CONTENTS

 

1. Talent Identification Process and Requirements

 

2. Biathlon NB Team Selection Criteria and Related Procedures for Canada

    Winter Games 2019

 

TALENT IDENTIFICATION PROCESS AND REQUIREMENTS

 

General

Biathlon NB has initiated a talent ID process to identify potential biathletes to compete in the Canada Winter Games (CWG) 2019 in Red Deer, AB, being held during15 February to 3 March 2019  with Biathlon in Week 1, 15 - 22 February.

 

The official talent ID process begins in the 2017/2018 season. Selections for the CWG 2019 Biathlon NB Team will be made in accordance with the Biathlon NB Team Selection Criteria and Related Procedures for Canada Winter Games 2019.

 

Eligibility

All athletes wishing to try for the CWG 2019 Biathlon NB Team, males and females, must be born from 1998 to 2002 inclusively. They must advise their interest to the Biathlon NB Head Coach as soon as possible.

 

All athletes wishing to try for the CWG 2019 Biathlon NB Team must be a current Biathlon Canada/Biathlon NB Registered Participant and have a current firearms Possession and Acquisition License (PAL),  Possession Only Licence (POL) or Minor’s License.

 

Necessary Events for ID and Selection

To be eligible for selection, interested biathletes should take part in the following training camps and competitions, unless excused for valid reasons:

 

Camps and Competitions 2017/2018

 

24/25 June 2017: Start-up Training Camp, Charlo, NB

19/20 August 2017: Atlantic Training Camp, Charlo, NB

7/8 October 2017: Fall Training Camp, Brookvale, PE

25/26 November 2017: Ski Training Camp, Camp Mercier QC(Tentative)

16/17 December 2017: On Snow Training Camp, Charlo, NB

5-7 January 2018: Atlantic Cup 1/ NB Championships, Charlo, NB

17/18 February 2018: Eastern Canadian Championships

20-25 March 2018: Canadian Biathlon Championships, Charlo, NB

 

Camps, Competitions and Selection Trials 2018/2019

 

19/20 May 2018: Spring Training Camp, Charlo, NB

25/26 August 2018: Atlantic Training Camp, Charlo, NB

6/7 October 2018: Fall Training Camp, Charlo, NB

24/25 November 2018: Ski Training Camp, Camp Mercier, QC (Tentative)

15/16 December 2018: On Snow Training Camp, Charlo, NB

22/23 December 2018: CWG 2019 Selection Trial #1, Charlo, NB

29/30 December 2018: CWG 2019 Selection Trial #2 , Charlo, NB

4-6 January 2019: CWG 2019 Selection Trial Reserve Event in Charlo,  if needed

 

All other competitive events are optional.


1.         GENERAL

The Canada Winter Games (CWG) 2019 will be held in Red Deer, AB and Biathlon New Brunswick (BNB) will enter a full team of four Junior Women and four Junior Men, and four Team Staff to participate at the Games. This document sets out the selection criteria and procedures and the related appeals procedures for the selection of the New Brunswick Biathlon Team at the CWG 2019. The purpose of the selection criteria and procedures is to ensure that the best possible biathletes represent New Brunswick at the CWG 2019, and that the selection of the Team is fair, objective and orderly. In preparation for the Games, BNB will select and operate an Interest Group of potential candidates for the Games, who will be selected by various performance based criteria and are subject to the BNB Training Squad and Team Code of Conduct. The Training Squad will remain in its original configuration until the selection trials. All other candidates who wish to try for selection to the BNB CWG 2019 Team will be similarly subject to the BNB Training Squad and Team Code of Conduct when involved in any selection activities.

 

2.         ELIGIBILITY

In order to be eligible for selection to the Biathlon Team for CWG 2019, an athlete must fully meet all of the eligibility requirements detailed in the Biathlon Technical Package for CWG 2019. As well, any candidate for the BNB CWG 2019 Biathlon Team must be a Registered Participant in good standing of Biathlon Canada and BNB.  Additionally, an eligible athlete wishing to be selected must participate in and qualify against the other eligible candidates under the performance based selection criteria set up by BNB in this document. Also, in order to be eligible for selection, the athlete must have a valid firearms license: Possession Only License (POL), Possession and Acquisition License (PAL) or a Minor's License.

Note:   It is recommended that any potential candidates for positions on the BNB CWG 2019 Team should make their intentions known as soon as possible to the Head Coach of BNB, so that they may be kept informed of training camps and other critical scheduled events related to the Team selection process.

 

3.         THE TEAM AND THE SELECTION PROCESS

           

3.1.      Athletes to be Selected

The BNB Biathlon Team at the CWG 2019 will consist of four Junior Men and four Junior Women athletes, and the selection process is open to any eligible athlete. During the selection process, one reserve athlete of each gender will be selected in addition to the Team, but a reserve will only participate at the Games if a selected Team member is unable to participate. No athlete will be selected unless they participate and qualify through the stipulated selection trial competitions, unless Article 3.4. – Force Majeure Situations applies. Notification of selection or non-selection to the Team will be made not later than 10 January 2019.

 

 

Selection 1/4

3.2.      Selection Events and Procedures

Two competitive selection trials will be held, each consisting of two competitions - an Individual and Sprint competition – as follows:

 

CWG 2019 Selection Trial #1, Charlo, NB - 22/23 December 2018

CWG 2019 Selection Trial #2, Charlo, NB -  29/30 December 2018

 

In case of problems with the implementation of the above two events, the dates 4-6 January 2019 will be used for a reserve selection event, consisting of the necessary competitions to complete the selection process.

 

The eight Team members and two reserves will be selected based on the best aggregate performance in the best two of the four competitions. The best performance is defined as the lowest sum of the athletes' two rankings in the selected two competitions. The four male athletes with the lowest sum of two placings will be selected for the Junior Men’s Team and the four female athletes with the lowest sum of two placings will be selected  for the Junior Women’s Team. The reserve for each gender will be the next lowest sum after the selected team members. An example of the scoring is, second and fourth places will be the sum six and two second places will be the sum four.

 

3.3.      Ties in Scoring

If a tie occurs in the sums of two or more athletes of the same gender, the athlete who will be deemed the better will be the one with the better average of times expressed as percentages behind the winner in the two competitions, based on the average of the top three competitors being 100%. If a tie remains after the foregoing, the Selection Committee will make the discretionary decision based on objective and comparative historical performance data from competitions and testing.

 

3.4.      Force Majeure Situations

If circumstances occur, such as cancellation of the selection competitions for weather reasons, which cannot be rescheduled by BNB, or the force majeure inability of a known well-performing athlete to participate in the selection trials, the Selection Committee shall make the selection decisions based on fair, objective and best-available performance data and with the goal of selecting the best possible Team for the Games. Documented comparative performance data from training camps and competitive events will be used for such selections.

 

3.5.      The Selection Committee

The BNB Selection Committee for the CWG 2019 Team shall consist of five members, as follows:

 

Chair                  BNB Vice President

Members         CWG 2019 Male Coach

                              CWG 2019 Female Coach

                              CWG 2019 Team Manager

                              CWG 2019 Wax Technician

 

The Selection Committee will be struck officially on 20 April 2017 by the BNB Board and ratified by the BNB AGM 2017 on 13 May 2017. The Committee will be competent to make decisions if three members are present. Decisions in the Committee shall be made by vote, with the majority of the votes cast deciding the issue. The Chairperson shall only vote in the case of a tied vote of the members.

 

4.         APPEALS AGAINST SELECTION DECISIONS

 

4.1.      Grounds for Appeals
Athletes have a right to appeal a selection decision if the criteria was not implemented properly, or was biased in some way.  An appeal shall be heard ONLY on the grounds that the selection process

and final decision was flawed, not because the athlete did not like the decision. The grounds are as follows:

Selection 2/4

a.         The Selection Committee made a decision for which it lacked authority.


b.         The Selection Committee failed to follow procedures in the BNB approved

            selection criteria.

c.         The Selection Committee made a decision which was influenced by bias.

d.         The Selection Committee failed to consider relevant information or took into

            account irrelevant information in making the decision.

e.         The Selection Committee exercised its discretion for an improper purpose, and/or

f.          The Selection Committee made a decision that was unreasonable.

 

4.2.      Appeals Time Lines and Procedures:

The athlete shall be given 48 hours following the official notifications of selections for the BNB CWG 2019 Team to request an appeal. The athlete must present his/her request in writing to the Chair of the Appeals Committee of BNB. The Appeals Committee shall review the presented documentation and information and decide whether or not the request has grounds for a hearing. They shall also review all selection procedure documentation from the Selection Committee that has a bearing on the case in question.

 

If there are no legitimate grounds for an appeal, the Chair of the Appeals Committee shall telephone or speak in person to the athlete advising her/him of the decision. This will be followed up with a formal letter to the athlete.

 

If the Appeals Committee feels there are grounds for an appeal hearing, the following procedures will

take place:

a.         The Chair of the Appeals Committee shall select a designated place, date and time to  hear the appeal.  This will be done no later than 48 hours from receipt of the appeal request

 

b.         The Appeals Committee shall hear the athlete's complaint. She/He may be

accompanied by one advocate (parent or guardian or legal advisor, etc.)


c.         The Appeals Committee shall hear from the Selection Committee representative

            (the Chair or a member appointed by the Chair).


d.         The Appeals Committee will make a final decision at the appeal hearing and the

decision shall be final and binding.


e.         The Chair of the Appeals Committee will contact the athlete no later than 24 hours.

after the hearing by phone to advise her/him of the outcome and this will be followed up   by a formal letter and copy of the appeal findings and recommendations.

 


f.          The Chair of the Appeals Committee will contact the Selection Committee Chair by          phone to advise her/him of the outcome. This will be followed up by a copy of the    formal letter to the athlete and copy of the appeal findings and recommendations.

 

4.3.      The Appeals Committee:
The Appeals Committee shall consist of five persons in the positions as follows:

 

Chair   Members                     BNB President
                                                         BNB Treasurer

                                                         BNB Secretary          

                                                         BNB Membership Chair

                                                          BNB Athlete Representative

 

 

Selection 3/4

Contact information for the Appeals Committee Chair will be published when the Committee is struck .

 

The Appeals Committee will be struck officially by the BNB Board in April 2018 and ratified by the BNB AGM 2018 in 10 May 2018. The Committee will be competent to make decisions if three members are present. Decisions in the Committee shall be made by vote, with the majority of the votes cast deciding the issue. The Chairperson shall only vote in the case of a tied vote of the members.


4.4.      Costs
The athlete who submits an appeal must be prepared to cover his/her own expenses during the process (i.e. travel to the hearing).  BNB will make every effort to minimize such costs. If the appeal of the athlete is upheld by the Appeals Committee, BNB will reimburse the expenses directly arising

from the appeal.

5.         COMING INTO FORCE

 This document comes into force when ratified by the BNB AGM 2017 on 13 May 2017.

 
 

 

 

Ray Kokkonen

President

 

16 April 2017