8th IeSF World Championship 2016 - Jakarta

International e-Sports Federation (IeSF) hereby announces that IeSF has selected the primary official games to be played in the 8th IeSF World Championship 2016 to  be held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The official games are League of Legends (LoL), Counter-Strike Global Offensive (CS:GO), and Hearthstone. IeSF has finalized negotiations with the game developers which are Riot Games, Valve Corporation and Blizzard Entertainment. IeSF has decided to open the participation of all titles to all people regardless of gender, age or disabilities.

This is the first time that ‘CS:GO’ has been selected as an official title for IeSF's e-Sports World Championships. CS:GO is one of the most popular games in Indonesia, the host country of the 8th IeSF World Championship.

League of Legends was previously the official title for the 7th e-Sports World Championship - Seoul 2015. IeSF and Riot Games agreed to limit participating players to amateur players, who have not participated in LCS or LOL Semi Pro events in 2016 in order to expand LOL amateur base world-wide.

Hearthstone has again been selected as an official title for the third consecutive year from the 6th e-Sports World Championship, Baku (2014) until the 8th e-Sports World Championship, Jakarta (2016). In the 7th e-Sports World Championship, Milos Perovic, Hearthstone player from Serbia, led his country to become the overall champion by winning 1st place in Hearthstone.

IeSF World Championship is the only international e-Sports competition based on nationality. The 7th World Championship held in Seoul, Korea boasted 180 participants from 33 countries, and the overall champion was Serbia. Indonesia participated in the host city bidding process of the 8th IeSF World Championship and IeSF Board Members reviewed all the host city candidates for 8th e-Sports World Championship. After reviewing all of the candidates, IeSF Board selected Jakarta, Indonesia as the host city for 8th e-Sports World Championship. Member nations of IeSF which participate IeSF World Championship will hold National Qualifiers to qualify players who represent their countries.

The total prize pool is 54,000 USD, which is broken down to 20,000 USD for each team title, 4,000 USD for the individual title, and 10,000 USD for overall champion nation. According to the performance of each National Federation and quality of national qualifying rounds, IeSF will be supporting 200,000 USD for athlete travel.

8th e-Sports World Championships 2016 will be held from 6th to 9th of October, 2016 in Ancol Beach Auditorium, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Some questions about Mind Sports South Africa

Stephen Fowler de Witt has raised three questions apropos  the running of Mind Sports South Africa.

In order to create a greater awareness among gamers, the questions are answered here, 

Stephen Fowler de Witt's questions are in red, and MSSA's answers in red. 

Question 1: How many members is currently affiliated with MSSA? From that total amount of members. How many actually participate in E-sports? (I would like to know the number because the MSSA has told me before that we can join and change it from within. For us to have a majority vote, we would need the majority number of members. So it is important that this number is accurate).

Answer:

To fully understand the way in which MSSA operates, it is important to  understand the structure of MSSA.

Registered players are affiliated to clubs. Clubs are then affiliated to MSSA.

It is the club that is  the member of MSSA.

In order to operate a club, a club must have at least three Registered Players to be a legal entity. Some clubs affiliated to MSSA have over 200 registered players.

In total, there are 53 clubs  affiliated to MSSA throughout South Africa.

Since MSSA is a democratic institution, it  is important to note that all decisions made at every level are done through voting, and the majority decision always holds sway.

Question 2: Where is the current president of the MSSA? We never hear from him. Ever. Would like to communicate with him as well.

Simphiwe Maphumulo

Simphiwe Maphumulo was  elected as  the  President of Mind Sports  South Africa in December 2013. Simphiwe's term of  office comes  to  an end in December 2016 when new elections for such shall be held.

Simphiwe has served with distinction during his term of office and has had to  deal with many issues in his  portfolio.

It is not true that gamers have not heard from him. All press releases  issued are first approved  by the President before being issued by MSSA.

For people to contact the  President, they are welcome to do so by writing to MSSA's office.

Maryke Kennard receiving her Protea Colours from Ryan Boyes

Question 3: Who currently runs the E-sport sector within the MSSA? Would we be able to replace him once we all join?

The current Chairman of the eSports Board of Control is Ryan Boyes.

As stated many times previously, all positions are voted upon at the Annual General Meeting every December.

Positions  on the Management Board are all voluntary (in  other words, there is  no pay) and  are for a period of three years.

The positions available at the 2016 Annual General Meeting may be found on http://esportscommentator.blogspot.co.za/2016/03/quite-few-posts-up-for-election-at.html

As you will  no doubt notice, MSSA has publicised the positions since March 2016 so that everybody is aware of such.
Any full-paid-up Registered Player is able to stand for any position as long as a member club nominates such player,  and another member club seconds such nomination.

A bit more about Mind Sports South Africa

The following two videos will give just a little more insight into Mind Sports South Africa.

The IeSF's Referee course is under way!

Mind Sports South Africa's (MSSA) candidate (Thomas Brown) to the IeSF's International Referee Conference in Yinchuan landed safely on 12 May 2 016.

Thomas takes his place among referees hand-picked by members of the IeSF from Argentina, Brazil, China, Indonesia, South  Korea, the Netherlands, and the Phillipines.

This referee course is sponsored by the World Cyber Arena and is  designed to improve refereeing on an international level, as well as create a cadre of international referees that may be used world-wide.

The referees under going such training  are:

Jose Latronico, Argentina
Kathleen Rossi Cossi, Brazil
Lingfei Gong, China
Yifan Zhang, China
Stanley Tjia, Indonesia
Sungwon Lee, South Korea
Namki Kim, South Korea
Jeroen Den Hartog, Netherlands
James Chua, Philippines
Thomas Brown, South Africa

Thomas Brown to referee at WCA

On 27 April 2016, Mind Sports South Africa reported that Thomas Brown would be sent by MSSA to China for further training.

Thomas Brown

Like all benefits, they do not just fall out of the blue. Years of dedication, loyalty, hard-work and perseverance all have a part to play in the rewards and benefits that a person earns.

So it is true for Thomas as well,

Thomas has officiated at no less than 15 Mind Sports South Africa's eSport events and has run 22 of his own events while he has been a member of MSSA.

But now, there is even something greater in store for Thomas.

After attending the International Referee Conference in Yinchuan, China, Thomas shall move to Beijing where he will be the first ever South African to referee at a major international event.

Thomas will, in Beijing, referee at the WorldCyberArena 2016 Season 1 final.

WCA tournament is a platform to promote the role of Chinese E-sports development which cannot be ignored. WCA started in 2014 to access overseas markets for China's outstanding gaming platform products, but also to provide for the exchange of game products at home and abroad.

With a huge following, WCA will no doubt prove an interesting starting block for Thomas to launch his career as an international referee.

Testing will not be compromised, says SAIDS

Please see below communication from the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) regarding the suspension of the South African Doping Control Laboratory in Bloemfontein

Testing will not be compromised, says SAIDS

Testing in South African sport will continue to be thorough and robust in spite of the temporary suspension of the University of Free State’s Bloemfontein laboratory, says the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS).

Samples taken by SAIDS will be tested at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory in Doha, Qatar, which has already been doing some testing for the South African organisation.

SAIDS chief executive officer Khalid Galant said “we want to reassure SASCOC and national sporting federations that testing will continue to be robust and will not be compromised”.

He added that results will still be reported “within the prescribed timelines”.

“There will therefore be no negative impact on the test distribution plan for South African sport, and testing will continue to be robust,” he added.

In March this year SAIDS began sending urine samples to Doha while the South African Doping Control Laboratory at the University of Free State in Bloemfontein temporarily shut down part of its operation. The laboratory had taken this step to give it an opportunity to upgrade equipment and improve staff capacity and training.

However, WADA this week suspended the accreditation of the laboratory until 30 September 2016.

The suspension prohibits the laboratory from carrying out any anti-doping activities, including all analyses of urine and blood samples.

WADA said in a statement that: “During the period of suspension, the laboratory shall address all non-conformities identified in its External Quality Assessment Scheme (EQAS) program and any other non-conformities identified in the course of WADA site visits during the suspension period.”

All blood and urine samples taken by SAIDS will now go to Doha.

The Bloemfontein laboratory operates independently of SAIDS and reports to the University of Free State.

1st Fezile Dabi Regional Championship - 14 & 15 May 2016

Leonard Loftus in action

The 1st Fezile Dabi Regional Championship shall be played on 14 & 15 May 2016

The championship also counts as a qualifier for the MSSA's National Team Trials as according to MSSA's rules, the winner of a Regional Championship automatically is invited to such National  Team Trials.

Registrations will close on the 10 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 register as Registered Players as soon as possible. Late entries will be accepted in exceptional circumstances.

All gamers are reminded that the Fezile Dabi Regional 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: Masters of eSports - Contact:  Leonard Loftus @ 084 204 8775 or leonard.loftus@gmail.com

• Venue: Fakkel School, Sasolburg
• Date: 14 & 15 May 2016
• Game Entry Fees: R60.00 per Registered Player per Period
• Entries: Clubs must use the entry form on Google Drive to enter their players.
• Schedule: No LAN / PC gaming. Only Board and Console Gaming at this championships.
• Venue entrance: R10.00 per participant
• Food & refreshments: Highly reasonable prices
• Accommodation: R200.00 p/p per night at Fakkel School Hostel (Breakfast included)

SATURDAY:
Time	Morabaraba	PES (Pro Evolution Soccer)	Street Fighter V
09H00	Round 1 Starts	Round 1 Starts	Round 1 Starts
09H45	Round 2 Starts	Round 1 Continues	Round 2 Starts
10H30	Round 3 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 3 Starts
11H15	Round 4 Starts	Round 2 Continues	Round 4 Starts
12H00	Round 5 Starts	Round 3 Starts	Round 5 Starts
12H45		Round 3 Continues
13H00	LUNCH
Time	Morabaraba	PES (continued)	TEKKEN TTII
14H00	Round 4 Starts	Round 4 Starts	Round 1 Starts
14H45	Round 4 Continues	Round 4 Continues	Round 2 Starts
15H30	Round 5 Starts	Round 5 Starts	Round 3 Starts
16H15	Round 5 Continues	Round 5 Continues	Round 4 Starts
17H00			Round 5 Starts
18H00	Awards Ceremony
19H00	Doors Close
SUNDAY:
Time	Checkers	FIFA '16	MORTAL KOMBAT X
09H00	Round 1 Starts	Round 1 Starts	Round 1 Starts
09H45	Round 1 Continues	Round 1 Continues	Round 1 Continues
10H30	Round 2 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 2 Starts
11H15	Round 2 Continues	Round 2 Continues	Round 2 Continues
12H00	Round 3 Starts	Round 3 Starts	Round 3 Starts
12H45	Round3 Continues	Round3 Continues	Round3 Continues
13H00	LUNCH
Time	Checkers	FIFA '16	MORTAL KOMBAT X
14H00	Round 4 Starts	Round 4 Starts	Round 4 Starts
14H45	Round 4 Continues	Round 4 Continues	Round 4 Continues
15H30	Round 5 Starts	Round 5 Starts	Round 5 Starts
16H15	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 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 MSSA who will take all comments into account.

The following Medals may be awarded at the MSSA's 2016 Fezile Dabi Regional 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.
• WOMEN: Women will be awarded medals as per the same basis as above, that is in both categories as above.

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.
• Regional Colours: All Players that win their division in a Regional Championship shall be awarded Regional Colours.
• National Team Trials: All Players that win their division in a Regional Championship shall earn an invitation to National Team Trials in such division. 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.

Could Jo'burg or Cape Town really host an international eSports event?

IeSF, is pleased to announce that bidding for the IeSF's 9th e-Sports World Championship to be held in 2017 is now open.

All member Federations that wish to submit its candidature to organize the IeSF's 9th e-Sports World Championship are requested by IeSF to carefully read the basic conditions and to comply with the requirements.

IeSF has thus requested all members to return the completed documentation by 30^th November 2016.

It has been stressed that IeSF's Management Board shall have evaluated the bids within a month after the deadline and the venue of the IeSF's 9th e-Sports World Championship will be announced on 30^th December 2016.

As usual IeSF has promised to assist all Member Federations that are interested in lodging a bid for the 9th eSports World Championships. IeSF welcomes any question or request from prospective bidders so that all member federations shall be aware of the duties of the host city, its Member Federation, and Local Organizing Committee.

It should als be noted that IeSF also expects the Organizing Member’s/Local Organizing Committee’s to act in partnership with its Government, so that all participants are ensured entry to the host country.

Previous World Championships were held in:

Year	Location
2016	Jakarta, Indonesia
2015	Seoul, South Korea
2014	Baku, Azerbaijan
2013	Bucharest, Romania
2012	Cheonan, South Korea
2011	Andong, South Korea
2010	Daegu, South Korea
2009	Taebaek, South Korea

Pros vs. Amateurs – Gaming for Dummies

A panel discussion, entitled ‘Pros vs. Amateurs – Gaming for Dummies’, was held in SportAccord Convention, last week on April 21th, 2016.

David Eades, current BBC anchor, lead the panel discussion, as moderator. Alex Lim, Secretary General of International e-Sports Federation (IeSF), Patrick Nally, recognized as the founding father of modern sport marketing, Prof. Andy Miah, IOC Social Media Mentor and professor at Salford University, and Chris Osborne, BBC online journalist, joined the discussion in front of various international sports society members and media.

Among the various issues raised, the recognition of e-sport as a true sport was the hottest topic of the day.

“Sports needs to look at the real evidence of what is happening. It needs to embrace it and needs to participate with it. Otherwise, the sport we understand could get left behind,” said Patrick Nally, portraying the importance of the how e-sports should be perceived. Mr. Nally then went on to add, “Now it is the time to embrace it, not be fearful of it, not be frightened of it, and bring it to be part of your international federations,”

Alex Lim commented on the significance of e-sports and what it can bring to our next generation. Mr. Lim stated, “As being with sports society, IeSF want to give e-sports participants legacies and public structure developed from sports society where they can access to life skills, education, and careers as well. Although lots of young people are leaving from the sports scene right now, if sports society can use e-sports as a channel to bring young people back to the sports scene, I think that will be wiser,” and emphasized the social functions that e-sports offer.

Prof. Andy Miah mentioned that there has been countless number of sporting activities which have

aligned with the current digital innovation. Prof. Miah added, “Speaking to people working at the innovation side of it, I think there is the strong sense of people wanting get on board now to be part of e-sports movement”

Regarding the possibility e-sports as an official sporting event, Prof. Miah added, “The Olympic movement is about supporting and motivating and incentivising the youth of the world. There is a significant party of that community entering into e-sport. In order to fulfill that obligation towards that group, it has to be connected to sports,”

Mr. Byung Hun Jun, President of IeSF also stated, “By taking part in 2016 SportAccord Convention, IeSF has met various international sports society members and communicated in being a true sports. If the recognition of international sports authorities is in realization, more countries will be able to enjoy e-sports as true sports and expect to stand proudly in global sporting events. Through the introduction of the Global e-Sports Academy, IeSF is developing an on/offline education program for referees and broadcasters this year. The program will in the next coming years into marketers, coaches to support athletes career transition. Also, the 8th e-Sports World Championship will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, in October to continue the sole international e-sports event. Hope Korea and global e-sports fans could give a lot of love and support,”

Mbalula's latest outburst is good for TV, but in law it cannot be correct!

On 25 April 2016 Mr Fikile Mbalula announced that he was going to punish four of South Africa's National Federations for lack of transformation. See: http://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/other/2016/04/25/Mbalula-punishes-sporting-federations-for-lack-of-transformation

But can he do that?

Does any legislation currently enacted in South Africa give him such powers?

Did a single journalist investigate with which legal powers he is acting with his dramatic announcement on 25 April 2016?

Is it that the Sports Minister, like the rest of the government, just doesn't give a damn about the Constitution?

It would be nice if for once if journalists did their homework and asked the relevant questions.

One wonders how he can forbid these National federations from hosting events when the Minister has not yet issued Regulations for such in terms of section 14(jC) of the National Sport and Recreation Act?

The truth is that he can't 'ban' an event, he can just pull government support .