Preamble
The
Ottawa District Badminton Association (ODBA) has a proud history of producing
very strong junior players and continues to demonstrate this with every passing
Ontario Winter Games (OWG). This document explains a new trial selection
criteria geared at preparing the OWG team 1 year in advance and providing
further training opportunities from a qualified coach within the district.
The
next OWG are expected to be held March 6 to 8, 2010 in
Bracebridge.
1.
Qualification Criteria
for ODBA OWG Team:
a)
Be a member of an ODBA affiliated club when selected and until the end of the 2010 OWG;
b)
A player living in the District but not a member of an ODBA
affiliated Club is not eligible;
c)
To be selected to the OWG Team, OBA rules with respect to
age prevail;
d)
There is no age restriction for the OWG Training Team,
subject to Training Team selection criteria in section 2 below;
e)
A player must commit to a one year training program;
f)
A player must attend the Bob O’Reilly District Championships
(any absences must be discussed and approved by the OWG team coach and
manager);
g)
A player must attend monthly training sessions. Absences
must be discussed in advance with the OWG coach.
2.
Qualification Criteria
for OWG set by OBA:
a)
The age of
the participants shall be greater than 13 years and less than 19 years in the
season that the OWG is played. Districts
shall have the right to decide on limits within this age range;
b)
Any player who is a member in good
standing of a club affiliated with an OBA member district association;
c)
A non-Canadian citizen, who does not
have landed immigrant status, must have resided in
d)
A player is not eligible if such
player has played in a closed championship in any other province or in any
other country in the playing season in which the OWG is held;
e)
Any player who is a member of affiliated
clubs in more than one district and competes in a closed championship in one
district is automatically declared a member of that district for the OWG;
f)
Athletes can
only “try out” for one District for any one OWG;
g)
If an
athlete has moved “home’ District between one OWG and the next, the athlete is
eligible to represent their new District
h)
If an
athlete has moved “home” club to a new District between one OWG and the next
the athlete is eligible to represent their new District;
i)
An athlete
is not eligible to participate in the OWG if they have previously represented
Ontario or any other province, territory, or country in the CWG, Devlin,
Clarkson, Paulson or Ontario Cups or similar inter-provincial team events;
j)
An athlete is not eligible to participate in
the OWG if they have previously been selected to represent
k)
Please note that OBA eligibility
rules prevail for actual participation at the OWG.
3.
OWG Training Team Selection
Qualifying
district level tournaments will take place between September 2008 and March
2009. The Training Team will be established in March 2009, starting with the
top 4 ranked players in U19 that meet the qualification criteria for 2010 OWG,
after all qualifying district events (see page 2), in singles, doubles and
mixed doubles, for both sexes. These players will be invited to join the
training team. In the event that any player decides not to join the team, the
invitation will be presented to the next qualifying player until the team is
complete.
It
could happen that a player is ranked in more than one event. While not prescriptive in what events a
ranked player will eventually play at the OWG,
each ranked player counts only ONCE in determining the total number of players
named to the OWG training team. The event for which
a player will be chosen (singles, doubles or mixed) is based on the player’s highest
ranking. For example: a player is ranked third in singles and second in
doubles, this player will obtain the doubles position and a space on the OWG
training team will be offered to the fifth
ranked player in singles .
The
Training Team will consist of 20 players in total (4 men’s singles, 4 women’s
singles, 4 men’s doubles, 4 women’s doubles, top 2 men mixed doubles players
and top 2 women mixed doubles players). The eventual OWG Team will have 10
players (5 male, 5 female) and two alternates.
The
qualifying events are as follows:
Players
who would be eligible based on OBA criteria but have decided to play in other
age categories i.e. U14, U16 or U23 may be invited, at the OWG coach and
manager’s discretion and in consultation with the junior development committee,
to join the Ontario Winter Games training team based on the following criteria:
4.
Training Information
Training
sessions will last 2.5 hours and will incorporate fitness, technical and
tactical training. Training will continue throughout the Spring and part of the
Summer with a break during July and August. The following schedule is tentative
and subject to confirmation/adjustments once the training team is established:
March
21, 2009 Apr 18, 2009 May 16, 2009 June 20, 2009
Sept
19, 2009 Oct 17, 2009 Nov 21, 2009 Dec 19, 2009
Jan
16, 2010 Feb 20, 2010
5. Final OWG Team
Selection
A
final selection will be held in October 2009 to choose the 10 players and 2
alternates who will be participating in the OWG (see above).
In
addition to the players who take part in the Training Team, additional players
may be invited to this final selection event. To be eligible for an invitation
at this stage, players meeting the OBA criteria for participation in the
2009-10 OWG must have earned a top 5 rank in the ODBA Ranking System in U19 or
U23, either in singles, doubles or mixed doubles, at the end of the 2008-09
season.
6. Commitment from the Players
A
fee of $100 will be charged for each player who is invited and commits to be a
member of the Training Team in March 2009. The fee for participating in the
October 2009 try-outs is $20. The fee
for additional players appointed to the team after the October 2009 try-outs is
also $100. Fees will help cover some of the cost for shuttles, facility rental,
coaching fees and transportation costs and team uniforms for the OWG team. The
remainder is funded from Junior affiliation fees, fundraising activities and
the overall ODBA budget.
Players
must commit to attend mandatory OWG training team practices and all anticipated
absences must be discussed with the OWG coach in advance.
Players
must wear official ODBA OWG uniforms at the Ontario Winter Games.
7. The Second Training Team
A
second Training Team will be formed that will include younger players. The
purpose is to maintain readiness for 2010 OWG Team alternates, to develop
promising younger players, to provide sparring partners for the Final 2010 OWG
Team, and to lay the groundwork for the 2012 Team. The Second Training Team
would train with the first team. General criteria for admission to the Second
Training Team are:
Even
if some players on the Second Team may not be eligible to play in the 2012 OWG,
because of age, they may continue to participate on this Team. First because
they may provide excellent back-up for injured players who were scheduled to
play in 2010, but also because their play level will contribute to ongoing
training activities and training sessions will lead to overall personal skills
improvement.
8. Desired Outcomes
9. Team Management
OWG Teams fall under the responsibility of the ODBA
Junior Development Committee. Because it
is too premature at this time to seek applications for an OWG Team Manager and
Coach, the Committee appoints Daniel Leblanc as Interim Manager and Coach to
begin the process of implementing these changes, to select the Training Team,
to deliver the coaching, and to carry out other related duties. This will be
done under the direction of the Chair of the Junior Development Committee. A
job description will be prepared, based on existing duties, for the interim
appointment.
It is the ODBA Junior Development Committee’s
intention to appoint a 2010 OWG Team Manager and Team Coach prior to the
October 2009 try-outs, so that the new people can be very much involved in
leading the team to the OWG. The ODBA Board of Directors will advertise these
positions in accordance with its Bylaws and conventional processes. It is
recognized that the Interim Manager and Coach may be an interested party for
one or both positions. Immediately following the 2010 OWG, the ODBA Board of
Directors, on the recommendation of the Junior Development Committee, should
endeavor to make appointments to these positions on a 2-year cyclical basis to
provide continuity.
10. Rules of Conduct
The ODBA believes in fostering a healthy environment
for junior development and good sportsmanship through the OWG Training Team
initiative. As such, there will be zero tolerance for unsportsmanlike behavior
such as harassment, bullying and verbal or physical abuse on the part of the
Team members, manager and coach. Any Team member demonstrating such
unacceptable behavior will be immediately removed from the team. The ODBA will
promote good sportsmanship among the Training Team members as this will not
only positively affect all members during training, but at the Ontario Winter
Games as well.