JK 2014 and SelectionThoughts

Hello, don't worry, I'm not dead, just been taking a break from the blogging to get some of this running stuff done.

As many of you know, the JK (Jan Kjellstrom Orienteering Festival) this year was not just a major race date in the diary, but also the races that BO chose to hold as the selection races for both EYOC and JWOC respectively. This would include the sprint race at Swansea University on the Friday, a middle race at Merthyr Common on the Saturday and then a classic race on Sunday (Llangynidr). I won't go in to as much detail for each race as I have done on previous races, but will give a general review of the race with any key points picked out from each one.

So to start, with the Sprint race. It's difficult to know what's going to happen on a sprint, regardless of where/when it is. The course could be literally anywhere on the university campus and so you have to plan for every possibility. Although, having said that, the buildings are not going to change so the use of google maps etc is very handy.
On the whole, I wasn't disappointed with my performance. I was running fairly well in truth, decent/consistent pace throughout however perhaps being a little cautious on certain sections, especially in the botanical gardens. Few mistakes to speak of, poor route choice on number 2 and then quite hesitant through the shorter more intricate legs between 8-14. Mistakes maybe totaled 40 seconds and then some more on running speed but I'm not sure on how much. Finished in 6th place, but being 5th Brit, I felt this was a positive for my bid for selection.

On to the middle race and again, I wasn't really feeling pressure and felt well focused on the race to come. Having been geeking maps for a few weeks before the competition, I half knew what to expect with a variety of legs but most being across vague moorland looking for 'bingo controls'. So everyone was always going to make mistakes on such an area so it was a bit of a case of damage limitation. Again, not a clean race but a controlled race which I felt was very important on this area. Mistakes on 2, 5 and 17 to note, maybe more than 30 secs on each, perhaps up to a minute on one or two but nothing huge like some of the other guys. Then a couple of smaller hesitations and slips on other controls added up to a bit of time loss, but felt I was moving well over this race. 2nd Brit on this race so a good race by all accounts.

The long race in truth was a let down. Before hand, I hadn't got my eating right so from the off I felt empty and not fully concentrating. Mistakes occurred throughout, 3/4/5/10/18, some considerable so was very annoyed by this. The most concerning thing was though how empty and defeated I felt by just 7km (straight line), got the prep seriously wrong which ruined a lot for me today. I also think maybe I wasn't focused on the race but ran ahead of myself too much. 10th Brit though, so not disastrous but a significant dent in my bid for selection.

So, on to my thoughts about selections. Obviously, there is always going to be controversy surrounding selections and I'm not going to try and point fingers or take a dig at anyone in this entry. As much as anything, this is a way of venting my own thoughts and allowing myself to understand how I feel about decisions. I won't try and coat this in anything, on the back of my performances, I feel I deserved a chance to represent Britain in EYOC. I was not going to get JWOC, I knew that and am totally fine about not being selected for that. Again, I stress I am not attempting to have dig at anyone during this, but some of the selections for EYOC for the M18 boys are confusing to say the least.
For one, I feel Michael Adams should have gained a place on the team on the back of his performances, being consistently 6th, 3rd and 9th Brit on the 3 days of selection. However, I understand that he may not have declared himself available to run at the time, yet surely this makes me feel that if BOF wanted the best athletes for it's teams, they would see his results and perhaps consult him to ensure he definitely couldn't run. As much as anything, the team is missing out on having a fantastic orienteer in it.
I have nothing against any of the guys who have been selected, all of the are great guys in their own right and also undoubtedly capable orienteers, but, and I haven't read in to this, from what I can tell, BOF declared that only these 3 races were selection races. It would appear that some of the selections have been made on past results rather than on the races designated to filter out a team from the competitive field that attended. Dan mis punched on one day and didn't really blow anyone out of the water on day 2, yet he had a strong performance to claim 4th on the long. I'm sure he won't mind me mentioning this (I am genuinely happy  for him to have been selected as well, he's a good close friend of mine), but just in a very basic way, I feel on results alone, I just pipped him. (5/2/10[Brit] as oppose to DQ/10/4), to me it seems that someone who mispunched in a selection race might have a significantly affected chance of being selected. Also Dane (again, a good friend), missed one day and had a poor race on another,  find it difficult to believe this was done purely on the results of the selection races rather than past form. I do understand the rule about if someone is injured or not able to run, but surely someone who does not compete in a selection race should not be considered. On some level, it doesn't seem fair to the other competitiors competing for the places who work hard around that course and in preparation before hand, to be edged out by someone who didn't run it at all. This is just an observation, I know Dane is a great orienteer, but the fact is that he didn't complete one selection race which again, I feel would damage his bid for selection.
Another point I would mention is I see a significant flaw in the entire process in the %behind the winner rule. I won't go in to technicalities about certain races, but it would appear that if there is a significant gap between the leading competitor's ability and consistency and the rest of the fields, it is unfair to assume a person has performed badly based on someone else's time. If the races were done on positions, it would give a much fairer representation of a persons ability and potential placement in world events that how far behind someone they are. It also doesn't work with 3 different types of racing. I feel that my own chances were slashed because of the % behind on the long. The long % is always going to be far larger than the other 2 races therefore if anyone had had a bad run on the long day, it would have boded very badly for selection purposes and so therefore one bad run out of 3 (with perhaps 2 good ones) would mean somebody isn't selected.
It is obvious the selections are not based on just these 3 races, and I am positive that somewhere in the selection criteria there is mention that other factors such as past form, recent other results, known ability, personal issues etc, would also be included in the process. But BOF should be far clearer about this. In the criteria, it states the 3 races used to judge selections would be the 3 JK days. Therefore not to select people who did well, but to select those who may have done well if it was another day is to me wrong. A selection can not be made on a 'what if...', if a person performs in a selection race and does badly, then I'm afraid it just isn't fair to select them over those who have done better on the specified race. If they had notified them before hand saying something along the lines of 'I am not able to run because...' and given a legitimate reason for not being capable of running, it is a different matter. But it is not fair that they have been selected even though they did the race. BOF should be clearer on how much weighting they give other factors aside from the selection race beforehand in my opinion.
This final point is not really a point but more of an observation. Many young orienteers with great potential will feel let down after these selections have been announced and I think it's a great shame. Many people may not understand the sheer level of commitment and dedication young athletes have to give in order to try and compete for such selections. I personally have had to quit football teams, take time out of a part time job and have had increase pressure on my school work purely because of the amount of time I give up for a sport I love. The fact that some athletes ave trained for so long at such a great cost, only to be let down by a potentially flawed system, may be enough for them to consider giving up the sport, perhaps a case of 'what's the point'. I personally don't see the point in giving up, there's always next time in my opinion and I intend to try and take advantage of any opportunities to come.

A lot of people would say that I maybe shouldn't post an article such as this one on a public site. But why not? Surely the way to address issues is by talking about them with the people who can make a difference. Personally, this is far as I'm going to go with this, I won't argue, all I have done is tried to make sense of it, as much for my own benefit as others and that is the point of this log. All I can say, is there is no use in hiding behind forums under secret names, just be open with the people who make these decisions and talk to them open mindedly and listen to their arguments (both parties). In my opinion, I would have liked to have been selected and can't see an absolute concrete reason why I wasn't but that's just the way it goes sometimes and it's an incentive to go out and get the job done next time. That's enough rambling I think for now. Obviously I'm bitterly disappointed but there's nothing I can do about this now. I would like to say a massive congratulations to everyone who has been selected for both JWOC and EYOC, really great effort from everyone involved and I'm sure you'll all do great. Onwards and upwards...