadawist	16	DF Malan	260
8	Wolfpack	16	KMSC	206.2
9	DELTA	15	All Stars	200.7
10	Rondebosch Boys High	16	RBHS	200
11	Phantom Troupe l Branden	16	Fairmont	197.6
12	PG – 18	15	Parklands	181.2
13	Xillir8	16	All Stars	165
14	Pride	16	Parktown Boys	159.8
15	QUANTM	16	St Conrads	150
16	PFU	16	Fairmont	140.1
17	Fairmont High School	15	Fairmont	125
18	SPEARR	15	St Johns	120
19	Tesseract	16	Jeppe Boys	113.1
20	PBHS red	15	Pretoria Boys	112.5
21	HGH	16	Hoerskool Generaal Hertzog	100
22	All Stars	16	ALL STAR	100
23	PRONHS	15	Northcliff High	97
24	Raptors	16	BNKR	90
25	LAGSTEPS	15	BNKR	85
26	PG16	16	Parklands	84.4
27	VGR146	16	Lofdal	75
28	K1lljoy5	16	BNKR	67.5
29	PBHS white	15	Pretoria Boys	56.3
30	Maritzburg College	16	Maritzburg College	56.3

Other rankings published by MSSA are:

• Senior Ancients Wargames
• Senior CounterStrike: GO
• Schools DotA 2