We don't belong here.

[LostAgain]

Doesn't look like many (any) of those that express strong and frequent opinions on Nopesport have put themselves forward. Perhaps on the Events and Competitions Committee.

This issue has only just raised it's ugly head. So it's not surprising that the nominee list does not reflect this issue.

I'm guessing it's too late to stand?

[NeilC]

That could be read as getting at people Hope it's not because many with 'strong & frequent opinions' have done / do more for orienteering than most

Yes of course, but also (I suspect) others that haven't/don't. Hopefully everyone knows in which camp they sit.

[riverman]

I'm guessing it's too late to stand?

While it is too late to stand for election as a director, an easier way of expressing disapproval with the decisions of the Board is to vote against the adoption of the annual accounts for 2011 at the AGM (or by using the proxy forms for people not attending the meeting itself) - that would effectively be a vote of no confidence in the Board.

Incidentally, while I've been a regular reader of Nopesport - and have been a member of the Federation for over 40 years - I've never felt the need to post before. But this issue and the way in which it has been handled really does annoy me.

[Toni]

I was at March in the Madness this weekend and a lady stopped me on the way to the start to ask if I was the nopesport poster - generally supportive as she had run at the Australian Championships competitively despite being British. She believed the rule should be the same for relay and individual. On a different note I was reading about plastic British athletes at the World indoors on the way home - one of the athletes has been living in the UK the same length of time as me with British children and I was wondering how she feels about the headlines.

[Red Adder]

I'm glad to see that Compass Sport has come out strongly in favour of having truely open championships. Well done Nick.

[Mrs H]

Of course he did - who in there right mind wouldn't. the interesting thing is reading LW's response to Monika's very moving letter.

Being a practical sort of person who likes to look at ways of making things happen rather than stopping them (you know like getting juniors across a road in an urban race) t seems to me that if LW really wants to make life easier for organisers AND not alienate our hard working foreign national residents - it really would be quite simple for BOF to introduce and implement a simple licensing system - incorporated on the membership database which shows which foreign nationals have qualified in terms of residency - Surely that is the sort of service BOF can provide for it's members - I mean how hard can that be?

[ianandmonika]

Thanks for comment, but in the meantime BO has created a great amount of 'badwill' with several affected people already resigning from orienteering admin/coaching/training posts. Difficult for BO to overcome the negativity it has created. We certainly didn't vote in BO councillors at last year's AGM to put us in this position.

[greywolf]

the interesting thing is reading LW's response...

which was smug, condescending and apparently ignorant of the (complex) rules on the subject...

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... tizenship/
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTr ... /DG_174145

British Citizenship may well be easily demonstrated by a passport or "citizenship document", but only if you possess one - and a significant percentage (10 -20%) of British citizens do not.
On the other hand British Citizens are just one of 6 categories of British Nationals who can hold a British passport.
And if you don't have a passport and you were born after 31 December 1982 then it's not enough to prove you were born here - citizenship is dependent on parental status

LW justifies the Board's ruling on by "the need to remove the onus from hard-pressed officials to make decisions ... on the day". I'm all for making life easier for event officials, but this potentially could make things much much worse, because it opens the door to all sorts of speculative protests.

As far as I am aware BOF do not collect any information on nationality or citizenship when you join or renew (although they are still claiming "eligibility to compete in the British Championships..." as one of the benefits of National BOF membership ), nor do any of the online entry systems i've ever used - so how are event organisers supposed to know who is eligible or not? Maybe Lyn West carries her ID papers at all times, but I suspect most of us don't, and wouldn't take kindly to a passport check in the -4 box.

[Red Adder]

I also don't understand how LWs only real justification for the move makes any sense. If the BOC needs to be opened up to non-members so it can be a World Ranking Event I see no problem - it must be very easy to identify non BOF members in such circumstances. They would be competitive as far as WRE was concerned (ie can pick up their ranking points) would would not, as non BOF members, be elligible for the title of British Champion - simples.

Another thought came to mind. We are about to hold the event that celebrates memory of the young Swede who helped introduce and encourage the early development of Orienteering in to GB - without whom we may not have the sport in this country to enjoy. To put it bluntly I feel the behaviour of the board is an insult to his memory and to the other founding fathers.

[awk]

What a depressing thread. I really feel for Toni, Monika and others - this decision is crass, insensitive and, it appears, badly informed. So - what's the quickest/most effective way of effecting change?

[Mrs H]

To put it bluntly I feel the behaviour of the board is an insult to his memory and to the other founding fathers.

It's interesting that Shakespeare foresaw Red Adder's comments with

How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child!

....and we all know how that ended

[mharky]

What a depressing thread. I really feel for Toni, Monika and others - this decision is crass, insensitive and, it appears, badly informed. So - what's the quickest/most effective way of effecting change?

Occupy the BOF office?

[Adrian]

The gentleman from BOF who came to the WMOA committee meeting this evening arrived willing to justify BOF's decision, but left with a flea in his ear and, seemingly, a change of heart.

Meanwhile we passed a motion asking BOF to change its eligibility criteria to include residence.

So, please guys, bear with us, we're on your side. What seems to have happened is there was a little problem, then a BOF leadership that is out of touch with the membership made a bad decision about what to do about the little problem, and BOF now feels, like a cornered politician, that it has to brazen it out. But neither their position nor their justifications make sense, and I think that with a little extra pushing the decision will be overturned.

[EddieH]

If not we could always declare UDI and set up a new body

[IanD]

How about this for a new rule:

To be eligible to be British Champion, a competitor must be a BOF member for the year of the event, and must be either a British passport holder or have been a BOF member with a UK address (i.e. the address given to BOF with the membership) for the year of the event and the previous two years. For juniors M/W16 and under, only membership/address for the year of the event shall be required. BOF shall maintain a list of people meeting the membership/address requirement, and make it available to British Championship event organisers and any entry-processing company that the organiser nominates. People not on the BOF list wishing to qualify by producing a British passport must both notify the organiser at the time of entry and produce the passport at the event.

People finishing in the first three but not eligible to be British Champion shall be invited onto the podium at the prizegiving, and may receive presents, but shall not receive British Championship trophies or medals.

I'm aware that this debars adult British citizens who have only just joined BOF and do not process a passport. Likewise it allows British passport holders who are only subjects and not citizens. I'm happy with both these anomalies in the interests of having a simple rule.

I think the bit about juniors is important though, otherwise a child who has just taken up orienteering and has no passport would not be allowed. I'm happy with this for adults - who can buy for a passport if they are really bothered - but not M/W10's.