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Risk Management Focus
SAFEGUARDING YOUR
In the lead up to any international
sporting event, there is inevitably some
controversy surrounding the selection
of athletes to a national team. It is
never more evident than in an Olympic
year and understandably so. For
most sports, there is no higher honour
for athletes than to compete at an
Olympic Games - it is the pinnacle of
one’s sporting career. Competition for
places on national teams is fierce. It
is predictable that the decisions made
by sporting associations are often
called into question by the athletes
themselves, the media and the public.
While a sporting association will often
be justified in its choices, it can be hard
for participants to understand how such
a decision could be reached. This can
lead to an appeal by the athlete against
their non-selection.
While much of the media attention
of late has been directed towards
Olympic selection policies, it is not a
new or unique source of controversy.
Selection procedures in some form
are implemented at local, regional and
state level, in addition to schools, where
for example, selection for senior teams
involves a high level of prestige. In an
increasingly litigious society, it is hardly
surprising that the vigour applied to
appeals against non-selection at the
elite level has the potential to trickle
down to discontent with selection
procedures practiced at the junior
level.
It is a well-established practice among
national sporting organisations to
implement selection criteria to guide
the selectors in selecting athletes for
a national team. To assist sporting
associations in developing their
selection criteria, the Australian Sport
Commission (ASC) has published a
document entitled ‘Getting it Right -
Guidelines for Selection’. While these
guidelines are pitched at an elite level,
sporting associations at all levels would
be wise to adopt similar practices for
team selection. For the purposes of
this article, there are two main steps
a sporting association should follow in
relation to their selection criteria, which
can be broadly stated as:
1.
‘Documenting It’
2.
‘Applying It’
‘DOCUMENTING IT’
On the face of it, this process seems
relatively straightforward - write it
down! However, there is more to it.
Sporting Associations need to ensure
that the criteria are not only written
down, but made available to all relevant
athletes, coaches, officials. In addition
to providing these persons with a copy
of the selection criteria, most sporting
associations make their selection
criteria publicly available by publishing
it on their websites, which is a simple
and cost effective way of circulating
such information.
This requirement also imposes an
obligation on sporting associations
to notify athletes (and other relevant
persons) of any amendments made to
the selection criteria in a timely manner.
While this could arguably be achieved
by publishing changes on the website,
or issuing a press release, it might be
more astute for sporting organisations
to develop a system to let athletes know
of any amendments directly. A bulk
email list would be advisable for such
a purpose and could easily be compiled
from information provided on athlete
registration forms.
Also on the point of amendments, it is
best, if possible, to avoid retrospective
amendment of the selection criteria
- such a practice can lead to an
impression that the selection criteria
were amended to benefit a particular
athlete or athletes, who would not have
otherwise fulfilled the selection criteria
(even if the amendment theoretically
applies to all athletes). Such
amendments leave an organisation
vulnerable to claims of lack of
transparency on the part of the selection
committee and will lead to discontent
among athletes (and consequently, a
heightened risk of complaints regarding
selection choices).
There is also no utility in developing or
publishing a selection criteria at short
notice - athletes could never hope
to comply with the requirements set
By James McIntyre
SELECTION PROCESSES
Nina Heglund was one of the first 13
players ever to be selected to represent
Team GB in handball at the Olympics