Esports South Africa, and other games

Sunday, 27 January 2019

Period of Selection for MSSA's 2019 National Squads.

MSSA is on the hunt for Registered Players to officially represent South Africa at eventd like IESF's 11th World Championships.

National Team Trials held as a separate event has now been abolished by Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA), and instead selection will take place by examing the results of teams over 3 MSSA championships within a full 12 month period. Such championships may be Regional, Provincial, and/or National Championships.

Thus Selectors now have more time to interview all the candidates in a more relaxed manner in order to ensure that all athletes are afforded every opportunity, and that the best possible team, affiliated to MSSA, can be selected.

MSSA's Management Board has just approved the period that will be used for selection of Registered Players being, 1 May 2018 to 31 May 2019.

Thus Registered Players who have won Regional Championships, or who have finished in the top 3, or in the top 20%, whichever is greater, played from 1 May 2018 to todays date have already qualified for selection. The rule applis to all disciplines and to all periods/games.

Such events are:

15^th FREE STATE Championships
Fezile Dabi Regional Championships
Capricorn Regional Championships
School League
SA School Championships'
24^th KWAZULU NATAL Championships
Online Championships for StarCraft II, Hearthstone
Sedibeng Regional Championships
City of Johannesburg Championships
32^nd S A NATIONAL Championships

The following events will be held prior to 31 May 2019:

On-line Inter-school Provincial Championships - 9 February 2019
37^th GAUTENG Championships - 23 & 24 February 2019
23^rd WESTERN CAPE Championships - 23 & 24 March 2019
Provincial Online Student Championships - 6 April 2019
10^th Provincial Online Championships - 20 April 2019
Provincial school Championships for all provinces - 27 & 28 April 2019
18^th MPUMALANGA Championships - 25 & 26 May 2019

The full rules are as follows:

12.1 NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION

The National Squad Selection Date for every year shall be announced on MSSA’s annual calendar of events after every Annual General Meeting and shall be at least 30 days before the event.
Selection shall only be held in periods/genres that are currently being played at a MSSA Provincial or National Championships, if such period is played in at least 30% of the Provinces.
To be eligible for selection a player shall;

i. If being of the age of majority and have received Protea and/or, National Federation, and/or Provincial Colours in the previous year, shall have successfully completed an Umpires’ Course (if such course was held in the province in which such player resides after the date of being awarded such colours), and

ii. Have been awarded Protea and/or National Federation Colours in the previous year, or

iii. Have participated in at least 3 MSSA events where such player shall have in at least 2 of these 3 events;

I. Have won a Regional Championship in such period/genre, or

II. Have finished in the top 20% or top three places, whichever is greater, at any official Provincial Championships for such period/genre, or

III. Have finished in the top 20% or top three places, whichever is greater, at the SA School National Championships for such period/genre.

IV. Be fully-paid-up members of an affiliated Member, and

V. Be ranked in the top ten of the Ladder for such period/genre.
Only players who have participated in MSSA’s SA National Championships and who meet the above criteria as stated in Schedule 12.1.3 (above) shall be considered for selection, unless any of the following apply:

i. A player is on maternity leave, or

ii. A player is on paternity leave, or

iii. A player is on compassionate leave, or

vi. A player is unable to obtain leave from his/her employer, or

v. A player has valid financial reasons for not attending (being on holiday and thus not being able to afford to attend, does not count as a valid financial reason), or

vi. The player is a minor and has not received parental permission to attend, or

vii. Be in their first year of registration.
Should a player meet the requirements of any of the criteria as stated in Schedule 12.1.3 (as above), such player may still be considered for selection if such player has won, or is part of a team that has won, all of his/her games at a Provincial Championship that has been held in a physical venue.
Players making themselves eligible for selection, shall submit copies of their valid Passports with theirentry to the SA National Championships.
Should entry fees be required, such entry fees shall be paid by the date of entry.
Players, who are minors, making themselves eligible for selection, shall submit copies of their valid Passports and any other documentation as required with their entry to the SA National Championships.

Saturday, 26 January 2019

Garth Schoeman is co-opted as MSSA's National Team supremo.

Garth Schoeman (left) receiving an award from MSSA President, Amanda Kwaza.

With the massive changes that Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) has effected to the way in which MSSA shall select its 2019 National Squad, it was obvious that the structure for enforcing such selection criteria would also have to change.

And change it did!

Instead of the Selectors falling under the jurisdiction of the Discipline Representatives, the Selection Committee now falls under the chairmanship of an Executive Officer. The Discipline Representatives too are no longer automatically appointed as the National Team Manager. Instead, the National Team Managers are now appointed by the Selection Committee and are answerable to such committee.

Thus the position of the Executive Officer in charge of the National Team is a vital one.

MSSA is confident that it has found the right man for the job.

MSSA's Management Board has just co-opted Garth Schoeman as such Executive Officer.

Garth is a long-time member has served MSSA as a past Vice-President (2005 - 2015), has represented South Africa in the Protea Team as an athlete (2007), has umpired numerous MSSA national and provincial championships, has umpired international test matches, and has previously served on the Selection Committee.

Garth's loyalty, dedication, and attention to detail will put him in good stead to the arduous role that he will have to perform.

It should, however be noted, that when the Management Board co-opts an individual, such individual may only serve out the remainder of the year leading up to the Annual General Meeting.

Friday, 25 January 2019

There is still time for schools to enter.

Learners from Protea Heights participating in MSSA's 2018 Online Championships.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) has run its Online School Championships for eight consecutive years. That means that the 2019 edition which will be held on 9 February 2019 will be the ninth such championship.

The championship allows schools from all over the country to test their mettle against each other in an official championship that has the following benefits:

Enable learners to earn High School Provincial Colours, and
Qualify for selection for the National Squad, and
Earn medals.

It is therefore not surprising that MSSA's School Online Championships has become South Africa's largest official online championship. It is an event that lasts from 10H00 until 18H00 and has proved itself to be a most enjoyable event.

The titles to be played at such event are:

High School
#	Title	Platform	Players
1	CS GO	PC,	5 v 5
2	Fortnite – Battle Royal	PC/console	4 v 4
3	Paladins	PC	5 v 5
4	FIFA ‘19	Console - PS4	1 v 1
5	PES 2019	Mobile	1 v 1
6	Dota 2	PC	5 v 5
7	League of Legends	PC	5 v 5
8	Clash Royale	Mobile	1 v 1
9	VainGlory	Tablet/cell	3 v 3
10	Street Fighter V	Console	1 v 1

Details are as follows:

Eligibility: Any player/team who is a Registered Player affiliated to a school affiliated to MSSA may enter through such school club.

Entry fee: Entry is R34.00 per Registered Player.

Entry date: Entries need to be submitted by no later than Monday, 4 February 2019.

Registration:To register, the Educator-in-charge must complete the Google Drive document.

Age restrictions: Educators must ensure that their teams/players are compliant with South Africa's age restrictions per game title.

When and Where:

9 February 2019
The first round will start at 10H00. Players shall be given 60 minutes to complete each round.
Players must all be on-line at 9H00.

Wednesday, 23 January 2019

Types of organizations in esports

Since an organisation is ultimately the result of societal needs and shares collective goals that are linked to both its internal and external environment, such organisations can take many different forms.

There are a variety of legal types of organisations (although we will only be looking at those used for esports), however, since sport in South Africa is governed by the Sports and Recreation Act of 1988 (as amended), the types of organisations that may be used are regulated by South African law. Such organisations may be:

companies, being associations incorporated in terms of the Companies Act,
national federations made up of associations,
provincial federations made up of associations,and
clubs made up of associations or individuals.

Essentially, any organisation that does not have a constitution or founding documents in line with the South African Companies Act is either run as a partnership (if ownership is jointly claimed by more than one person, or as a sole-trader (if ownership is claimed by a single person). It is the constitution (or founding documents) that ultimately defines the organisation and spells out the nature of such organisation.

It is important to note that the owners of a partnership and the owner of a sole-trader are personally liable for all debts.

Organisations that are of a profit making venture

These include:

Sole-traders,
Partnerships, and
Companies that are of a profit making venture.

The above listed bodies are excluded from applying for the benefits that are listed below.

Organisations that are non profit organisations

These include:

Non profit companies,
Clubs, and
Associations.

All of the above qualify for all the benefits as listed below.

Benefits of a properly Constituted organisation

The benefits that accrue to sole-traders and partnerships are indeed limited. Not only are the owners liable to be taxed in their own hands for all sponsorships and winnings, and are liable in their own right, but none of the benefits which accrue to properly constituted organisations can be accessed by sole-traders and partnerships.

The benefits which may be accessed by properly constituted organisations are:

Local government funding,
Provincial Government funding
National government funding
Funding from the National Lottery Trust Fund
Participation in the S A Sports Awards
Participation in Regional Sports Councils
Participation in the Provincial Sports Councils
Participation in Mind Sports South Africa
Limited liability for the members and office-bearers (depending on the Constitution)

So when starting your clan, carefully consider all the options.
Also read:

Monday, 21 January 2019

Botswana and South Africa enter into talks.

Kenneth Tebogo Middleton (President of Botswana Traditional Sports & Games Confederation) plays a game of Morabaraba/Mhele against Amanda Pakade (President of Mind Sports South Africa).

On Saturday, 19 January 2019 Kenneth Tebogo Middleton (President of Botswana Traditional Sports & Games Confederation) and Amanda Pakade (President of Mind Sports South Africa) met at the Old Edwardian Society to discuss areas of mutual interest.

The talks revolved around assisting BTSGC and MSSA assisting each other on every level, including international test matches, as well as MSSA assisting Botswana hosting the 2019 World Championships.

After the talks, both Kenneth and Amanda indulged themselves in a game of Morabaraba/Mhele - which both found to be most enjoyable.

What is a MGO?

Learners representing their school with pride.

In South African esports there is a lot of talk about Milti-Gaming Organisations (MGO's).

But what is an MGO?

Currently, the definition for an MGO on Wikipedia is stated as such:

"Multi-Gaming-Organisations (MGO's) are in many ways like clans or clubs except they are focused on the business aspect of eSports and are made up of many competitive teams. While the teams within MGO's are often managed in the same way a normal clan is managed, the organisation's top level management would include marketing, business and public relations personnel. In short, an MGO functions like a business while, in general, clans / clubs do not."

So what we can gather from the above definition is that an MGO can take the form of various legal entities.

Such entities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Private companies (owned by one or more shareholders),
Clans owned by sole-traders,
Clans owned by partnerships,
Associations

Without doubt, in my opinion, the MGO's that take the legal form of being an Association is the type of organisation that best look after the interests of the player as the administrators govern through passion, and not from a profit-making point of view. Any profits made here have to be invested in the club and/or development programmes. It also should be noted that these organisations are not owned by anyone, but, are instead governed by all the voting members.

Sole-traders, Partnerships, and Private Companies that are all profit making ventures in which the sole-traders, partners and drectors intend to make a profit out of trading. The trading may take the form of selling apparel, equipment, or earning prize-money through their teams in tournaments that offer prize-money. It should be noted these types of organisations are governed exclusively by the owners.Also read:

Saturday, 19 January 2019

Prize money

More-and-more events are paying out prize money.

Prize money refers to monies that MGO's,clubs or athletes receive for participating in and/or winning a particular competition.

In such competitions only specific MGO's,clubs or athletes are invited or permitted to participate according to the rules of such competition.

The successful MGO's, clubs or athletes on receiving a sum of money for their performance, such monies shall constitute prize money. Successful MGO's, clubs or athletes will receive different amounts depending on their position in the competition when the final results are determined.

The income tax implications are simple.

The monies that first accrue to a MGO/club before distribution will form part of the MGO's/club’s gross income and will be fully taxable. Thereafter, provided that all requirements are met, the club will be able to claim a deduction under section 11(a) on the portions distributed to the players which will be taxable in the hands of the athlete as remuneration.

The general principle applicable to this type of receipt or accrual is applied by asking whether or not the recipient, in this instance the MGO/club, received or will receive the prize money on its own behalf, or solely on behalf of the player or players concerned.

Where paid directly to an individual athlete, there may also be VAT implications as well as the athlete would have to register as a provisional tax payer. By registering as a provisional taxpayer, such athlete woul also be able to claim deductions under section 11, as read with sections 23(g) - 23(f) of the Act.

Also read:

Friday, 18 January 2019

Sponsorships of athletes.

Athletes must know their obligations when accepting sponsorships.

To further elaborate on my article written on 11 January 2019, "Professional esports athletes must register for tax" it is important to explore the various incomes that a professional esports athlete may have.Sponsorships may be offered to players as equipment, clothing, watches, transport, travel, and monies.

Whether or not the receipt is of a capital nature, such amounts, whether of a voluntary nature or not, must be specifically included in gross income.

However, it should be noted that there is generally not an employer-employee relationship between the provider of the sponsorship and the player. Where no such relationship exists, and the player is not deemed to be an employee for employees' tax purposes, the sponsor will not be required to withhold employees' tax. However, the player is still required to disclose the amount of the sponsorship (in cash or otherwise) in his or her annual tax return.

However, if the sponsor has sponsored the club or employer of the athlete and the club in turn provides its athletes with a portion of the receipts, the amounts will constitute remuneration and will be taxable in the hands of the athlete. In such a case, the club or employer is required to deduct or withhold employees' tax from the amounts paid to such athletes.

It should be stressed that it does not matter as to whether such sponsorship is in cash or not. For example, if a computer company sponsors a MGO in cash and computers, and such MGO distributes the computers to its athletes, then each athlete will have to have tax withheld on the market value of the computer as well as include the market value of the computer as gross income on his or her income tax return.

Where an individual athlete is the recipient of the sponsorship, there may too beVAT implications should the athlete be a vendor. In cases where the individual is not a vendor, there will be no output tax by the recipient, and the sponsor will not be entitled to deduct any input tax on the payment.

Also read:

Why attend a MSSA umpiring course?

Without the dedication of MSSA's umpires, events would not run smoothly.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is the only body in South Africa that runs accredited umpiring courses for Checkers, Draughts, Morabaraba, Esports, and Wargames.

Once having passed the MSSA course is a Registered Player allowed to umpire at a MSSA Regional, Provincial, and/or National Championship.

It is through umpiring in MSSA championships that Registered Players make themselves eligible for selection by MSSA's Management Board for training at IESF, FMJD, and IWF Courses.

In the case of IESF, only once a Registered Player has successfully completed IESF's comprehensive course, then, and only then, may such Registered Player be considered to referee at IESF's prestigious World Championships.

It should be noted that a Registered Player who is selected to umpire and/or referee in an international event also earns Protea Colours.

Thus MSSA continues to create upward ladders for all its Registered Players and allows athletes to maintain involvement in this exciting and developing field even when their days of playing competitively are over.

Also read:

What is Esports?

TESL's impressive esports arena.

International Esports Federation (IESF) defines esports as:

"Esports is a competitive sport performed in a virtual environment in which physical and mental abilities are excercised to create victory conditions through generally accepted rules."

But which events can be classified as esports events?

Many think that it it is only the large events with prize money and fancy set-ups that count as esports. However, that cannot be further from the truth.

Esports, like any other sport, has its roots at school and club level.

Just like football which may be played on a football field enclosed only by a simple fence leading up to the huge events being played in the fanciest of arena, esports is just the same.

An esport event may be played in a simple club room, school hall, a dedicated esports arena, or in an existing sports arena - it is just the level that differs.

Without the development at school and club level, the larger events will have 'feet of clay' and will not be sustainable in the long run. It is the work done at school and club level that creates the enthusiasm and basic groundswell of support needed for the larger events to survive. One just has to look at South Korea. There are over 90,000 PC Bangs (esports clubs) in Korea. That in turn feeds into the interest that makes Korea one of the top esports countries in the world today.

In fact, I woud argue, that should sponsors only look at the glitzy affairs, they are doing themselves a disservice as the lower levels of esports have far greater participation, are more sustainable and create greater product loyalty.

Thus Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) has a number of different events at different levels to cater for the esports athlete. Besides running Regional, Provincial, and ational championships, MSSA openly encourages member clubs to host their own events. The most successful club event being the Old Edwardian Mind Sports Club's annual summer championships which is now in its 27th year.