15th Mpumulanga Championship - 28 & 29 May 2016

Tuks League of Legends Team

The 15th Mpumulanga Championship shall be played on 28 & 29 May 2016

The championship also counts as a qualifier for the MSSA's National Team Trials.

Registrations are thus open for MSSA's MWEB/G2A 2016 Mpumulanga LAN Championships.

Registrations will close on the 24 May 2016. 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, Beyers Road, Witbank
  
• Date: 28 & 29 May 2016
• Entry Fees: R60.00 per Registered Player per Period
• Entries: Clubs must use the entry form on Google Drive to enter their teams/players.
  
• 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 2016 is:

Saturday
Time	StarCraft II	PES (Pro Evolution Soccer)	League of Legends (LoL)	HearthStone	Street Fighter V
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	PES (continued)	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 2	CounterStrike:GO	FIFA '16	MORTAL KOMBAT X
09H00	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
10H30	Round 2 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 2 Starts
11H15	Round 2 Continues	Round 2 Continues	Round 2 Continues	Round 2 Continues
12H00	Round 3 Starts	Round 3 Starts	Round 3 Starts	Round 3 Starts
12H45	Round 3 Continues	Round 3 Continues	Round3 Continues	Round3 Continues
13H00	LUNCH
Time	Dota 2 (continued)	CounterStrike:GO  (continued)	FIFA '16	MORTAL KOMBAT X
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 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 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).

Move over Chad le Clos, eSports is coming!

The International e-Sports Federation (IeSF) has taken its first step towards the recognition of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

IeSF has submitted to IOC the “Official Letter of Request” on February 19^th to make its first action to attain the recognition, followed by an answer on April 8^th, by IOC, explaining the detailed procedure and next steps the federation should take. IeSF will submit all related documents for the recognition process and will undergo its first evaluation in December this year.

For the past years, IeSF has been working hard to increase its collaboration with various international sports society members to leverage e-sport into the sports sector. In 2013, it became the official signatory of WADA (World Anti Doping Agency), and also worked togather with OCA (Olympic Council of Asia) by managing the e-Sport event during the tournament. It has also been a member of TAFISA (The Association for International Sports for All) since 2014, and will be hosting the 8^th e-Sports World Championship in October during the 2016 World Sports for All Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. Last year in 2015, IeSF has signed an official Partnership agreement with IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations), being connected to one oldest and profound organizations in the sports sector.

IeSF will be taking part in the SportAccord Convention next week, from April 18^th – 22^nd , to take further steps in the sports society. IeSF Secretary General Alex Lim, will be officially participating in the panel discussion during the convention conference program, to increase awareness of e-sports in the international sports society and also portray its official recognition as a sport.

“IeSF is currently working hard to receive SportAccord membership, and simultaneously taking an additional challenge this year to take its steps for IOC recognition” said Byung Hun Jun, President of IeSF. “We still have many tasks to cover and this will be indeed a difficult challenge. Nevertheless, we will keep on driving our forces for e-sports to become an official sport and also care for the welfare of e-sport athletes. This challenge can be successfully completed with the continuous support from our e-sport fans, Athletes, game companies, and partners working together in the e-sports industry”

2016 will be an exciting and challenging year for IeSF. IeSF will continue to develop the “IeSF e-Sports Academy”, manage the e-sports event during 2016 World Sports for All Games, and also work with its utmost strength to be recognized by IOC and attain SportAccord Membership.

So, you want to help do you?

Morizane Boyes

MSSA members should be aware that MSSA is short of a number of Provincial Directors, such as:

Eastern Cape
Free State
Gauteng
KwaZulu Natal
Northern Cape
North West
Western Cape

In order to function properly, especially apropos the Inter-Provincial Test Matches, MSSA Management Board has agreed that there should be Provincial Directors for at least 5 provinces.

Any member may start making proposals of member players to fill these positions.

Please note that the deadline is 30 April 2016.

All nominations must be accompanied by a signed Letter of Undertaking.

National Team Trials (NTT) - 4 June 2016

MSSA's logo and Protea badge

With MSSA's National Team Trials (NTT) fast approaching, many gamers are readying themselves for such 'Trials'.

It is at such 'Trials' that MSSA shall select a small. but dedicated, group of gamers to once again represent South Africa in international competition.

The Protea Teams shall be selected to participate in a number of international events. Thus gamers selected are required to be available for all such international events.

Thus, Aperture Gaming's statement on MWEB's GAMEZONE that, "Based on the contracts we signed...DGL... will hold priority over any other tournament that falls within the same period and we (the MGO's) will be obligated to participate in the masters."

Such a contract would exclude any of the players participating in such event from team selection.

Imagine the embarrassment caused to the country if the IeSF sets a date for the event and South Africa is a no-show. Years of hard work would  be instantaneously undone. Instead of  having a 'favoured' position, South Africa would become yet another member, and perhaps  even pick up 'pariah' status.

Of course it is a club versus country scenario.

However, I believe that country is paramount. The honour to represent your country eclipses all else.

There is no value that can even rival what playing for your country can do for you - but that's a different article.

Revised MSSA 2016 Calendar of Events

2016 Calendar of events

Date	Event	Discipline	Venue
6 FEB	SOUTH AFRICA vs GHANA	FIFA '16	On-line
13 & 14 FEB	OE Summer Championships	Ancients (600pts), Draughts, Morabaraba	Blue Room, Old Edwardian Society, 11 Ninth Ave, Lower Houghton, Jhb
16 FEB	Closing date for On-line Inter-school Provincial Championships	CS:GO, DotA, FIFA, HearthStone, LOL, SC, TTT II	Admin
20 FEBRUARY	On-line Inter-school Provincial Championships	CS:GO, DotA, FIFA, HearthStone, LOL, SC, TTT II	On-line
5 & 6 MARCH	20th NORTH WEST Championships	All	St Conrad's College, Klerksdorp
26 & 27 MARCH	33rd GAUTENG Championships	All	Tuks, University of Pretoria
9 & 10 APRIL	Provincial School Championships	Board and Figure games	Gauteng: Old Edwardian Society, Jhb Mapumulanga: HTS Witbank
16 APRIL	Dota 2 Online Championships CounterStrike GO, League of Legends, Street Fighter V	eSports (PC)	On-line
28 & 29 MAY	15th MPUMALANGA Championships	All	HTS Witbank, Witbank
28 MAY	FINANCIAL AGM	MeetingHTS Witbank, Witbank	HTS Witbank, Witbank
4 JUNE	Esports National Team Trials	CS:GO, DotA, FIFA, HearthStone, LOL, SC, TTT II	TBA
18 & 19 JUNE	Riverview Preparatory Wargames Club	Flames of War	Riverview Prep. Malelane.
25 & 26 JUNE	13th FREE STATE Championships	All	TBA
9 & 10 JULY	22nd KWAZULU NATAL Championships	All	Maritzburg College, Pietermaritzburg
23 JULY	City of Johannesburg Regional Championships	* Ancients 200AP (DBM v3.2) * FIFA '16, * Morabaraba * Tekken Tag Tournament II	Blue Room, Old Edwardian Society, 11 Ninth Ave, Lower Houghton, Jhb
30 & 31 JULY	SA School Championships	Board, Figure and eSports	Parklands College, Cape Town
13 AUGUST	StarCraft II, Hearthstone	eSports (PC)	On-line
27 & 28 AUGUST	21st WESTERN CAPE Championships	All	TBA
TBA	Indigenous Games	Morabaraba	To be determined by SRSA
24 & 25 SEPTEMBER	16th EASTERN CAPE Championships	All	TBA
29 & 30 OCTOBER	6th LIMPOPO Championships	All	TBA
3 & 4 DECEMBER	30th S A NATIONAL Championships	All	TBA
4 DECEMBER	33rd NATIONAL CONVENTION	Annual General Meeting	As per 30th S A NATIONAL Championships
TBA	SRSA's S A Schools Championships	Morabaraba	To be determined by SRSA

Notes:

1. International events still need to be included.
2. Inter-Provincial events need to be included
3. Inter-regional events need to be included
4. Club events need to be included
5. Regional Championships need to be included.
6. Free State is moved to earlier in the year.
7. National Team Trials still need to be included

MSSA's Schools Provincial Championships for Board games and Wargames - 9 & 10 April 2016

MSSA's Schools Provincial Championships for Board games and Wargames shall be held at:

Gauteng: The Blue Room, Old Edwardian Society, 11 Ninth Avenue, Lower Houghton on 9 & 10 April 2016.
Mpumulanga: HTS Witbank, Witbank on 9 & 10 April 2016.

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 are to be played should sufficient entries be received.

Period	Starting times
	Saturday		Sunday
	Times	# of rounds	Times	# of rounds
Ancients	9H00-17H00	2	9H00-17H00	2
Backgammon	9H00-17H00	5
Checkers (8 x 8)	9H00-17H00	5
Draughts (Brazilian)	9H00-17H00	5
Draughts (International)	9H00-17H00	5
Diplomacy	9H00-17H00	2	9H00-17H00	2
Horse & Musket	9H00-17H00	2	9H00-17H00	2
Morabaraba	9H00-17H00	5
SesothoMorabaraba	9H00-17H00	5
Pike & Shot	9H00-17H00	2	9H00-17H00	2
World War II	9H00-17H00	2	9H00-17H00	2

In keeping with Mind Sport South Africa's policies re development programmes, entries are free and gratis to all players who are currently registered as learners. 

All entries, and army lists (if applicable) must be e-mailed to: Ewan Retief at ewan.retief@gmail.com on or before 7 April 2016.

Rules and Regulations: All Rules and Regulations pertaining to board and figure games are available from the MSSA. Players are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with 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 Figure Gaming Board of Control who will take all comments into account.

The following Medals may be awarded at the MSSA's Gauteng Schools Championship for both females and males:

• HIGH SCHOOL: Medals shall be awarded to the first three players who are registered players in such category.

• PRIMARY SCHOOL: Medals shall be awarded to the first three players who are registered players in such category.

Colours and National Team Trials:

• Provincial Colours: All Players that win all of their Matches at a Provincial Championship will earn School 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 or Provincial Championship in the same period and in the same year, will earn Provincial Colours in their category.

• 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 for the Junior National Team. 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.