Are SASCOC's plans for NF's inspirational, or just a fail?

There is no doubt that it is vitally important for every federation to extend their activities into every nook and cranny of South Africa if South Africa's vast resources of human potential are to be unlocked.

SASCOC has taken an aspirational approach to the problem although they seem to be looking at a 'one shoe fits all' solution.

Of course I do not believe that such an approach can work, but in order to be fair, let us look at what SASCOC is suggesting.

SASCOC maintains that the structure should be in a pyramid in nature which will be best represented as such:

Now it looks great, at first, but it must be remembered that the majority of sport is driven by volunteers.

Thus the system will require the following numbers just to 'man' the committees:

• National Federation - 10 office-bearers
• Provincial Federations (9 provinces x 10) - 90 office-bearers
• District Federations (52 districts x 10) - 520 office-bearers
• Clubs (There will have to be a minimum of 3 clubs per District in order to make the Districts legal entities, therefore there will have to be 52 x 3 x 5 (presuming that each club committee has five members on their committee)) - 780 office-bearers

So, the above proposal will require roughly 1,390 office-bearers just to run the system.

Remember most of these people will have to be volunteers!

This of course does not even include technical officials who will be needed to run the competitions.galas/ track-meets, etc.

It is estimated that the average federation would need another 2,500 technical officials, or if they do not have that, there will be a very overworked hard core of parents who will become less-and-less enthusiastic as they lose all of their weekends in providing events for others.

Being an office-bearer or technical official is often a thankless task as decisions are often made which do not sit well with the vocal few. Even the likes of Cathy Doyle (who was much liked by most of the swimmers) of the Central Gauteng Aquatics Association had a small group of vocal detractors.

The increased burden of the system as outlined by SASCOC is likely to have the unexpected outcome of chasing away the committed few which will lead to the total collapse of many sporting codes.

I believe that volunteerism goes hand-in-hand with financial ability. No-one can expect a person who is not financially advantaged to volunteer to run a sporting body. However, it should be noted that many sporting bodies are themselves quite poor and unable to pay anyone to do the required tasks.

The proposed system also dilutes the influence of the athlete.

Instead of the athlete now having direct recourse at National Federation (NF) level, the athlete has to struggle through an increased bureaucracy to get through the club, district, provincial, and national federation officials and red-tape.

The dilution also affects the ability of people to stand for positions on the National Federation. In such a way the Committees that run NF's become very little more than cabals of like-minded people who become almost impossible to dislodge.

Good governance is then often discarded as personal interest becomes entrenched.

Top ten rankings for Ancients leading up to Mpumulanga

Erasmus Burger at the 2015 Gauteng Provincial Championships

The MSSA's MWEB Gauteng Provincial Championships held on 28 & 29 March 2015 was a hotly contested affair which saw a larger pool of players competing for many a year - even though firm favourites like Elishia Retief, Colin Webster and the 2014 SA National Champion, Jason Batzofin were not participating.

The standard of play at such championship was particularly high with Erasmus Burger (a Protea Team Member of 2006 vintage) taking the honours.

In fact, it was most pleasing to see that all three players who finished in the top three were old Protea Team members.

The top three players at the Gauteng Championships were none other than::

Pos	Name of player	Club
1	Erasmus Burger	TMSC
2	Garth Schoeman	KMSC
3	Sean Barry	RPS

Of course the Gauteng Championships influenced the rankings. With Erasmus's fine result at Gauteng - winning every game by the maximum points possible, Erasmus clawed his way up to be ranked first in South Africa. 

This is the first time that Erasmus Burger, and is also the first time that a member of the Tuks Mind Sports Club is so ranked.

However, it is more than likely that Erasmus will have to fight hard to keep his ranking as both Colin Webster (the current World Champion) and Jason Batzofin (the current South African Champion) have vowed to put him in his place.

Other threats to Erasmus keeping his number one spot are Carl Holliday and Sean Barry. Both Carl and Sean have represented South Africa in Protea Teams (2009). Carl may have a slight advantage over most of the other players in that he taught and trained Erasmus Burger how to play the game when Erasmus was still a learner at Pretoria Boys High School.

Thus the stage is set for a good fight at Mpumulanga....

The top ten Ancients players in South Africa are thus:

Pos	Name of Player	year	Club	Points
1	Burger, Erasmus	15	TUKS	816.8
2	Schoeman, Garth - 02	15	KMSC	683.5
3	Webster, Colin – 91	14	OE	522.3
4	Holliday, Carl – 09	14	PBHS	440.9
5	Humphreys, Connor	13	PBHS	440.9
6	Mullany, Donald	14	OE	440.9
7	Barry, Sean- 09	15	RPS	290.9
8	Batzofin, Jason – 14	14	SJC	238.3
9	Bouwer, Abie	15	OE	220.8
10	Beuken, Leopold	15	RPS	195

Developments at the IeSA

Prof Sok-Rok Song (left) and Jaco Engelbrecht (right)

The MSSA stated in a recent facebook posting that it learnt with shock that the General Secretary, Prof. Sok-Rok Song, had resigned from his position on the IeSA (being the International eSports Federation for the Differently Abled).

The IeSA is the successor to the IeSMoD which was founded in 2011. However after a change of constitution, and change of name, the IeSA was born.

All those who ever participated in the IeSMoD or the IeSA will always be indebted to Prof. Sok-Rok Song for all the work that he put into making the IeSA a success.

According to Lim Puay Tiak, it will be difficult to replace  Prof. Sok-Rok Song as he was a prime mover and was always able to secure sufficient funding.

Apparently the President of the IeSA, President Lim, has taken over the reigns and is directly co-ordinating the IeSA's affairs.

Few South Africans though will ever forget the successes shared by Jaco Engelbrecht and Jason van Belkum at the IeSA World Championships on the island of Jeju in 2011.

The international community will always miss Prof. Sok-Rok Song, as it also wishes him every success in his future endeavours.

However, just moments ago the IeSA brought out a survey of the IeSA World Championship. Those interested may fill out the form. It takes just 5 mins.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DMEiC23-LjosrT_zBnTCO6bO5te9p9ZUxwCzeXg-tDI/viewform?usp=send_form

Democracy rules!

Without doubt the MSSA is one of the most democratic sports organisations that exist - anywhere!

Clubs have a direct influence on the Annual General Meeting and their input is not watered down by artificial district and provincial structures.

Every club gets to see the Annual Financial Statements, decide on who is elected as well as have a say to any changes to the Constitution and Regulations.

And that is probably what irks the 'community'. The 'community' is largely made up of self-appointed guardians who do not have any form of electoral base and are certainly not voted in by anyone.

And that is probably why the 'community' (whoever they are, are so opposed to the MSSA.

The self-appointed 'community' is terrified of having to be voted in. It is after all a very humbling position to be in when you realise that you are not as popular as you thought you were.

But without fail, every year the MSSA holds its elections. Some clubs vote and others do not. Sometimes you get the person you want, and sometimes you don't, but in an organisation made up entirely of volunteers, that is really all you can hope for.

Even though the MSSA only holds its elections in December of every year, the MSSA has already started reminding the faithful of which positions are available. Incredible, the MSSA takes democracy so seriously!

The following positions will be up for election at the 2015 AGM in December 2015:

Management Board:

• 1st Vice-President (in charge of development)
• Board Gaming Representative
• Card Gaming representative
• Figure Gaming Representative
• Member representing Players with disabilities

Provincial Directors:

• Eastern Cape,
  
• Free State,
  
• Gauteng,
  
• KwaZulu Natal,
  
• Limpopo, 
• Mpumulanga,
  
• Northern Cape, and
  
• Western Cape

Regional directors:

• For all Regions (https://www.facebook.com/notes/mind-sports-south-africa-mssa/south-african-regions/10151061002682264)

Selection Committee

• All four positions
  

To stand for a position for any of the above positions, a player must be affiliated to an affiliated club and must be a fully-paid-up member as at the date of being nominated as well as at the date of election. Any Registered Player who has reached the age of majority may stand for any/all of the above-mentioned positions.

However, a Registered Player may only be elected into one position. Thus if a Registered Player is elected into a position, all other nominations are vitiated.

All nominations may only be made by affiliated members (clubs) which are fully -paid-up as at the date of the nomination.

No wonder that MWEB has sponsored the MSSA for three consecutive years.

Johan Heymans leads the pack

At the recent 2015 MWEB Gauteng provincial LAN Championships and the 2015 MWEB On-line Championships for Counterstrike: GO, the Boksburg based team, BeZerK Gaming, under the leadership of Johan Heymans, thoroughly demolished all that stood in their way.

The victories were made even more pleasant as by winning all their games at both events, all members of the team were awarded Gauteng Provincial Colours. An added bonus to the victories was that all the team members qualified for the MSSA's National Team Trials that were held on 25 April 2015.

The National Team Trials were held to select a team that would attend the eFRAG Championships in Serbia as well as the 7th IIeSF World Championships - Lodz.

The BeZerK Gaming team is already considered to be the best of the Counterstrike teams in South Africa, but with the option of officially representing South Africa as the Protea eSports Team, the team played their hearts out.

Thus Johan lead his team into the National Team Trials at Roedean School, and under his leadership replicated the victories that the team had experienced during the entire season.

None of the other teams came close to beating BeZerK.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is now busy reviewing all the results and deliberating over the selection of the 2015 MWEB Protea Team.

MWEB 14th MPUMULANGA LAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

The MWEB 14th Mpumulanga Championships shall be played on 23 & 24 May 2015 and shall be hosted by HTS Witbank.

As usual, the championships also count as part of the process for qualifying for the MSSA's National Team Trials for all disciplines.

Registrations are thus open for MSSA's MWEB 2015 Mpumulanga LAN Championships. Registrations will close on the 15th May 2015.

Players who wish to compete in any of MSSA's Championships are advised to complete their annual registration forms so that they may registered as Registered Players as soon as possible.

Late entries will be accepted in exceptional circumstances.

All gamers are reminded that the Mpumulanga championships is an open championship.In other words any registered player is entitled to enter the championship – no matter where they live, or their category of membership. If you have any queries, please contact the MSSA.

Championship Details:

• Hosting Club: HTS Witbank
• Venue: HTS Witbank
• Date: 23 & 24 May 2015
• Entry Fees: R60.00 per Registered Player per Period
• Computers: Bring your own. Please ensure that all game updates are done prior to arrival. No updates shall be done at the event.
• Schedule: The LAN Schedule for all Provincial events in 2015 is:

Saturday
Time	StarCraft II	Call of Duty: AW	League of Legends (LoL)	Hearthstone			Ultimate Street Fighter IV
09H00	Round 1 Starts	Round 1 Starts	Round 1 Starts	Round 1 Starts			Round 1 Starts
09H45	Round 2 Starts	Round 1 Continues	Round 1 Continues	Round 1 Continues			Round 2 Starts
10H30	Round 3 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 2 Starts			Round 3 Starts
11H15	Round 4 Starts	Round 2 Continues	Round 2 Continues	Round 2 Continues			Round 4 Starts
12H00	Round 5 Starts	Round 3 Starts	Round 3 Starts	Round 3 Starts			Round 5 Starts
12H45		Round 3 Continues	Round 3 Continues	Round3 Continues
13H00	LUNCH
Time	TEKKEN TTII	Call of Duty: AW	LoL (continued)	Hearthstone (continued)
14H00	Round 1 Starts	Round 4 Starts	Round 4 Starts	Round 4 Starts
14H45	Round 2 Starts	Round 4 Continues	Round 4 Continues	Round 4 Continues
15H30	Round 3 Starts	Round 5 Starts	Round 5 Starts	Round 5 Starts
16H15	Round 4 Starts	Round 5 Continues	Round 5 Continues	Round 5 Continues
17H00	Round 5 Starts
18H00	Awards Ceremony
19H00	Doors Close
SUNDAY:
Time	Dota	CounterStrike	OSU	FIFA '14			Trackmania Nations
09H00	Round 1 Starts	Round 1 Starts	Round 1 Starts	Round 1 Starts			Round 1 Starts
09H45	Round 1 Continues	Round 1 Continues	Round 1 Continues	Round 1 Continues			Round 2 Starts
10H30	Round 2 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 2 Starts			Round 3 Starts
11H15	Round 2 Continues	Round 2 Continues	Round 2 Continues	Round 2 Continues			Round 4 Starts
12H00	Round 3 Starts	Round 3 Starts	Round 3 Starts	Round 3 Starts			Round 5 Starts
12H45	Round 3 Continues	Round 3 Continues	Round 3 Continues	Round 3 Continues
13H00	LUNCH
Time	Dota (continued)	CounterStrike  (continued)	OSU
14H00	Round 4 Starts	Round 4 Starts	Round 4 Starts	Round 4 Starts
14H45	Round 4 Continues	Round 4 Continues	Round 4 Continues	Round 4 Continues
15H30	Round 5 Starts	Round 5 Starts	Round 5 Starts	Round 5 Starts
16H15	Round 5 Continues	Round 5 Continues	Round 5 Continues	Round 5 Continues
17H00
18H00	Awards Ceremony
19H00	Doors Close

Rules and Regulations: All Rules and Regulations pertaining to eSports are available from the MSSA. Players are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with the LAN League Bylaws and all Period Specific Rules. If any Player wishes to provide advice regarding the drafting of the Period Specific Rules they are encouraged to contact the eSBoC who will take all comments into account.

The following Medals may be awarded at the MSSA's 2014 North West LAN Championship:

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

Colours and National Team Trials:

• National Colours: All Players that win all of their Matches at a National Championship will earn National Colours. 
• 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.

Please note that the MSSA does not carry stock of shirts that are awarded. Registered Players who are awarded colours will thus be awarded at an event that they attend after being so awarded.

Please note that times may be changed to take into account load-shedding.

Issued by:

-- 
Colin Webster
General Secretary
Mind Sports South Africa
P O Box 19275
FISHER'S HILL
1408
Tel: 011 828 4994
Fax: 086 672 1911
Cell: 073 593 9451
e-mail: mindsportssa@iafrica.com
URL: http://www.mindsportsa.co.za
Twitter: @mindsportssa
Skype: colin.webster4

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is an affiliate of the South African Confederation of Sport and Olympic Committee.

The MSSA is responsible for the good governance and promotion of Board games (such as Backgammon, Diplomacy, Checkers, Draughts, Morabaraba, etc), eSports (whether they are played on ?cell phones, Sony® PSP?s, personal computers or similar), and Historical figure games (also known as wargames). 

The importance of the IAAF and IeSF partnership.

For a number of years, there has been a fair amount of speculation that certain games would make it into the Olympics. The most speculated about game titles in this regard are none other than League of Legends and StarCraft. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2012/08/15/league-of-legends-and-starcraft-ii-could-become-olympic-sports-as-early-as-2020-summer-games/).

Of course what a lot of the writers have glossed over is the way that the IOC works.

The IOC does not adopt events into the Olympic Games - that is not their way of doing things at all.

The way the IOC works is to allow member bodies to affiliate to the IOC. It is these international federations that control and administer the events that are then accepted into the Olympic Games.

Thus if rugby is ever accepted as a sport for the Summer Olympic Games, it will be the International Rugby Board that is first accepted as a member into the IOC before the game is accepted. Thus, it stands to reason that the IRB will assume full control over the conduct of the game at the Olympic Games as much as what FINA does for Aquatics, and the IAAF does for Athletics.

Thus, in order to get eSports into the Olympic Games, it is NOT the game title that will be accepted by the the IOC, but instead the international controlling body.

And who is the international controlling body?

Why, it is the International eSports Federation (IeSF)!

Such is the importance of the partnership between the IeSF and the IAAF.

Obviously the IAAF wants a 'fresher' appearance among its target market, but, at the same time, there is no doubt that the IAAF has realised the number of gamers that the IeSF reaches, as well as too realising that the IeSF is the international controlling body.

The fact that the IAAF recognises the IeSF paves the the way for many new opportunities for the IeSF and its members.

The recognition allows eSports to be seen as a valid sport, and why not, since the IOC itself has recognised mind sports as sports since 1999 (http://www.iol.co.za/news/back-page/judge-ends-game-of-bridge-confusion-1.1851440)?

Thus it seems as though the partnership will spawn a number of positive outcomes for eSports.

Of course those that will benefit the most will be members, so, if you are not a member, get on board quickly as the train is beginning to pull out of the station....