Shocking news from Mongolia.

Esports events in Mongolia may be irreparably damaged.

It seems as though esports athletes in Mongolia are at the mercy of an uncaring government.

From sources inside of Mongolia, it seems as though the Mayor of Ulaanbataar (the capital city of Mongolia) has made a decision to close all internet cafes.

It should be noted that half of the Mongolian population lives in the city of Ulaanbataar, and apparently 70 to 80% of all Mongolian gamers use internet cafes at which to play games.

According to said source, there are only, at the most, 3 teams that have their own gaming houses.

It is clear that the decision by the Mayor of Ulaanbataar will damage the esports scene in Mongolia.

This is why all should cherish and fight for their rights.

TAILORED EDUCATION FOR (MIND) SPORTS-FOCUSED STUDENTS

With youth sport becoming more and more competitive, in both the quality and quantity of tournaments, many competitors are now finding that traditional schooling is hampering their ability to train and compete to the extent that they need to develop to their full potential. And now with Mind Sports such as e-Sports and others growing hugely in popularity and offering lucrative professional careers, the same kind of challenges are becoming apparent in this space too.

Home schooling has until now been the only viable option for these elite youth competitors, with added strain being put on parents to manage (or not) the education of their future star. The result has been far too many of these youngsters not finishing their high school education, banking on their sporting success continuing into the professional ranks.

To fill this gap and to provide a solution to these challenges, Balderstone Sports Institute (BSI), based in Johannesburg, has developed a tailor-made education solution for sports-focused high school students, called the BSI Sports Study Centre.

The BSI Sports Study Centre uses the ‘distance learning’ model, that brings greater flexibility of schedule for training and competing, and envelopes it with a fully managed, structured and disciplined environment to ensure that the education component of a youth athlete’s life is given the importance that it needs.

Each student’s education is tailor-made, with 3 different curricula choices including two international options, plus an individualised work plan based around their competitive sports schedule. One of the key philosophies of BSI is ‘Whole Person Development’, and included in the structure is a life skills and personal development programme, particularly geared around the specific demands of being an athlete such as media readiness, brand building and social media use.

An integral part of the daily programme is an ‘Energising Session’ to kick off the day before academics start. These physical sessions build long-term physical literacy, as well as preparing the students for optimum concentration for the day ahead. BSI boasts South African national squad members across 3 different sporting disciplines, and demand is coming from many other sports, including e-Sports. BSI Founder Michael Balderstone commented; “For many years golf was not seen as an athletic sport, but now an entire industry has grow around golf-specific fitness, and all of the top players have fitness and health regimes. e-Sports will go the same way, as improvements in physical literacy, fitness and nutrition have significant benefits for hand-eye coordination and concentration. We look forward to welcoming e-Sport competitors to our family and helping to grow the competitive professionalism around the sport.”

BSI is hosting an Open Evening on Wednesday 13^thJune for parents and students who wish to find out more information.

Valhalla's Team 'Vanilla' wins the title for League of Legends at Mpumalanga.

Team Vanilla - having earned provincial colours.

Mind Sports South Africa's 17th Mpumalanga Championships was more than ably hosted by HTS Witbank on 26 & 27 May 2018.

Valhalla entered its Team Vanilla in order to acquire more berths at MSSA's annual National Team Trials (NTT) to be held on 2 & 3 June 2018.

The National Team Trials (NTT) to be held on 2 & 3 June 2018 shall be used to select MSSA's National Protea Esports Team for League of Legends that will in IESF's 10th World Championships - Kaohsuing.

The team did very well and won the female title at MSSA's 17th Mpumalanga Championships in the League of Legends esports title. In doing so the team has also earned a place at the 2018 National Team Trials, the 2019 National Team Trials, as well as Provincial Colours.

The team members are:

Name of player	Club	Period/title	Province for which colours have been awarded
Daniella Selesnick	Valhalla	League of Legends	Gauteng
Alissa Henegan	Valhalla	League of Legends	Gauteng
Kendall Parker	Valhalla	League of Legends	Mpumalanga
Yu-shan Tam	Valhalla	League of Legends	Free State
Montanna Kilian	Valhalla	League of Legends	Gauteng

Svenska Spel makes new investment in esports national team

Football, ice hockey, floorball, handball, bandy and now, esports. Svenska Spel is entering into a new three-year deal with the Swedish esports Federation (SESF). The agreement makes Svenska Spel the main sponsor of the SESF, who are now assured of the necessary resources for the future development of esports.  

Among other things, the new three-year main sponsor agreement makes it possible for Swedish esports teams to engage in more activities and to widen the scope of preparations for upcoming championships. 

“That Svenska Spel has chosen to become the SESF’s main sponsor, as they are for many other Swedish national associations, shows that esports is being normalised as a sport like any other. We are looking forward to building Sweden’s largest public sporting movement together with Svenska Spel,” says Magnus Jonsson, chairperson of the SESF and board member of the International esports Federation (IESF). 

“We see great potential in esports and in future we would like to offer odds on esports. The agreement with the SESF provides us with unique activation opportunities and chances to communicate with and offer relevant offers to a new target group. If we are also able to contribute to increasing interest in and the status of the esports national team, that is a positive,” says Joakim Mörnefält, communications director at Svenska Spel. 

Svenska Spel has previously applied to offer odds on esports and will be applying once again on the new gambling market that is expected to open in Sweden on 1 January 2019. Svenska Spel is already the main sponsor of the Swedish national associations for football, ice hockey, floorball, handball and bandy, and now esports will also become a partner.  

“It’s great to have Svenska Spel onboard as main sponsor of the SESF! Svenska Spel will take Swedish esports to the next level with their enormous dedication and great knowledge of Swedish sport. This collaboration is a giant step for the Swedish esports scene,” says Andreas Samuelsson, Team Director Fnatic CSGO. 

“It’s so cool that Svenska Spel, who are otherwise associated with their project Gräsroten and other sport, have now chosen to make themselves seen in an esports context,” says Kim Larsson, esports commentator and former professional player. 

Since 2011, the SESF has been a member of the International esports Federation, IESF. SESF is thereby Sweden’s voice within the IESF and arranges the annual qualifying tournament for the World Championships. This year, the World Championships are being held in Taiwan in November. Since 2015, the SESF has also been represented on the board of the IESF and since 2016 on the IESF’s players’ council. 

For further information, please contact: Magnus Jonsson, chairperson, Swedish esports Federation (SESF), +46 (0)704  333 120, magnus.jonsson@sesf.se Lotta Örtnäs, temp. PR for Svenska Spel, +46 (0)10 120 78 27, ​lotta.ortnas@svenskaspel.se 

 Svenska Spel is Sweden’s leading gaming company, offering a wide range of games of chance, sporting games and casino games, with well-known brands such as Triss, Lotto and Stryktipset. Based on a mandate from the Swedish government and the company’s core values, the vision is that gaming shall be for everyone’s enjoyment. This is achieved by offering good, responsible gaming experiences. Svenska Spel is also the country’s biggest sponsor of Swedish sport, at both elite level and grass-roots level. The Group also includes Casino Cosmopol, with Sweden’s four international casinos. The company has around 2,100 employees and its head office is in Visby. For more information, go to  www.svenskaspel.se  

Top ten ranked clubs at MSSA's 17th Mpumalanga Championships

Gawie Fick (Fakkel School of Skills) who was a major contributor of points.

Every single participant at a MSSA provincial  and  National Championships earns points for their club.

The points in turn indicate the strength of the club in terms of both participation and standard of play.

It is indeed exciting to see how the school clubs dominate. It is the schools which are the natural breeding ground for mind sports. It is at the schools affiliated to MSSA where the culture of compliance needed in board games, esports, and wargames can be cultivated.

The top ten ranked clubs at MSSA's 17th Mpumalanga Championships are:

Pos	Club	Points
1	Fakkel School of Skills	113
2	Höerskool Generaal Hertzog	84
3	BNKR	25
4	HTS Witbank	18
5	Masters of Mind Sports	7
6	Old Edwardian Mind Sports Club	5
7	Helpmekaar College	4
8	Taccor Gaming	3
9	JCS Academy	2
10	Valhalla	1

Results of MSSA's 17th Mpumalanga Championships.

Gamers inn action at MSSA's 17th Mpumulanga Championships.

Mind Sports South Africa's 17th Mpumulanga Championships was more than ably hosted by HTS Witbank on 26 & 27 May 2018.

The championship saw entries from eleven (11) member clubs from three (3) provinces.

It was at such championships that many  of the teams were able to do last minute preparation for MSSA's annual National Team Trials (NTT) to be held on 2 & 3 June 2018.  As such, a number of teams were able to get additional Registered Players qualified.

It should also be remembered that MSSA's 17th Mpumulanga Championships count towards qualification to enter MSSA's National Team Trials (NTT) at which the 2019 national team shall be selected.

All the winners of MSSA's 17th Mpumulanga Championships are:

Title	Name of player/team	Club	Colours awarded
Checkers (female)	Chanel De Wet	JCS Academy
Checkers	Tshepo Matitwane	Fakkel SOS
Counterstrike: GO	TcR	Taccor Gaming	Provincial Colours
FIFA '18	Khahliso Malape	Fakkel SOS
	Mpho Ntsala	Fakkel SOS
FIFA '18 (High School)	Thokosane Mtinane	Fakkel SOS
Hearthstone (female)	Linda Swanepoel	Fakkel SOS
Hearthstone	Cobus van der Wath	Fakkel SOS	Provincial Colours
League of Legends (female)	Vanilla	Valhalla	Provincial Colours
League of Legends	MiricleWhipp	Helpmekaar	Provincial Colours
Morabaraba	Lefa Lekhula	Fakkel SOS
PES 2018	Khahliso Malape	Fakkel SOS	Provincial Colours
PES 2018 (High School)	Ayanda Khumalo	Fakkel SOS
Street Fighter V	Leonard Loftus	Masters of Mind Sports	Provincial Colours
Street Fighter V (Under 24)	Pieter Lourens	BNKR
Street Fighter V (High School – boys)	Armand Botha	Höerskool Generaal Hertzog
Tekken 7 (female)	Nadine Swart	HTS Witbank	Provincial Colours
Tekken 7	Gawie Fick	Fakkel SOS	Provincial Colours
Tekken 7 (Under 24)	Pieter Lourens	BNKR
Tekken7 (High School)	Mpho Ntsala	Fakkel SOS
Sportsmanship award	Armand Botha	Höerskool Generaal Hertzog

Photographs of the event may be seen on: https://www.facebook.com/146018324007/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10157357568629008

Minister Xasa Calls for Deserving Nominations for the 2018 Gsport Awards

Nominations are open.

Nominations are open for the 2018 Gsport Awards, South Africa’s longest running women’s sport Awards.

Sport and Recreation South Africa Minister, Tokozile Xasa, has urged the public to nominate outstanding individuals who are championing women’s sport around the country.

“The success of the gsport Awards is as a result of strong community support. I urge the public to put names forward of deserving candidates who should be honoured on the national stage in August.

“Well done to gsport for creating this platform which allows us to recognise and honour icons and role models of women’s sport,” Minister Xasa said.

The four-week nominations process will see the public nominate their top candidates across 18 individual categories, including Athlete of the Year, Athlete of the Year with Disability, Emerging Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year.

There is one new category in this year – Woman in PR and Sponsorship – which lauds efforts in the public relations and sponsorship space to raise the profile of women’s sport in South Africa

gsport Founder Kass Naidoo said: “It has been an outstanding year of performances, both on and off the field, and we are excited to receive the public’s recommendations as to who should be shortlisted for a gsport Award this year.

“Commercially, women’s sport is heading in a positive direction, and it is exciting to introduce a new award that honours work being done in this regard.”

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) has nominated deserving candidates for a number of years, with Morizane Boyes winning the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2013.

Once nominations close on 20 June, gsport’s judging panel will choose the top three finalists and cast their vote for the final winner in each category. Public voting will weigh in with 20%.

Most Awards categories refers to the Year Under Review to specify the performance window for the 2018 gsport Awards, which is 1 July 2017 to 20 June, 2018

Nominations can be submitted until midnight on Wednesday, 20 June, via the gsport website (gsport.co.za/nominations) or via gsport’s social media channels, @gsport4girls on facebook and twitter, while nominations by email can be sent to nominations@gsport.co.za.

2018 gsport Awards Categories Now Open for Public Nominations:

1.    Athlete of the Year

2.    Athlete of the Year with Disability

3.    Emerging Athlete of the Year

4.    School Sports Star

5.    Team of the Year

6.    Coach of the Year

7.    Woman of the Year

8.    Woman in Print

9.    Woman in Radio

10.  Woman in Social Media

11.  Woman in PR and Sponsorship

12.  Woman in Television

13.  2016 Style Star

14.  Volunteer of the Year

15.  Supporter of the Year

16.  Federation of the Year

17.  Sponsor of the Year

18.  Special Recognition

gsport Seeks the Following Information Supporting Nominations:

• Name and contact details of the person submitting the nomination*
• Name and contact details of the nominee
• Which category the candidate is being nominated in
• A few compelling reasons why the person being nominated should be considered for an award at the 2018 gsport Awards

* All qualifying candidates are encouraged to nominate themselves directly

Mind Sports South Africa welcomes MEW-Meta into membership.

MEW-Meta - a club which caters for all women within the mind sports community.

MSSA's membership now consists of over 90 member clubs. The majority of member clubs have memberships that would impress any sporting code and could consider themselves to be true 'multi gaming organisationns' (MGO's).

Thus, the growth now extends into most of South Africa's provinces proving again that the MSSA has the largest 'footprint' in South Africa.

MSSA has just accepted MEW-Meta into membership, to make MSSA become even larger than what it was before.

MEW-Meta is a small club which caters for all women within the mind sports community of Southern Africa by providing a platform to compete in MSSA related events.

The club encourages growth and excellence in all their players by providing them with knowledge, guidance, and support in whichever genre of game they wish to pursue.

As such, MSSA believes that adding MEW-Meta into membership will add even greater value to MSSA.

MSSA therefore welcomes MEW-Meta into membership and hopes the club, and all its registered players, will have a long and fruitful association.

MSSA's blog page has over 400,000 page views.

MSSA - keeps on growing!

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is South Africa's largest membership based organisation for gaming.

Not only that, but MSSA is second only to KeSPA in size as MSSA currently has over 90 clubs affiliated to it.

The success that MSSA enjoys is due to the dedication of its volunteers.

MSSA runs over 30 events a year, selects the national teams, provides umpiring courses, does development at school and grass root level, generates regulations for the good governance of gaming, and constantly brings gaming to the forefront. All of this is done by volunteers!

The membership base forms a solid and loyal base. Thus it is thanks to this base, that MSSA's blog page has grown in popularity.

It is on this blog page that MSSA brings out notification of its events and allows member clubs to advertise their own events, and for itself and its members to express their opinions.

However, MSSA also makes use of other social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The addresses of such are:

Facebook: Mind Sports South Africa
                  Checkers/Draughts
                  Esports
                  Morabaraba
                  Wargames

Twitter:     Mind Sports South Africa

Wargames: - MSSA's 15th Free State Provincial Championships - 23 & 24 June 2018

Wargames being played.

MSSA's 15th Free State Provincial Championships shall be held at Fakkel School of Skills, 20 Jan Smuts Ave., Sasolburg on 23 & 24 June 2018.

In terms of the current regulations, any period may be played to more than one rule set if there are sufficient entries, and a player qualified to act as an umpire has volunteered to umpire such rule set.

The championships shall start on both days at 9H00. Players need to register at least 30 minutes before the start of play.

The following periods have qualified to be played, and shall be, should sufficient entries be received:

FIGURE GAMING:
Period	CHAMPIONSHIPS TO BE PLAYED ON BOTH DAYS
	Saturday			Sunday
	ROUND 1	ROUND 2	ROUND 3	ROUND 4	ROUND 5
Ancients – DBM 3.2	9H00-12H00	13H00 - 16h00	17h00 - 20h00	9H00-12H00	14H00 – 17H00
Pike & Shot – DBR	9H00-12H00	13H00 - 16h00	17h00 - 20h00	9H00-12H00	14H00 – 17H00
World War II – Flames of War	9H00-12H00	13H00 - 16h00	17h00 - 20h00	9H00-12H00	14H00 – 17H00

Period	ONE DAY HISTORICAL FIGURE GAMING CHAMPIONSHIPS TO BE PLAYED ON SUNDAY ONLY
	Sunday
	ROUND 1	ROUND 2	ROUND 3	ROUND 4
Ancients – DBM 200AP	9H00-10H30	11H00 – 12H30	14H00 – 15H30	16H00 – 17H30

In keeping with Mind Sport South Africa's policies re development programmes, entries are free and gratis to registered players who are unable to afford to enter such championships should the member club formally request assistance. Such applications must be directed to the MSSA at: e-mail: mindsportssa@iafrica.com

Please note that if there are not at least 10 players entered for a figure gaming period, then such period shall be played to four (4) rounds and not five (5).

Entry fees are:              R64.00 for figure gamers.

Only players who are registered with fully-paid-up members may participate.

Players are reminded that the majority choice of rules as at the closing date for entries shall be used.

Entry fees must be deposited directly into Mind Sports South Africa's account, held at ABSA Bank, account number, 90 4766 7676.

All entries, and army lists (if applicable) must be e-mailed to the the head of umpiring: Adele Janse van Rensburg at nitebabe18@gmail.com  on or before 8 June 2018. 

The following Medals may be awarded at MSSA's 2018 South African National LAN Championships:

• PREMIER: Medals shall be awarded to the first three players who are registered players.
• UNIVERSITY: Medals shall be awarded to the first three players who are currently registered at any officially recognised University, provided the players have not received any Premier Medals.
• SCHOLARS: Medals shall be awarded to the first three high school scholars, provided they have not received any Premier medals.
• WOMEN: Women will be awarded medals as per the same basis as above, that is in all three categories.

Colours and National Team Trials:

• Provincial Colours: All Players that win all of their Matches at a Provincial Championship will earn Provincial Colours. All Players who score within the top 50% in a specific Period at a Provincial Championship, and who also score within the top 50% at a National Championship in the same period and in the same year, will earn Provincial Colours.
• National Team Trials: All Players that score within the top 20% or top three places, whichever is greater, in a specific Period at a Provincial or National Championship will earn an invitation to National Team Trials. National Team Trials shall be held in the event that a National Team must be selected to represent South Africa when competing in such Period in an International Championship. 

MSSA's next event is: MSSA's Fezile Dabi Regional Championships to be held on 7 July 2018.