Free State produces the stars.

Khahliso Malape (Fakkel School) and Gordon McCormack (JCS Academy)

South Africa takes on Namibia in an exciting online international test match in the esports title of FIFA '17 on Saturday, 29 July 2017.

So far South Africa has an unbeaten record against Namibia. However Namibia, over the years, has been at pains to improve their standard in order to successfully challenge South Africa.

Nevertheless, MSSA (South Africa's official national federation for esports) is confident that South Africa's system of Regional, Provincial, and National Championships has put its players in good stead to fend off  any such challenge.

Thus MSSA has chosen its team to officially represent South Africa, being Khahliso Malape (Fakkel School) and Gordon McCormack (JCS Academy). Both players are from Sasolburg in the Free State.

Khaliso Malape has already racked up a number of sterling achievements having won the 2016 SA National Championships, and tied for first place with Gordon McCormack at the 2017 Free State Championships.

The South African National Team shall play from the Old Edwardian Society at Saturday,  29 July 2017 at 12:00 WAT / 13:00 SAST.

The match shall be filmed and shown on MSSA's channel on TULUNTULU.

Old Edwardian Society is to host online test match between South Africa and Namibia.

The National Colours Boards in the main entrance showing the names of all members who had earned Springbok and/or Protea Colours.

South Africa (as  represented by MSSA) shall be playing an online test match against Namibia (NeSA) in FIFA '17 on aturday,  29 July 2017 at 12:00 WAT / 13:00 SAST.

The test match forms part  of a greater vision held to further develop  esports throughout all of Africa.

By establishing non-profit national federations throughout Africa, CAeS and its member federations are paving the way for esports to eventually be accepted into the All African Games.

Thus, MSSA's oldest member club - the Old Edwardian Wargames Club - which was founded in 1982 has  taken it upon its shoulders to host the online test match.

The South African  National Team shall play from the  King's Tavern, a venue that houses a great deal of the Society's sporting memorabilia.

The match shall be filmed and shown on MSSA's channel on TULUNTULU.

Namibia to play against South Africa.

Back in December 2010, Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) sent its Protea Esports Team to do battle against Namibia (NeSA).

South Africa won that test match 2 - 0.
Namibia (NeSA) has now challenged South Africa to a test match to be played in FIFA '17.

The match is set for Saturday,  29 July 2017 at 12:00 WAT / 13:00 SAST.

The match shall be filmed and shown on MSSA's channel on TULUNTULU.

Westville Boys High School and Northcliff High School to do battle in esports.

Westville Boys High School has the most entries in MSSA's 2017 4 term Inter-school League.

MSSA's 4 term Inter-school League, to be played from the week ending 28 July 2017, has seen a more than satisfactory entry.

There is an average growth across the board in both the size and standard of gaming at school level.

In fact there are only two provinces from which MSSA has not received entries, being Limpopo and Northern Cape.

Obviously, MSSA needs to do a greater amount of development in these two provinces in order to ensure that every learner is given a chance and not left behind.

Nevertheless, the stage is set.

Westville Boys High School (Durban) must be commended for having the most entries in the 2017 league, while Northcliff High School (Johannesburg), while being just behind Westville Boys High School in numbers is contesting more game titles than any other school.

It is true that Westville Boys High School only affiliated in 2017, but under Tyrone Green's energetic control the school has successfully challenged the status quo.

On the other hand, Northcliff High School has been  a member since 2009. Noelene du Toit (Educator-in-charge) has over the years seen two of her gamers called up for national duty in the Protea Esports Team, seen at leeast another seven gamers receive Senior and High School National Federation colours.

The final entry date for teams will be 20H00 on Monday, 24th of July 2017. 

If entries are not submitted before the close off date and time, schools will not be able to participate in this championship.

The championship is an awesome opportunity for scholars to earn provincial colours for their respective games and provinces.Further details are as follows:

Four term schools' school league - 

1st round - week ending 28 July 2017
2nd round - week ending 4 August 2017
3rd round - week ending 11 August 2017
4th round - week ending 18 August 2017
5th round - week ending 25 August 2017

eSports titles to be played at 2017 School LAN Provincial and National Championships

StarCraft II	League of Legends	HearthStone	Tekken 7
CounterStrike: GO	FIFA '17	DotA 2	VainGlory

Schools  must enter their teams on the allotted Google Drive pages.

Final entry date for SA School National Championships - Monday, 24th of July 2017.

2016 S A School winners

The final entry date for teams will be 20H00 on Monday, 24th of July 2017. 

If entries are not submitted before the close off date and time, schools will not be able to participate in this championship.

The championship is an awesome opportunity for scholars to earn High School National Federation Colours for their respective games and provinces.

MSSA's S A National High School Championships to be held at Oakhill College, Knysna, on 29 & 30 July 2017 thus gives scholars an unique opportunity to excel in the following games:

Board games titles to be played at 2017 School National Championships

Saturday

Checkers

Morabaraba

Esports titles to be played at 2017 School LAN National Championships

Saturday	StarCraft II	League of Legends	HearthStone	Tekken 7
Sunday	CounterStrike: GO	FIFA '17	DotA 2	VainGlory

Wargames to be played at 2016 School National Championships

Saturday	Ancients - DBM 3.2
Sunday	Ancients - DBM 3.2

Entries must be loaded onto the alloted Google Drive page.

The price of membership.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA), being the largest membership based gaming organisation in South Africa, delivers much to its members, being:

• MSSA has the largest footprint in South Africa,
• MSSA has its own 24/7 channel on TULUNTULU on which any member club may post content,
• MSSA holds a number of school championships,
• MSSA holds more championships than any other organisation in South Africa,
• MSSA has an open system of government that allows any member to rise to positions of office,
• MSSA has sent more teams overseas than any other organisation,
• MSSA is the only body that may award Regional, Provincial, National, and Protea Colours for gaming,
• MSSA is the only body that may select official teams to represent South Africa,
• MSSA is the only body in South Africa that may affiliate to CAeS, and IeSF, and
• MSSA is in the vanguard of actively developing gaming in South Africa.

Wow!

With all of the above, you would expect the fees charged to be quite large.

On the contrary, MSSA has always adopted a position of keeping its  fees as low as possible in order to stimulate growth and to remain a 'people's organisation'.

The fees for the 2016/2017 gaming year (1 November 2016 to 31 October 2017) are:

Affiliation fees per club		R100.00 per annum
Registration fees:	Registered with MSSA	R95.00 per player
	Players who are members of school clubs	R 5.00 per player

With fees being that low, can you really not afford to be a member?

Final entry date for 4 term Inter-school League - Monday, 24th of July 2017.

MSSA has decided to allow schools an extension for the 4 term Inter-school League.

The final entry date for teams will be 20H00 on Monday, 24th of July 2017.

If entries are not submitted before the close off date and time, schools will not be able to participate in this championship.

The championship is an awesome opportunity for scholars to earn provincial colours for their respective games and provinces.

Further details are as follows:

Four term schools' school league - 

1st round - week ending 28 July 2017
2nd round - week ending 4 August 2017
3rd round - week ending 11 August 2017
4th round - week ending 18 August 2017
5th round - week ending 25 August 2017

eSports titles to be played at 2017 School LAN Provincial and National Championships

StarCraft II	League of Legends	HearthStone	Tekken 7
CounterStrike: GO	FIFA '17	DotA 2	VainGlory

Schools  must enter their teams on the allotted Google Drive pages.

Senior National Federation Colours awarded in 2016

Xola Magwaza wearing Senior Nationa;l Federation Colours

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA), South Africa's largest membership gaming body, awards National Federation Colours as well as Regional, Provincial, and Protea Colours.

The highest award is, of course, Protea Colours. To earn such you have to play in an international event for MSSA. Readers will be quite disturbed to note that a number of gamers claim to have received Protea Colours and have never been awarded such. A full list of gamers who have received Protea Colours for esports may be viewed on https://esportscommentator.blogspot.co.za/2017/07/full-list-of-esports-protea-colours.html.

Just below the Protea Colours award is MSSA's Senior National Federation Colours. To receive such is less difficult than to receive Protea Colours, and gamers may be awarded such Senior National Federation Colours on the following grounds:

1. By any person selected to represent MSSA, or
2. By any person who has won all his/her games at the S A National Championships.

Any player who has received the award three times is the awarded the 'Honours Award'.

The full list of gamers who have been awarded Senior National Federation Colours in 2016 is as follows:

Date	Name of player	Honours	How awarded	Period	Club/Team
2016	Jason Batzofin		National Team	Manager	St John’s College
	Joline Bico	Honours	Nat. Team & SAN	FIFA ‘16	BNKR
	Ryan Boyes	Honours	National Team	Manager	BNKR
	Gregory Edward Brittain		S A Nationals	Counter Strike: GO	VexxedPhoenix
	Michael Charles Brittain		S A Nationals	Counter Strike: GO	VexxedPhoenix
	Kyle Chan Some		S A Nationals	Mortal Kombat X	Northcliff High School
	Riaan Coetzee		SA Nationals	League of Legends	VexxedPhoenix
	Sybrand De Kock		SA Nationals	League of Legends	VexxedPhoenix
	Richard Ferreira		S A Nationals	PES 2016	Fakkel School
	Gawie Fick		S A Nationals	Tekken Tag Tournament II	Fakkel School
	Robyn Gertzer		S A Nationals	Mortal Kombat X	Teutonic Knights Mind Sports Club
	Lyle Jeacocks		National Team	CounterStrike: GO	Anteria
	Dylan Johnston		S A Nationals	DotA 2	VexxedPhoenix
	Jessie Joubert (Team Captain)		National Team	CounterStrike: GO	Rondebosch Boys
	Dillon Justus		National Team	CounterStrike: GO	DF Malan
	Maryke Kennard		National Team	League of Legends	Tuks University
	Kayle Koegelenberg		S A Nationals	DotA 2	VexxedPhoenix
	Jarryd Knight		S A Nationals	DotA 2	VexxedPhoenix
	Leonard Loftus		S A Nationals	Street Fighter V	Masters of Mind Sports
	Leone Loftus		S A Nationals	Mortal Kombat X	Masters of Mind Sports
	Khahliso Malape		S A Nationals	FIFA ‘16	Fakkel School
	Matthew Martle		S A Nationals	DotA 2	VexxedPhoenix
	Francois Mouton		National Team	HearthStone	Tuks University
	Stephan Pauley		S A Nationals	Counter Strike: GO	VexxedPhoenix
	Paul Prinsloo		SA Nationals	League of Legends	VexxedPhoenix
	Taylor Rose		National Team	League of Legends	Knights Mind Sports
	Danie Rusch		SA Nationals	League of Legends	VexxedPhoenix
	Alan John "Aj" Simpkins		S A Nationals	DotA 2	VexxedPhoenix
	Aidan Smale		SA Nationals	StarCraft II	Old Edwardian Wargames Club
	Matthew Smith (Team captain)		National Team	League of Legends	Knights Mind Sports
	Leandré Sparks		National Team	CounterStrike: GO	Anteria
	Nadine Swart		S A Nationals	Tekken Tag Tournament II	HTS Witbank
	Kyle Turnbull (Team Captain)	Honours	National Team	FIFA ‘16	HTS Witbank
	Johan Uys		National Team	League of Legends	Tuks University
	Johan van Breda		National Team	League of Legends	Tuks University
	Sune Van Der Merwe		S A Nationals	Street Fighter V	HTS Witbank
	Sarel van Jaarsveld		S A Nationals	Counter Strike: GO	VexxedPhoenix
	Adele Janse van Rensburg		SA Nationals	League of Legends	VexxedPhoenix
	De Toit Van Rooyen		S A Nationals	Counter Strike: GO	VexxedPhoenix
	Kelvin Yang		S A Nationals	HearthStone	Northcliff High School
	Simon Zandstra		National Team	CounterStrike: GO	Rondebosch Boys
	Bonge Zwane		National Team	FIFA ‘16	HTS Witbank

Ekasi Esports has a CounterStrike: GO team.

From left to right: Sibonelo Vilakazi, Michael Mbatha, Buhle Dludla, Jabulani Mthombeni and Rungulani Vilakazi. 

Team Manager: Smilo "Slim" Gosa.

Ekasi Esports is the first official esports club in Soweto, and being determined to make their mark on gaming in South Africa, the club has forged forward to create Soweto's first CounterStrike: GO team.

Under the watchful eye of team manager Smilo Gosa, the team is expected to do great things as Sibonelo Vilakazi, Michael Mbatha, Buhle Dludla, Jabulani Mthombeni and Rungulani Vilakazi take on all comers.

In fact, Smilo has made it quite clear to a number of MSSA officials, that under his guidance, he will train up his team to the level of entering the Protea Team and represent South Africa in official  championships.

The gauntlet has been thrown down, now all that remains is to see SOWETO's best astound all.

How to play against the official Protea Esports Team.

The 2012, 2013, 2014,  and 2015 Protea Teams that attended IeSF's World Championships.

With the official Protea Esports Team having been selected to officially represent South Africa for esports, and since the team has the same status as any other South African national team, the team only competes as the national team upon instruction from Mind Sports South Africa.

Thus the team almost plays exclusively as a composite unit against other national teams. From time-to-time the team may also play 'friendlies' against  top ranking international  club teams in order to practice for the World Championships.

Team members from the same club may even participate in other local events together. However, such games are obviously considered to be practice matches and are not done in the livery of the national team.

It therefore stands to reason that unless the entire national team is playing as a composite whole with MSSA's approval, the team playing is not the national team.

So when do local players get to play against the National Esports Team?

Simply put, only with the approval of MSSA's Management Board, and after written request. Any such match, if agreed to would only be done under the following conditions:

1. The team requesting such match is affiliated to MSSA, and
2. The event is  done at a LAN, and
3. All equipment is standardised, and
4. All players are subjected to the WADA drug test, and
5. There is no  ambush marketing, and
6. Costs are paid by the applicant.

Otherwise,, any player who  qualifies for the annual National Team Trials have the opportunity to 'battle' it out against the previous years'  team members as they seek selection.

Any team that qualifies for National Team Trials has automatic entry into such Trials.

To qualify for National Team Trials, all a team has to do is be placed 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.

The next national  event is MSSA's Annual South African National School Championship to be played on 29 & 30 July 2017. The championship is hosted by Oakhill College in Knysna.

The next provincial event is MSSA's KwaZulu Natal Provincial LAN Championship to be played on 5 & 6 August 2017. The championship is hosted by Maritzburg College in Pietermaritzburg.