Scottish Junior Orienteering Squad – Membership Selection Policy-Scottish Orienteering

Scottish Junior Orienteering Squad – Membership Selection Policy

Background

Coaching junior orienteers in Scotland is an activity that is organised at different levels – at club level, at area level and at national level. The Scottish Junior Orienteering Squad is at the top of that structure. It exists to provide a training and development programme for those young Scottish orienteers who show talent in the sport and commitment to improve their performance. The squad is selective, to focus resources on those who show potential to be top performers at national level in the future. This policy describes the selection process and criteria.

Selection Process

The squad is reselected at the end of each year for the following year by a Selection Panel. The panel consists of the Squad management team - Coordinator (Chair), Lead Coach, and Treasurer - and is advised by members of the coaching team.
The panel aims to select between 24 and 28 members. The exact number selected each year will depend on the talent pool available and the spread across the age range from 13 to 18 years. Exceptionally, an athlete will be selected at 12 years, if assessed as a high performer and ready for the squad programme (i.e. running courses at Technical Difficulty 4).
Selected athletes will be informed by letter at the end of the year and the squad membership will be published in the SOA magazine Score and on the SOA web site. Current members of the squad who are not reselected will be informed by letter. They remain eligible to be selected in the future or to be selected to represent Scotland in the JIRC and JHI competitions.

Selection Criteria

The panel will review results in the major Scottish and UK races:

Scottish O League (SOL)
Scottish Individual Championships
Jamie Stevenson Inter-club Championships
JK Championships
British Individual Championships
Scottish 6 Days (held in alternate years)

It is recognised that junior athletes will not attend all these races but the panel will expect results from 3 SOL races and at least one championship. Those selected should also be regular competitors at local events.
Athletes are expected to run in their “normal” age class (see below) so that results can be compared across a peer group. Results when running up in a more senior class may not be considered.
The panel will rank potential squad members by their best results in the above races. They will also take account of commitment to training, as observed during squad training or as advised by area or club coaches. The top ranked athletes in each age group who show the necessary potential and commitment will be selected. The panel may vary the numbers selected in each age group to take account of the overall squad size and depth of talent in each age group.

Note: Juniors aged 12 who aspire to join ScotJOS in the following year may run orange (JM/W3) in the SOLs, but would be expected to be running Light Green standard courses at District events in the latter part of the year in which they are 12. M/W14’s are expected to be running courses at TD4 level when they join.

“Normal” Age Class/Course

M/W12	JM/W3	Orange
M/W14	JM/W4	Light Green
W16	JW5S	Green
M16	JM5M	Blue
W18	JW5L	Blue
M18	JM5L	Brown

Photo of author Posted on 20th Dec 08
by Maureen Brown - ScotJos Squad Manager

Filed under: News • ScotJOS

Scottish Orienteering