Proposed 2017 Calendar of events

Wargames, morabaraba, checkers and esports - just some  of the  exciting activities that are promoted by MSSA.

As MSSA's AGM draws near the 2017 Calendar of events comes under greater scrutiny.

The Calendar of events as proposed by the Management Board in August is as follows.

Any recommended changes will be included in the agenda for the AGM and will be voted upon at such meeting.

all member clubs are reminded that should they wish to host any of the  events, they must submit their applications on or before the AGM.

Once the Calendar has been agreed upon at the AGM, such cazlendar becomes final, and then changes may only be made as per the Regulations.

2017 Calendar of events

Date	Event	Discipline	Venue
11 FEBRUARY	On-line Inter-school Provincial Championships	CS:GO, DotA, FIFA, HearthStone, LOL, SC, TTT II	On-line
25 & 26 FEBRUARY	34th GAUTENG Championships	All	TBA
25 & 26 MARCH	21st NORTH WEST Championships	AllTBA	TBA
22 APRIL	Provincial Online Championships	Dota 2, CounterStrike GO, League of Legends, Street Fighter V	On-line
29 & 30 APRIL	Provincial School Championships	Board and Figure games	TBA
27 & 28 MAY	16th MPUMALANGA Championships	All	TBA
27 MAY	FINANCIAL AGM	Meeting	TBA
4 JUNE	Esports National Team Trials	TBD	TBA
25 & 26 JUNE	14th FREE STATE Championships	All	TBA
8 & 9 JULY	23rd KWAZULU NATAL Championships	All	TBA
29 & 30 JULY	SA School Championships	Board, Figure and eSportsTBA	TBA
12 AUGUST	StarCraft II, Hearthstone	eSports (PC)	On-line
26 & 27 AUGUST	22nd WESTERN CAPE Championships	All	TBA
TBA	Indigenous Games	Morabaraba	To be determined by SRSA
23 & 24 SEPTEMBER	16th EASTERN CAPE Championships	All	TBA
28 & 29 OCTOBER	6th LIMPOPO Championships	All	TBA
1 NOVEMBER	Submit nominations of office-bearers	Admin	N/A
2 & 3 DECEMBER	30th S A NATIONAL Championships	All	TBA
3 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

Jeppe Boys - forever onwards!

Jeppe Boys League of Legends esports team was to meet Midstream College's team on the field of battle for League of Legends.

However, Midstream College forfeited the game leaving Jeppe with a win.

This means that Jeppe Boys has moved up into 6th place on MSSA's School Ladder for the League of Legends title.

However, it must be noted that MSSA's South African National Championships shall be played on 3 & 4 December 2016 at which the ladder will show a great deal of change as the games at SA Nationals not only produce the SA National Champion, but also affects the rankings and the ladder.

MSSA's ladder for League of Legends is now:

League of Legends – Schools
Pos	Name of Player	year	Club
1	Crawford Sandton [RAT]	14	CCS
2	Team Vapor	16	Sasolburg
3	Fairmont	14	FH
4	SSES LOL	16	St Stithians
5	Brandcliff House [Scrub Cops]	14	BH
6	Jeppe Boys	16	Jeppe Boys
7	Midstream College [MSC Titans]	14	MidC
8	PR0NHS	16	Northcliff High School
9	RBHS LOL	16	Rondebosch Boys
10	Maritzburg College	14	MC
11	PRIDE	16	Parktown Boys
12	Midstream College [Spin To Win]	14	MidC
13	Helpmekaar [The Tempaars]	14	HK

How do MSSA's elections work?

Getting ready to vote!

By now every member and registered player will be aware that MSSA shall be holding its elections on 4 December 2016.

But many members and registered players seem to be blissfully unaware of the process.

The process is:

• Member clubs nominate Registered Players, 
• Member clubs vote for those that they want at the AGM, and
• Those who have received the most votes are elected into office.

It must be noted that clubs have the following voting strengths:

• School clubs - one (1) vote for every ten (10) fully paid-up player, and
• Other clubs - one (1) vote for every five (5) fully paid-up player

Where a candidate is unopposed, such candidate automatically assumes office.

Where there are two or more candidates standing for the same office (position), then a vote is held, and the person with the most votes gets the office (position).

However, it must be noted that a Registered Player may only be elected into one office. Even if a Registered Player has stood for many positions, in order to increase his/her chance of being elected, as soon as the Registered Player is elected into a position, all other nominations are vitiated and struck off the agenda.

Such rule ensures that no-one person has more than their fair share of the say.

It should be noted that all the positions on MSSA's Management Board are of a voluntary nature. Al positions are held because the office-bearers are enthusiastic and passionate about MSSA and the games for which it is the custodian

Factors influencing women participating in sport

Some of MSSA's heroes: Gabrielle Isaacs, Lyrene Kühn, Morizane Boyes, Yolande Williams, and Maryke Kennard.

With females having considerably fewer opportunities to play high school sports than boys, and have. There too is an additional lack of access to adequate facilities near their homes that makes it more difficult for girls to engage in sports.

Added to the fact that many sports require a dedicated place to participate – which for many girls means traveling to facilities through unsafe neighborhoods. Thus, for many, the only option may be to stay home.

Another reason, despite recent progress, is the perceived discrimination. There is a great deal of bullying, and social isolation of those who compete in sport. Thus during adolescence twice as many girls drop out of sport as  what boys do.

Other reasons why females drop out of sport is that the quality level of their sports experience often declines. Generally, facilities allocated to girls are not as good as those allocated to boys. Times allocated to training are often too not optimal (considering the safety factors that need to be taken into account). Training needs to be different, and there are often not enough coaches of quality. Often coaches also tend to focus more on the boys’ programs that have more money for training. Often too equipment, uniforms, and events are not funded at the same levels which means the ability to grow and enjoy the sport is lessened. 

Thus, outside sport, many females do not learn the important life skills such as teamwork, leadership and confidence. Sport are an asset to American families, fostering communication and trust between parents and children

The benefits of playing sport are real.

Over two-thirds of working women consider  that  participating in sport helps their self-image and ability to deal with the pressures of work.

Sport too has a vital part to aid communication at home.

Thus Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is absolutely committed to promoting gaming on an equitable basis among both genders.

eSports have a real value in that they can dispense with a lot  of the problems as expressed above. However, caution still has to be exercised as cyber-bullying remains a very real threat.

There is no quick-fix, but MSSA is convinced that it is on the right path.

Nominations for the Provincial Directors

Alwyn van Wyk.

One of the most important positions within MSSA is that  of the Provincial Director. The Provincial Director is the person that ensures that there is an  effective foot print within the province.

Not is the Provincial Director responsible for MSSA's 'footprint', but the Provincial Director is also:

• The Tournament Director for MSSA's provincial  championships, and
• The manager for the provincial  team.

Thus MSSA is extremely excited to see the nominations that have been submitted for the 2016 elections.

Even though the positions are unopposed, there is no doubt that MSSA could hope for better.

The only down-side is that some of the candidates are also standing for Management Board positions. In terms of  MSSA's rules, a Registered Player may only hold one position within the body. Therefore vacancies may arise depending on the Management Board elections.

Should vacancies arise, the Board has the power to co-opt.

The candidates for election are:

Province	Person nominated	Club	Nominated by:
Eastern Cape Provincial Director	Sheraaz Fox Nunnian	East London Esports	Masters of Mind Sports
Free State Provincial Director	Jacobus Janse van Rensburg	Fakkel School	Masters of Mind Sports
Gauteng Provincial Director	Joseph Matlhong	NWU Vaal Mind Sports	Masters of Mind Sports
KZN Provincial Director	Alwyn van Wyk	Maritzburg College	All Stars
Western Cape Provincial Director	Jessie Joubert	Rondebosch Boys	Masters of Mind Sports

How does a school join up for MSSA's 7th On-line Inter-School Provincial Championships?

Northcliff High learners in action.

Recently I wrote that MSSA's 7th Online Inter-School Provincial Championships is to be held on 11 February 2017.

There is no doubt that MSSA's Online Inter-School Championships is the fastest growing championships since it was started a mere six (6) years ago.

Who will ever forget the inaugural meeting where Dorian Love (Roedean), Pam Raper (Randburg High), Noelene du Toit (Northcliff High), and Shevon Ronne (St Peters) met with MSSA officials and the then sponsors (ASUS).

It was such meeting at which solid foundations were laid.

Over the years the rules have been tweaked to make the online inter-school championships more-and-more accessible.

The proof is in the pudding as the number of school clubs is growing almost at an exponential rate.

The schools that formed  the foundation now find themselves under continual attack from new schools that assault them at every turn.

The new schools have no care of the 'Old Guard' and are adept at turning out new talent.

There probably isn't a championship anywhere in the world that is as competitive as MSSA's online inter-school championship.

Even though such championship requires a huge amount of work and dedication, it is easy-as-pie to join.

All a school needs to do is affiliate. To affiliate, the school club needs to have approval from the Principal as the club shall be playing under the school's colours which are the school's intellectual property.

The school club has to pay the annual affiliation fee of R100.00 as well  as the annual registration fee of R5.00 per player per annum.

It is that easy and that cheap.

MSSA expects, based on previous year's figures, that there will be well over 50 schools participating in such championship in 2017.

Don't miss out!

A brave new world!

Morizane Boyes representing SA in IeSF's 7th World Championships - Baku.

Members of MSSA's Management Board sat up to the wee hours of the mornin to check all the nominations that were submitted for the 2016 elections to be held at the Annual General Meeting on 4 December 2016.

Even though the 2016 elections have received a  record amount of  nominations for the Management Board, there are still four positions on such Board which are unopposed, being the position for the Card gaming representative, eSports Representative, General Secretary, and the Legal Advisor.

Obviously, everyone  is quite content with the performance of the incumbent officers.

The most encouraging aspect to the 2016 elections is that there are no fewer than seven women who are standing for positions.

The Management Board has 13 positions in total, so if all the women win their seats, MSSA could indeed have a different 'face', and would be the first mind sports body world-wide that would have true gender equity.

The full list of players standing for election for the Management Board are:

Position	Name	Club	Nominated by:
President	Morizane Boyes	BNKR Gaming	BNKR Gaming
	Colin Webster	Old Edwardian Wargames Club	Old Edwardian Wargames Club
Vice-President (Development)	Sheraaz Fox Nunnian	Esports East London	Masters of Mind Sports
	Thomas Brown	All Stars	Masters of Mind Sports
	Adele 'Nitebabe' Janse van Rensburg	VexxedPhoenix	Old Edwardian Wargames Club
	Jessie Joubert	Rondebosch Boys	Rondebosch Boys
	Leonard Loftus	Masters of Mind Sports	Fakkel School
Vice-President (Umpiring)	Leonard Loftus	Masters of Mind Sports	All Stars, Masters of Mind Sports, ECeSports
	Adele Nitebabe JansevanRensburg	VexxedPhoenix	Old Edwardian Wargames Club
	Jessie Joubert	Rondebosch Boys	Rondebosch Boys
Board gaming representative	Paula Loftus	Masters of Mind Sports	Masters of Mind Sports
	Joseph Matlhong	NWU Vaal Mind Sports	Masters of Mind Sports
Card gaming representative	Paula Loftus	Masters of Mind Sports	Fakkel School, All Stars
eSports representative	Ryan Boyes	BNKR Gaming	BNKR Gaming
General Secretary	Colin Webster	Old Edwardian Wargames Club	Old Edwardian Wargames Club
Women’s Desk	Paula Loftus	Masters of Mind Sports	Fakkel School
	Tania Transchel	All Stars	Masters of Mind Sports
	Blair Hamberger	Knights Mind Sports Club	Old Edwardian Wargames Club
National Schools Director	Gideon Jannasch	Fakkel School	Masters of Mind Sports
	Stephanie Craig	Jeppe Boys	Jeppe Boys
Legal Advisor	Carl Holliday	Pretoria Boys	Pretoria Boys
Representative for differently abled gamers	Khathutshelo Masheleni	Masters of Mind Sports	Masters of Mind Sports
	Twane Tollemache	BNKR Gaming	BNKR Gaming

Johannesburg Municipality wins Morabaraba event at OR Tambo games

Jubilant City of Johannesburg gamers.

The recent OR Tambo games once again saw City of Johannesburg walk  away with the honours for Morabaraba.

At such games, all the various Gauteng municipalities play, such as, Ekhuruleni, Emfuleni, Johannesburg, Lesedi, Merafong, Mogale, Randfontein, Sedibeng, Tshwane, Westonaria, and Westrand.

The victory thus makes it the fourth year in a row that City of Johannesburg has won such event.

The team consisted of:

Female	Male
Name & Surname	Name & Surname
Poppy Seema	Alpheus Magongoa
Mavis Tladi	Alpheus Moomela
Mmaphuthi Tswai	James Mphahlele
Mahlodi Makua	Albert Shaku
Zanele Kabini (coach)	Frans Legodi (coach)

All you need to know to enter The Bookmark Awards

The IAB SA Bookmark Awards, set to take place on 16 March 2017, are renowned for recognising top talent in the digital industry. This year, we have expanded the definition of digital advertising, including all new categories that reflect the evolving media landscape.

The awards’ global relevance, combined with the extensive representation of all facets of the industry, make it a prestigious opportunity for brands, agencies, publishers and digital leaders to be recognised for great work. On 18 October, the IAB SA held an intensive workshop to share more information about the new categories, and how the judging process will work.

New industry sub-categories launched

The awards will now recognise new sub categories in the Channels, Emerging and Digital Technologies, Publishing and some new Special Honours.

• Channels category will now include online video series and innovative use of mobile media
• Emerging and Digital Technologies category has introduced chat, messaging and dark social categories
• Publishing sub-categories include publisher apps, online photography, online news videos, live event coverage and streaming services.
• New Special Honours have been added for best CTO, Best Contribution to Transformation in the Digital Industry and Pixel for Purpose, an award for socially-minded digital campaigns.

Each new sub-category reflects emerging trends that are of critical importance to the industry. More information and descriptions of the new categories are available on the Bookmarks website.

Full workshops reflect widespread interest

The workshop itself was well attended, with a highly engaged audience. IAB SA CEO, Josephine Buys said, “The full house turnout showed a keen interest from the industry to understand more about the new and evolved categories, as well as learning key tips and tactics offered by our Jury Chairs and Jury President. It confirms that the industry are driven to enter their best work into the awards, and see the Bookmark Awards as an important industry event.”

Jury President, John Dixon, informed the attendees that judging will take place in two rounds, with judges first reviewing the ‘one-pagers’ via an online system and then meeting in person for two days of intense judging to score all the finalists. Scoring is secret and only the Jury President will know at the end of the judging who the winners are. Multiple steps have been taken to ensure neutrality, fairness and equal application of the entry criteria and competition rules.

It’s all about crafting a winning entry

Kerry Friend and Felix Kessel presented winning entries, emphasising that an entry should be just like any great ad, “a good idea, simply told that talks to your identified audience proven by meaningful results becomes undeniable gold.” This can be achieved by clearly stating your claim upfront, and telling the story of your campaign in concise language, supported by engaging visuals and video and relevant numbers.

Get to the point through concise writing that is easy to read and makes use of clear headings. “Don’t be scared to tell us why your idea is so damn clever. If there is one place to brag a little, it’s at awards. We’re also an audience, so keep it short and entertaining,” they added.

If campaigns are being entered into multiple categories, take the time to please tailor each entry and state the relevance and brilliance per category. Or, if this is a campaign that has evolved from last year, clearly state how the idea/campaign has grown and how it is different.

It’s important to support your entry with the relevant media if you have it at your disposal. This includes live links to the actual creative, video and storyboards, or, if a physical piece of hardware or interactive installation, a clear explanation on how the technology works. Though a case study video is not compulsory, if you do include a video, keep it simple, well produced and focused on the success of the campaign.

Numbers, of course, tell a clear success story. The art of good results is to only include quantified and referenced results that actually mean something. This refers to numbers that show success directly related to campaign, that are contextualised to illustrate why they matter. If you are illustrating an improvement over a previous effort, use a base number to show growth and state the claim you are making upfront.

For every entry, it is important to ensure and emphasise its relevance for the category you are entering.

Enter now

Entries close 11 November 2016. Let your hard work be counted in South Africa’s largest digital industry awards and gain world recognition. More information on the entry categories, rules and entry tips visit thebookmarks.co.za

Download the presentations here:

john_overview

felix_marketers-tips

kerry_builders-tips

About the IAB South Africa:

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) South Africa, formerly the DMMA, is an independent, voluntary, non-profit association focussed on growing and sustaining a vibrant and profitable digital industry in South Africa. The IAB South Africa represents the digital industry across all sectors including the media, the marketing community, government, and the public, and also acts as the channel through which international bodies can enter the South African digital market. The IAB South Africa currently represents over 200 members including online publishers, creative, media and digital agencies, brands, and educators, between them accounting for more than 39 million local unique browsers. The IAB South Africa strives to provide members with a platform through which they can engage, interact, and address digital issues of common interest, thereby stimulating learning and commerce within the South African digital space. To find out more about the IAB South Africa, visit its website, like its Facebook page and follow @iab_sa on Twitter.

Issued on behalf of the IAB South Africa (Interactive Advertising Bureau South Africa) by Janice Wilson Janice@iabsa.net on (011) 555 3800