Who will be going to WOC ?

[geomorph]

.... Looks like they used all known form to cover some of the inadequacies of the selection races, and gone for the strongest team rather than spreading the places around - nobody who hasn't been before was really in with a shout....

So, is two teams of five a money thing or a performance thing?

If the latter should we be worried about the depth of quality or about the selection process?

If the former and our begging bowls to the various funding bodies aren't being filled, what are the alternatives to fill them in another way?

[greywolf]

IIRC the rule about national teams being maximum 7 men & 7 women is an IOF rule not a BOF rule, (think there is also a max number of team officials) and it's there to limit the number of bodies the organisers need to accommodate, feed etc., and does not in anyway represent guidance as to what is a "complete" team.

[geomorph]

IIRC the rule about national teams being maximum 7 men & 7 women does not in anyway represent guidance as to what is a "complete" team.

Which boils it down to a performance thing with some economics thrown in.

The selected 5*2 are so far ahead of the next possible two (per team) that there is no possibility of furthering the aim of 'more podiums' (ie you'd waste the sponsors money) by adding the extra 4 - infact you'd possibly reduce the potential to gain podiums if you took them.

[DIDSCO]

Well Dave Peel's got balls, and good on him!
In the guys Speaky is the only one to "miss" out, but Peel obviously wanted Speaky to prove more consistently he's at the top level and he didn't quite do that in the selection races. There's is a very clear class difference in British mens orienteering at the moment, with the 5 WOC guys + Craney well ahead of the rest. Peel is probably making a statement with his selections in the men that will make the other guys realise they've got a lot of work to do. I'm glad he's resting 2 of the relay guys from the long before, and who'd say no to JD on first leg? not me anyway.

Was a shame Mhairi wasn't available, she's a talent still to develop her full potential.
Winskill and Bridle were maybe "lucky", if there is any such thing, Peel will look to prove any critics wrong with strong races from those 2 at WOC.

It's a pretty old skool team, wheres the new talent coming through? How much longer will Jamie, JD, Oli, Helen W, Sarah, Pippa, Rachael, Helen B keep going? 8 of the 10 in the team all over 30years old.

[Kitch]

tough week for Sarah

[Tatty]

Hope Tommy can cope with Sarah's week

[harry]

Well Dave Peel's got balls, and good on him!

Are you kidding? The men's team looks great with several serious medal possibilities but without so many of these amongst the women's team he has instead gone for a very safe team who can all probably get top 30s instead of giving opportunities to medal contenders of the future like Lizzie. It is one stratgey and since those that missed out will get the chance to run other internationals this year maybe it's the sensible one but to say he has balls is.. balls.

Sarah ran amazingly in the relay after a similarly tough week in Latvia but unfortunately the demands of the terrain in Czech are so different that it's hard to imagine the women's relay team fulfilling their potential with two of them having run the long final the day before. Clearly Peel perceives Pippa and Sarah to be a long way ahead of the rest.

[DIDSCO]

Ha ha....I meant Peel's got balls for leaving out Speaky, Lizzie, and perhaps even your good self. And good on him because this is what his jobs all about now as the sole selecter and head coach - he has to make tough decisions, stand by them, and then both take the praise when things go well and feel the pain from HQ when things don't work out. The buck stops with him. It should help motivate him to do the best possible job for the team, which can only be good for the runners and their performances.

For what it's worth I would have selected Speaky and Lizzie straight out, then yo-yo'd on you for ages before realising Sarah isn't quite Superwomen and put you in the team to run one of her events. And Ed don't worry the closest Murray would have come to czech would have been a bottle of Staropramen in Glasgow airport and then a taxi ride home in a Skoda

[Rach]

i think helen deserved a place more than lizzie - she has better results through the year and a good run at eoc behind her. lizzie needs to show consistency and totally deserves the world students place she got, when she kicks ass in the sprint there she will have more justification for selection next year...

ps, dids there's still 2 years til i'm 30!!

[Patrick]

ps, dids there's still 2 years til i'm 30!!

On the age thing, it was interesting (and rather scary) to look at the YOB field for the results of the Swiss selection races. Of the 19 finishers in the Men's Long race, none was born before 1980. In the women's race, aside from Vroni only one was over 30.

Compare and contrast.

Patrick

[rocky]

And Ed don't worry the closest Murray would have come to czech would have been a bottle of Staropramen in Glasgow airport and then a taxi ride home in a Skoda

haha I'm sure I could find a tastier Czech beer - or else imitate it with a Pivo Estivo.

Even if I hadn't run down the wrong alleyway en route to no5 and had won the race I wouldn't be going to Czech (a) because I doubt DP would have picked me and definitely (b) because even if I'd been picked I'd have turned it down. Orienteering at that level doesn't interest me at the moment, I'd far rather just pick and choose my races, and do the ones that interest me. Life's too short to build your whole year around one set of races! So I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks for the top events they offer - Forssa, Jukola & O-Festivalen, and then hanging up my compass for the rest of the year and doing some hill, road and cross country. And watching WOC online, with full respect to all the guys and girls running it!

-m

[DIDSCO]

nice one Rocky I like your style and attitude

butI hope Peely and the rest of the coaches are trying to change your mind.

[Gross]

(a) because I doubt DP would have picked me

bit worrying to see that some of our top athletes were going into the test races believing that even if winning they wouldn't be selected!!!!

[Kitch]

Life's too short to build your whole year around one set of races!
-m

life is too short not to test yourself to the very very best of your ability -
a year isn't much
sure it doesn't have to be year after year after year,
doesn't have to be orienteering.

[geomorph]

(a) because I doubt DP would have picked me

bit worrying to see that some of our top athletes were going into the test races believing that even if winning they wouldn't be selected!!!!

or DP is a great communicator and already had discussions with all elite regarding where they stood in the pecking order, and what they would need to do to change that, and in return each athlete had indicated honestly their aspirations.