Selection Policy Open for Consultation

[davidpbain]

The Selection Policy for 2017 is now open for consultation.

It is a good idea for paddlers and the parents of younger paddlers to read through this and input ideas and thoughts for the international panels consideration.

I feel this is important as it keeps paddlers at the forefront of our sport.

The policy can be viewed here;
http://www.canoeslalom.co.uk/committee/ ... t%2016.pdf

Feedback:
https://goo.gl/forms/keVkMkRnm0Q5BbwK2

Regards,
David


I input the following thoughts this year;

To the International Panel,

After reading the 2016 selection policy I would like to raise the following points.

(minor changes have been made for it to read correctly without the google forms formatting)
Junior Selection Proposal

I feel that reverting to a three race system would benefit the paddlers competing in Junior selection and create a fairer event for all participants.

The international panel responded last year to many padders who objected to Junior selection being held at one venue. I feel the response dodged the issue by stating that there was no valid consensus of an alternative venue. Whilst I believe this is true it did not address the point that having junior selection on one venue in the South of England fails to acknowledge the rest of the UK.

This year I feel that the international panel should respond allowing each of the home nations to pick a venue. This would allow each nation to chose a venue that they feel will support their junior squad most therefore, making the selection series fair for each home nation and the paddlers and parents whom reside there.

After checking the ICF calendar for 2017, I see that the events are being held at both Bratislava, Slovakia (a fairly technical course) and Hohenlimburg, Germany (a fairly non-technical course).

I believe one of the the international panel's main roles is to create a policy that enables selection of the best team to win medals at international events. With this in mind selecting a versatile team that are able to paddle on both technical courses like Lee Valley, and natural venues like Bala or Tully would surely be a perfect way of choosing the most able team.

I truly believe that the best team would be selected this way and remove all the bias created by selection being held in a single venue which, has widely acknowledged difficulties with water time for all paddlers not based in London.

I hope that these thoughts on Junior selection are considered seriously. I feel that the old selection selection set up was crucial in my, and many others development and that the current system is both flawed and potentially biased.


ICF inclusion of Boater X events

I understand that the sport is in a very difficult position with the inclusion of Boater X in ICF events.

Whilst Boater X events have actually been held for 10 years+, including events which are considered to be World, US and European standard, the ICF have only just started to include this high octane event in international calendars.

After the apparent success of last years boater x inclusion in the World Cup Series, the ICF are now proposing to including this event in a World championships and therefor I assume that they will be advertising this as a ICF Boater X World championships.

As we are all aware, from the moment C1W was added as a discipline in the World championships, it had a formalised selection policy. British Canoeing was one of the first nationals to push the C1 discipline hard within its program and I feel the results over the past few years speak for themselves how successful this was.

I feel that the international panels current policy does not address the issue that there is the potential for a paddle sports World Championships, with no selection event in the UK. It also does not state that paddlers selected on the GB canoe slalom team must or will even be encouraged to race the boater X race. (This is completely understandable due to risk of injury being detrimental to the paddlers main discipline). This does however leave a void in the British Canoeing team and the possible loss of medals. This could then hinder both the image of British Canoeing and indeed the potential progression of canoe slalom as a sport.

Please do not take this as purely negative as I truly understand how difficult the position that British Canoeing are in with this inclusion however, I feel huge care needs to be taken whilst the ICF is considering making changes such as this to support the sport and allow its potential evolution.

Kind regards,
David Bain

[Canadian Paddler]

Thanks for raising the profile of this David, just a couple of minor points:

I think it is the 2017 selection policy (not 2015 or 2016), but that was probably done to check if anyone reads this properly.

Then the ICF Slalom Committee has not made, or proposed, any changes that will make slalom cross (as they call it) a World Championship Event, or even a World Cup event. They HAVE proposed inclusion of slalom cross as a discipline within slalom, and allowed World Cup organisers to run a slalom cross event rather than teams if they want.

The panel statement you provided a link to is a statement of eligiblity to compete at teh Senior / U23 selection race, not a panel statement put out for review. I can't find any policy out for review at teh moment, but will update / post when / if I do

[andy n]

This is the link to the Consultation Policy
http://www.canoeslalom.co.uk/committee/ ... t%2016.pdf

[davidpbain]

Thanks for correcting all my typos and mistakes guys

[davidpbain]

Thanks for raising the profile of this David, just a couple of minor points:

Then the ICF Slalom Committee has not made, or proposed, any changes that will make slalom cross (as they call it) a World Championship Event, or even a World Cup event. They HAVE proposed inclusion of slalom cross as a discipline within slalom, and allowed World Cup organisers to run a slalom cross event rather than teams if they want.

Thanks Canadian Paddler. My apologies for the above mistakes.

As a huge fan of team racing, I find this concerning but, if a Slalom Cross event was to take place instead of a team event, would it then be considered with the same weight as a team race medal? If so then it brings the question of whether acknowledging Slalom Boater X as a discipline in its own right is needed.

I also understand that it is being included within slalom. Anyone who has raced Slalom Cross (ICF)/Boater X with gates/Giant Slalom on the international circuit I feel appreciates how different this event is to conventional slalom. This is just another reason why I believe that if Slalom Cross is to grow, it would need to be considered its own event.

The first 20 or so seconds of this video contains footage from the Slalom X event held in Norway each year at the Ekstrem Sport Veko Festival.
Enjoy https://vimeo.com/140226221

[alpaterson]

As a parent, who like many others, support their children paddling in canoe slalom by taking them all over the country to compete in this sport, I find the current and proposed junior selection criteria to be questionable in several key areas. My thoughts on this are: -

Firstly, this sport depends to a massive extent on clubs all over the country who are its lifeblood and provide the many volunteers who enable canoe slalom to exist by providing unpaid coaches, developing paddlers and organising canoe slalom events. These events provide the foundations for the infrastructure that is required to develop future Olympic athletes. It seems that there is now a very real disconnect building up between the administrators of the sport and the very clubs who provide the structure on which the sport depends. The apparent neglect of the club structure in favour of focused athlete training programmes undermines the grass roots of the sport and does nothing to dispel an apparent ever-increasing elite sport mentality.

Paddlers have to travel to many venues in order to achieve promotion to the upper echelons of this sport, not only within the UK but also abroad. This involves considerable time and expense and it has to be borne in mind that the majority of those competing are in the junior age range and therefore have no means of financial support other than that provided by parents or guardians. It is only through this essential support that many are able to train on the various GB Canoeing squads and compete for places in Team GB.

Lee Valley is undoubtedly a wonderful world-class facility but it has the major drawback that it costs more to operate than other “water-always-on” sites such as Tully and HPP and this cost has to be passed on to those using the venue. The cost of training there (when you can actually get training slots) and competing there is high in comparison to other venues, especially when you factor in the major costs of travel and accommodation for those who do not live near Lee Valley. Thus, for the majority of UK paddlers, Lee Valley is a venue that is more time-consuming and costly to reach than some of the other more traditional selection venues.

Therefore I object strongly to the proposal to hold all three of the junior selection races at Lee Valley as I believe it disadvantages those who are unable to train there on a regular basis, adds considerably to the costs of paddlers entering junior selection and creates a considerable unfair bias towards southern-based athletes. I agree with David Bain that each of the home nations should be able to nominate a venue for each of the junior selection races. This not only enables different clubs to benefit from the income stream that arises from organising these events but it also exposes athletes to different forms of water course which is essential for their future competitive development and experience.

I also feel that compressing selection into three consecutive days is not in the best interests of the junior athletes as it will favour those who happen to peak on that weekend rather than those who produce consistently good performances over time. I would therefore urge the committee to reconsider this proposal and change the junior selection race calendar to provide three separate venues for selection on three separate weekends, as has been the practice in previous years.

[paddlerparent]

Well said alpaterson! I totally agree & lets hope your objection is understood in a positive light.

[andy n]

alpaterson makes some very valid comments which I'm sure are shared more widely. There are many factors which have to be considered:
1. The intention to hold Junior Selection at Lee Valley was included in last year's selection policy and confirmed in the International Panel statement of 11th April 2016 https://www.britishcanoeing.org.uk/olym ... -policies/ . Therefore I don't think this can be changed for 2017. Consultation for 2018 does form part of the current draft policy with proposal for 3 day Junior Selection at HPP.
2. Traditionally Junior Selection (before 2014) was usually held at 3 separate venues, often Tryweryn, Grandtully and HPP. They were included as part of Premier events, not as stand alone Junior Selection events. Often these events were doubles as preferred by many for travelling/accommodation reasons. This had the effect of overloading the early season with Premier events and leading to no summer races. Looking at next year's proposed calendar there are no planned early season events at HPP or Tryweryn, so Junior selection could only be held at Grandtully if away from Lee Valley.
3. There are potential problems with all venues. Lee Valley is expensive and can be difficult to access training slots but releases are reliable and the water is clean. HPP is often closed for lengthy periods through the winter due to high river levels or pollution. Tryweryn depends on releases that can change at quite short notice. HPP and Tryweryn are cheaper than Lee Valley. Cardiff, I believe, is even more expensive than Lee Valley. Grandtully is the cheapest option for paddling but river levels are extremely inconsistent.
4. If you wish to seriously prepare for selection then travelling is inevitable. If you live in Central England you have less travelling than those further North, South, Scotland, Wales etc. Do paddlers actually prefer to prepare at just one venue or divide their time across 3 selection venues? It would be good to have a Scottish or Welsh input to the debate.

[CeeBee]

To me, Junior selection should be at multiple venues across the country and the previous system of 1 in each home nation worked well and was fair. The current system of having all of junior selection over 1 weekend at Lee Valley is unfair for a number of reasons. Many of the parents I know are not happy with this situation but do not feel they can object in case their children are discriminated against.

If there were no juniors regularly training at Lee Valley, and all juniors had equal access to Lee Valley, then at least it would be a level playing field. Instead, the course configuration is set by mid February and those based at Lee Valley get 2 months to train regularly on the course versus odd weekends for the rest of the juniors. Those at Lee Valley also go home to their own beds with their own food rather than staying in Premier Inns/Travelodges. Home Advantage is well recognised in sport. I am all for having 1 or possibly 2 races at Lee Valley but there should be another 2 races elsewhere. There is a perception that those coaching the talent ID groups are under pressure to deliver results and also many of the coaches are also based at Lee Valley so it is easier to have the selection there rather than going to other venues where the facilities are inferior e.g. no meeting rooms for video feedback, kitchen, dedicated changing rooms.

The pressure on juniors to race on 3 successive days at such a physical course such as Lee Valley is immense and the pressure this year on the Sunday at Lee Valley selection this year , resulted in many of the juniors buckling under the pressure. One of the juniors selected only raced well in the final race as they thought they had no chance of selection and relaxed. At least, if the racing is over 3 weekends, the juniors have the chance to regroup if they have a bad race.

The junior race is to take place alongside the U23 and Senior races. So, I would presume that the race will be set for Senior level to select the best Senior team. This does not seem fair.

Grandtully has been discounted for variable water level but many of the international courses also have variable water level. Grandtully in April is usually perfectly fit to be a selection race. If it isn't , then we need to designate a back up race.

Another factor is that at this year's selection (and at the Tully selection a couple of years ago), some of the moves in the course have been practiced and timed. (this has been corroborated by several sources who overhead conversations on the river bank and in the changing rooms). Wherever the races are held, we need to ensure that whoever sets the course is independent i.e. not a junior coach.

I also believe that the top 3 boats should be taken in each class and that having to achieve percentages against the top K1M (Joe Clarke or Bradley ForbesCryans) on their home water at lee Valley is unfair to other classes. The junior K1M can achieve the percentages but the other classes struggle. Why is is deemed necessary to restrict those selected for the Junior Worlds to only those that make percentages that would qualify them for a final? If each country adopted this approach, there would be very few competitors racing internationally. It may be that there is no funding for these athletes but parents will find a way to pay to enable their children to go. They have already committed their lives and weekends to touring the country.

The Junior Worlds and Europeans are in late July and August so there is no urgency to selecting this team by mid April. The Scottish race could be the Double Prem at Tully and the Welsh race either Llandysul or Cardiff at end April/1 May

Note - I think Lee Valley is a fantastic venue and it is great to see new paddlers emerging as a result of the TID programs. As the TID program progresses, there will undoubtably be paddlers from lee Valley who should be selected for Junior teams and will be good enough regardless of where selection is held. However, selection needs to be fair and having Junior selection all at Lee Valley on one weekend is biased towards those who train there regularly. Juniors cannot move to Lee Valley until they have left school and are old enough to look after themselves.

[JimW]

I also understand that it is being included within slalom. Anyone who has raced Slalom Cross (ICF)/Boater X with gates/Giant Slalom on the international circuit I feel appreciates how different this event is to conventional slalom. This is just another reason why I believe that if Slalom Cross is to grow, it would need to be considered its own event.

I've done a little BoaterX without gates and BoaterX around buoys but it is quite evident that even a SlalomX format with gates is very different to slalom - the other paddlers are not in the same team, everyone is aiming to be first through the gate whatever it takes, and accidents will inevitably happen as boats and paddles make occasional contact. A broken hand or rib from SlalomX would ruin an entire seasons world cups.

Presumably if it is just a proposal to allow SlalomX within slalom there is time for consultation to determine if in fact SlalomX is the right/best/only format that ICF should be looking at?

I'm sure David is better connected with the details of all the different events that currently run and has a much clearer idea than me which disciplines entrants are coming from, but from what I have seen there is a high degree of cross discipline interest, depending on the format being used. There are paddlers from Slalom, WWR, Freestyle and just regular River Runners all taking part in competitions which are generally annual standalone events and range from simple BoaterX using river features or buoys to courses with paddles up style obstacles like touch pads to full SlalomX with gates.

Which discipline is best placed to run a UK series and selection will therefore depend on whether ICF go with SlalomX or a different format - it could be Slalom, or WWR, or Freestyle, or a new discipline created specifically for it.

As far as I know the biggest BoaterX in the UK at the moment is the one that runs as part of the Hurley Classic Freestyle event. The course is usually fairly simple, down a huge launch ramp, around several buoys which make you cross the eddies and main flow a couple of times and then to a downstream finish, although it looks like there will be water cannons used this year to add extra difficulty. I don't know the exact numbers for last year, but I'm pretty sure there were around 100 first round heats with 4 paddlers per heat - it wouldn't work for a SlalomX style format though.