The Countdown is on

Selections for the Australian Paralympic Cycling team are set to be announced, or at least conveyed to those vying for selection, next week.

The key dates that all the athletes are sweating on are as follows (taken from the Cycling Australia "2012 Australian Paralympic Team Cyling Australia Nomination Criteria"):

12 March 2012 - UCI notifies in writing to the APC the number of allocated qualification slots and ring fenced positions from the UCI Para-cycling Games Road and Track "Combined" Rankings.

13 March 2012 - Deadline for the Selection Committee to lodge the final nominations for the 2012 Australian Paralympic Team with CA CEO.

14 March 2012 - Deadline for CA Board of Management to review and endorse nominations (1pm AEST).

14 March 2012 - CA to commence advising Shadow Team members of the nominations and non-nominations to the APC (2pm AEST).

16 March 2012 - Closing date for athletes to lodge an appeal with CA CEO against non-nomination to the APC for selection (5pm AEST).

19 March 2012 - Final date for nomination of athletes to the APC.

TBC - The APC Board selects athletes to the Team. Appeals are heard in accordance with the APC's General Selection Criteria. A public announcement will be made following the confirmation of selections by the APC.

If anyone is interested in the full nomination document, it is available at:  http://www.cycling.org.au/default.asp?Page=8021&MenuID=High_Performance/20012/0

NB. Ring fenced positions are spots that the UCI dictates must be filled by a country out of its allocation of spots to ensure that a category is viable or that a nation selects the riders who should compete in a particular event.

Anyway, looks like it will be a busy week or so!

The maximum number of female spots that Australia can qualify for the Games is seven (and 14 male spots).  While the actual number won't be confirmed until advice is received from the UCI, on the basis of results achieved in the last 12 months Australia would have to be looking good for maximum number of female spots. Unfortunately, there are more Australian female athletes vying for spots than the maximum number so the selectors will have to make some tough decisions next week, bearing in mind that they are also not obliged to fill all allocated spots.

Equally tough, once the non-nominations have been advised to the athletes, will be the decision as to whether to appeal or not. 

Fortunately the appeals mechanism affords an opportunity for athletes who feel they have been incorrectly omitted from the team to state their claims and convince the powers that be that the decision should be changed.  It is my personal opinion that no athlete should feel guilty about appealing if they feel they have a legitimate claim, and the fact that they have appealed should not be held against them at a later date by management or other athletes. Everyone is human and no one gets it right 100% of the time.

So watch this space for confirmation of nomination (or not) of the Canberra paras.  Obviously there won't be any announcement before the formal process is completed but there might be a bit more personal insight here!