Saturday, 14 January 2023

Procedure to be followed by private clubs affiliating for the 2023 season.

It is through affiliation that a Mind Sports athlete  can represent South Africa in a Protea team.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is the national federation for Board games, Card games, Esports, and Wargames.

MSSA promotes all  the different disciplines equally, although each affiliated club may pick-and-choose which discipline it wishes to promote in its club. Some clubs will promote the whole gambit, while others will concentrate on only one discipline, and/or even just concentrate on one specific title.

The choice is ultimately up to the member club.

The various mind sports offer unique opportunities to many South Africans. Many South Africans have been able to earn Regional, Provincial, and National Colours which have allowed them to earn bursaries and obtain first-class educations.

MSSA has sent teams with full Protea Colours to international events since 1991 for wargames, 1996 for Morabaraba, 1997 for Checkers, and 2005 for Esports. 

All selected have found being part of the national team to be an education in itself.. 

All clubs must be legal bodies, as well as being non-profit organizations. Thus each club needs to have a founding document. Associations may use the draft constitution as provided below.

It is the club that is the member of MSSA, while the players are affiliated to the club.

Any applicant needs to be aware of the following:

  1. MSSA’s Constitution, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S8LogUNBbPNtfjjjukwvBiSr1u9qHOodLXhvBzZqzIk/edit
  2. MSSA’s General Regulations, ttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1GcOB2rTjv9PjBHhgdRH824NahSI4SrmfjvecaQiLNyA/edit 
  3. Proforma Constitution - (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z-V4MJUAK8vec9XAp4zXXEREnvdrYFfy/edit?rtpof=true) this is a draft constitution that is used by many clubs affiliated to MSSA, 
  4. Application for Affiliation form,  https://drive.google.com/drive/u/5/folders/14IRw0DN_fTYWJWWa-0N2Zycw4q11Qf1A
  5. Registration Forms for all players – including administrators and any/all coaches, https://docs.google.com/document/d/12sS0BkXNT2rjVROicwYHOEhJcPj0WXtG/edit?rtpof=true
  6. Fee note  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UyPFzb0Sf4jVQrN57GEtyJ1Av7iPZRB6/edit
  7. Letter of Undertaking, https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B1ma4A2XZaSiR2hJMThjMUxDdVE, and
  8. MSSA's brochure. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZzfT280fxlzP5m22Z4wJAHWBGtNpkJAY
In order to affiliate, the completed Application for affiliation Form must be submitted to the MSSA.

Once the Board has approved a club’s affiliation, the club then needs to complete the Google Registration Page allocated to the club for the players and make payment.

All club members may participate in all events for which it qualifies. Such events include meetings, championships, courses, and so forth. 

Advantages of having a MSSA affiliated club: 

There are many advantages of having a MSSA affiliated club, such as:
  1. Being part of a community where your club has a real say in how things are done
  2. Being able to apply for National Lottery Funding – MSSA member clubs can apply for up to R800,000.00 in funding
  3. Being able to get assistance from your local government
  4. Experience increased media exposure of your events and your gamers
  5. Become part of the international community through the MSSA Registered players are able to become internationally recognised umpires, etc.
  6. Enable your gamers to take part in MSSA events, which may qualify them for Regional, Provincial, and National colours, overseas trips, and even sports bursaries at university.
MSSA’s Constitution   

The Constitution forms the foundation of the MSSA. It guarantees members rights and governs the way that the MSSA operates. It can only be amended by a two-thirds majority at a Council Meeting. Please remember that Associations only have two (2) votes each, whereas member clubs have a representational vote, being: normal clubs: one vote per every five registered players, and school clubs: one vote per every ten registered players.

MSSA’s General Regulations   

The General Regulations comprises of decisions made by both Council and Executive Committee Meetings. The General Regulations deals with how sub-committees operate as well as to how teams are selected and development funding is distributed. Please refer to Schedule 10.12 in regard to the rights of clubs in hosting events.

MSSA’s Discipline Specific Regulations   

The Discipline Specific Regulations deal with rules concerning the different disciplines. The Disciplines that the MSSA caters for are; Board Gaming, Card gaming, Esports, and Figure Gaming.

Application for Affiliation form   

When a club applies for membership, the applicant club must complete such form and return the same to the MSSA.

Fee note for 2023

The fee note details the Affiliation Fees and Registration fees that are payable.

Player Registration Form   

The Player Registration Form needs to be completed by every player that is a member of a club and intends to participate in MSSA affairs.

MSSA’s Letter of Undertaking   

The Letter of Undertaking is for all registered players who sit on any MSSA committee.

Social Media

The MSSA makes use of the following:
Should you have any queries whatsoever, please contact mindsportscorrespondence@gmail.com.

Additional reading:
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Thursday, 5 January 2023

Esports titles selected for all MSSA's 2023 Student Championships.

MSSA's official Protea Counter-Strike: GO Esports team in Russia in September 2022.

In 2022 Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) held its fifth annual Provincial Online Student Championships. The Student Championships formed the basis for the selection of the Student Championships for the the student team that MSSA sent to Russia in September 2022.

Any student of any South African tertiary institution (University, colleges, and TVET's) may participate, regardless of whether the institution is MSSA affiliated, or regardless if the player is registered, or not. Thus every student is afforded the opportunity of qualifying for the National Protea Team.

It may interest readers to note that the majority of esports athletes that have represented South Africa as members of the official Protea Teams have done so while being students at a tertiary educational institution.

However, it should be noted that only official teams entered by University Clubs affiliated to MSSA or the Sports Councils may use the tertiary institution's name. Also, only Registered Players qualify for the team selection process.

MSSA's Student championships allow students from all over the country to test their mettle against each other in an official championship that has the following benefits:

  • Enable students to earn Student Provincial Colours, and
  • Qualify for selection for the National Squad, and
  • Earn medals. The medals earned are awarded at MSSA's LAN Championships.

All the titles to be played at such event are:

Period/genreTitlePlatformAge restrictionPlayers
Shooter
CODMMobile184 v 4
CS GOPC165 v 5
PUBGMMobile184 v 4
Sport
FIFA '23Console121 v 1
eFootball 2023Console121 v 1
Rocket LeaguePC and console123 v 3
MOBA
DotA 2PC125 v 5
Clash RoyaleMobile121 v 1
League of LegendsPC125 v 5
Clash of ClansMobile121 v1
Mobile Legends Bang BangMobile125 v 5
Fighting
Tekken 7Console161 v 1
Street Fighter VConsole121 v 1

Additional reading:
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Wednesday, 4 January 2023

Esports titles selected for all MSSA's Premier Provincial and National Championships - 2023.

With MSSA's commitment to sending its Protea Esports Team to an increasing number of events, the number of esports events at Provincial and National Championships has also similarly increased. 

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) has a selection process through which all esports titles are selected for use at Provincial and National Championships.

The process takes into account those titles which are used at International Esports Federation (IESF) World Championships, the titles used at Global Esports Federation (GEF) Championships, and those esports titles which are popular among the member clubs.

But saying an esports title is popular is not enough. Just because a title is popular online among recreational gamers, does not make it popular among the hard-core competitive esports athletes who will attend LAN and/or Online championships.

Thus, for any esports title to be considered for consideration to be included in Provincial and National Championships at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), at least one Regional Championship must be held in such esports title to prove that it is able to attract competitive esports athletes to a single venue.

With MSSA having a greater commitment than ever before to participating in both IESF and GEF, MSSA has approved more esports titles for Provincial and National championships than ever before.

It is also important for parents and athletes to check the age restriction of the esports title in which the athlete intends to participate. Age restrictions are non negotiable and underaged athletes shall not be permitted to participate. 

It should also be noted that changes may be made to the line-up in exceptional cases. If IESF and/or GEF selects a title not on the list for use at its World Championships, then MSSA shall include such title.

A lot of time has been invested in determining the esports titles for 2023, and the comprehensive list is as follows:

Period/genreTitlePlatformAge restrictionPlayers
Shooter
CODMMobile184 v 4
CS GOPC165 v 5
PUBGMMobile184 v 4
Sport
FIFA '23Console121 v 1
eFootball 2023 (Konami)Console121 v 1
Rocket LeaguePC and Console121 v 1
Sim racing – Assetto Corsa CompetizionePC121 
MOBA
DotA 2PC125 v 5
Clash RoyaleMobile121 v 1
League of LegendsPC125 v 5
Clash of ClansMobile121 v1
Mobile Legends Bang BangMobile125 v 5
Fighting
Tekken 7Console161 v 1
Street Fighter VConsole121 v 1
CardHearthStoneVarious121 v 1

Additional reading:
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Monday, 12 December 2022

Armand van der Colf elected onto IESF's Athletes' Commission.

Armand is a formidable athlete and a respected coach making him the perfect choice to serve on IESF's Athletes' Commission.

IESF originally launched its Athletes' Commission in the Hilton Hotel in Shanghai in 2016, the Athletes' Commission was instrumental in ensuring the rights and interests of athletes were always taken into account at IESF's Board.

From 2016 to 2020, South Africa was represented on the Commission, and now, with the election of Armand van der Colf, South Africa is once again represented on the Commission.

Being elected onto the Athletes' Commission is a great achievement for the the young Tuks University student. Not only is Armand able to bring the concerns of athletes directly to IESF's Board, but he is able to see the very inner workings of IESF and gain a clearer understanding of international championships.

Those elected onto IESF's Athletes' Commission are:

Europe:

Alejandro Alguacil Segura (Spain)

Sergei Platòv (Team IESF)

Asia:

Tiffani Lim (Malaysia)

Waleed Mohammad Balouch (Bahrain)

Americas:

Neyen Arjona Tennerini (Argentina)

Gabriel Pinheiro de Morais (Brazil)

Africa:

Hend Mohamed Hamed (Egypt)

Armand Pierre van der Colf (South Africa)

Additional reading:

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