BJesus

[Kitch]

what if Jamie ran for Turkey.....

Jamie has lived and competed in Sweden, now Denmark.
Many top brits, many top orienteers have moved to Scandinavia to make the most of their carreers.
This is their choice. It is not ideal for the domestic orienteering scene - because their presence is missed in training and in competition.

But athletes of like mind accept and respect the decision.

And where these athletes remove their involvement in the domestic scene they invariably inspire that domestic scene by achieving great results in Scandinavia ( Swedish Champions, 5-days Champions etc)- and internationally. Showing that Brits can be the best in the world. They lead the way.

Success breeds success and any nation needs its pioneers and BJ will lead the way, he will show that Aussies can reach the top in orienteering if they make the commitment - he will inspire other Aussies to do the same.

How does BJ wanting to join the British Squad and Team affect the development of British elite orienteering ? How does it effect the development of new talent ?
It can only help.
Youngsters should be inspired that BJ wants to be part of the British system, because it shows we have a great system that helps people get to the top. Its their system if they want it.
The team should be inspired, in BJ they have another great, motivated competitor and friend to drive them along - and the British Squad thrives on friendship, competition and motivation. The more of these things there are in the British Squad the more it will achieve.

Britain's gain is Australia's loss and if people are upset then it is because they know BJ's value (if BJ was some half-hearted also ran some people would not be getting so upset).

The great lesson of sport is respect for the commitment, sacrifices and eventual achievements of your fellow competitors.

[FatBoy]

ConcernedBrit - you miss a vital point. Jamie is not half Turkish - BJ is half British. That's not being poached that's taking up the other half of his dual-nationality.

[HOCOLITE]

My son competed in sprint that BJ ran at Halden and came back full of respect for BJ and absolutely thrilled that he beat BJ on one split on the sprint. Unfortunately members of our organisation have rather dented that enthusiasm by their failurs in the communication field but that is another story.

[Mrs H.]

I think Concerned Brit and the Australian contingent are both missing a vital point. It's not really what BOF are (Or are not) doing for BJ - Its more a case of what the Australians - in terms of developing the sport domestically -have failed to do in order to provide him and the likes with the support they require to make the top. I think instead of sounding off they should be a little more circumspect about their own short comings and learn from it. BJ had options and took them - he also knew there would be consequences - and still took them - so instead of examining the effect, examine the cause!

[Dids co]

concerned brit wrote:

[b]"So you are trying to tell me no funding for training camps, races etc until you have run trials against the other orienteers and earnt your place in the squad?

By the way I am not having a go at you, you would be crazy not too take them up but I don't agree with what BOF have done."[/b]


Why are you writing on this topic when you have absolutly no knowledge of Bj's situation and how the squad works?
In my mind Bj has easily earnt his place in the British squad through many good international results this year. He should be treated as any other british orienteer from now on, and thus easily has a place in the squad - no debate.


Why do you still continue to say "what BOF have done"? BOF have done nothing as Bj's explained. This is totally his decision. Bj is a very commited athlete ,his desire to win is far beyond any other athlete I've known. He wants to be the best in the world and is capable of achieving this - but to do this he needs to be on par with the other worlds best runners - he needs the training in relavent terrain, the guidance and support from coaches, physio's, psychologists. Australia can't provide all of this just now, so he's made a very tough situation but the right one to help him become world champion.

As I said before, Bj's winning attitude could be a real assist in the British Team and push many others to better international results.

Steve Sylvesters gonna love him![/b]

[Dids co]

Kitch > excellent post mate, totally agree

[Guest]

Totally agree that if BJ is eligible to run for GBR then it is up to him to decide if he wants to.

But, to go back to Kitch's original post on this thread, there are some formalities. To represent GBR at an IOF event (WOC, World Cup etc) he has to have both British citizenship and a British passport (IOF rule 6.2).

No idea whether he has or not, and if not whether he is intending to apply and how long this might take.

If not eligible for GBR we could still invite him to join the squad - if it would be mutually beneficial in inspiring GBR athletes and assisting his training - but I guess we might not want to subsidize him.

[mharky]

BJ has a British Passport, because he is dual-nationality.

[G Riemersma]

Just 'cos he has dual nationality does not mean he has a passport for both, some countries won't let you have two. (i know i had to give up my Dutch passport when i got a British one). I don't know whether BJ has a british passport or not, but the IOF rules say he should have "..full passport holding citizenship..", NOT that he must have the passport.

/Gordon

[mharky]

right, so I'll say it again: Bj has a British passport because of his dual nationality, I have seen it.

[bendover]

i've seen it too. and his passport.

[Kitch]

"..full passport holding citizenship..", NOT that he must have the passport.

/Gordon

you can be a citizen without a passport
you can't get a passport without being a citizen

[gross2006]

you can be a citizen without a passport
you can't get a passport without being a citizen

Unless you live in the Baltic States where you can be born to a 2nd or 3rd generation family in these countries & not be a citizen or eligible for a passport... in Latvia you are classified as a 'non-citizen' in Estonia as an 'alien'

But back to the topic and passports... from memory at WOC 2001 in Finland it was a requirement to show your passport at registration to prove you had the right to represent your country....

And to Gordon R.... remember if you'd played your cards right along with a Norwegian & an Aussie you could have run as a good relay team in WOC's

[G Riemersma]

OK, we (Mharky, Bendover, Kitch and me) are going round in circles agreeing with each other. I was just trying to point out that Guests statement was wrong, ie

But, to go back to Kitch's original post on this thread, there are some formalities. To represent GBR at an IOF event (WOC, World Cup etc) he has to have both British citizenship and a British passport (IOF rule 6.2).

You don't, according to IOF rule 6.2, need an actual passport of the country you are running for (even if you do have one and it makes life easier when it comes to proving that you have the citizenship).

/Gordon.

[candyman]

I've seen it too, and wasn't too impressed... whats all this passport bizzo?