Why can’t women be tested by the same shooting exercises as the men?

The national shooting competition this year saw the females score between 9 – 19 points. If these results were the same in the skills assessment and tripled as per the men’s results, the players would take 50% of their result i.e. 13.5 – 28.5 towards their ranking. The gap between these scores is quite small and players could easily close the gap after one tournament, thus the higher performing players would not gain a lead as was borne out this year. The men’s scores ranged 3 – 192, so their gap was much wider.

Why were there such discrepancies in the regional skills testing?

This was a symptom of a new process and our learning. Next year, we will have moderators in place to ensure we achieve a standardised approach as much as possible.

Why are players scores not carried into the camps?

Some players had the opportunity to play with higher performing players in the tournaments and consequently achieved better ranking points. Others did not have that opportunity and did not fare as well. Random draw also affects the outcome for some players who may have a much ‘tougher’ draw compared to others. To get to the top 12 is one stage of the process and then it is all equal again and thus transparent and fair.

Why are the camps at Herne Bay when the majority of players in representation are from Auckland and therefore have terrain advantage?

If we had more terrains that are technical in other regions, we could change the venue each year. We do not want to play on terrains where rolled boule and raspeilles are effective. This will not prepare our teams for international play.

Why take the top 12 ranked players through to camp one and make them play out of position?

The initial plan was to take the top four pointers, middle and shooters through, but we did not feel we articulated this enough beforehand and therefore took the top 12 players. Next year players will have to state their preferred position at registration and will be ranked against their peers only

Why pay $50 and then receive no coaching, what was the return on the money for players?

The preparation of this process involved many hours preparing the material, training the coaches, a Toolkit for coaches, and the coordination of the assessment days and camps. We hope the return on your money has been the experience gained from participating and developing your game in the process, as well as the coaching received in your region.

Will players be required to complete this assessment each year, or will it be only the untried players tested - against the benchmark created this year?

Individual performance changes every year for many reasons. It would not be a transparent and robust process if it did not test players’ skills and performance each year.

How will the system stop individual players manipulating the scores in the camps? This was blatant by some players to enhance their scores. It was not team-focused. How will you prevent this happening next time? 

Frankly, the system allowed individuals to manipulate their scoring at the camp. Although this was in the minority, it did highlight flaws in the system. Next year, emphasis will be placed on the result of the game as well as individual scoring.

Why were scorers learning on the job? Their interpretation of scores was too important to get wrong.

Absolutely, but we had to start somewhere. This is a new process and getting enough volunteers to score is a challenge. We will be building on this each year

Why can’t we have set team play and coaching in camp two? Constant vying for positions is not conducive to team building

The original plan was to have teams of four working in set combinations with their coaches. This is still the plan for the future and will be iterative dependent on building up the coaching capability and capacity.

How are you going to build teams as espoused in the Rep and Coaching Structure- what does this mean?

The teams are playing together in the national triples. These teams are receiving feedback and coaching from the appointed coach – Grant Hackett. We need to build on this in subsequent years and expand this to all teams involved in the process. It all takes time

Will we all start from scratch next year, or can we stay in our teams?

Provided all players stay in their original preferred position and qualify through to camp one, they will start the camp in their team. It is expected that original teams will remain as set teams however, the TDR will trial other combinations if performance significantly drops

Players in set teams who register in a different preferred position will need to complete the entire process again in their new position. There will be no guarantee that they will remain in their set team.

How will ‘new’ players fit into the process if they score higher than us?

New players will perform the skills tests at Camp One and put in teams accordingly. Next year we will be playing as teams of four

Why did so many of the players who initially put their names forward for selection subsequently withdraw?

Players pulled out for various reasons including sickness,etc. They all had the opportunity to feedback personally or anonymously via the feedback form to the TD as to their reasons.

Why can’t players know how the scoring system works?

They can. It comes down to time. Perhaps the regional coaches can explain the scoring system at an upcoming regional coaching session

Why don’t we celebrate the player’s achieving representation?

We were not that great at doing it this year. In future, we should announce the team at the nationals and hand out the uniform etc. We will get better!