Ossa Technical Bulletin – Canada Winter Games 2015 Selection Process

OSSA TECHNICAL BULLETIN – CANADA WINTER GAMES 2015 SELECTION PROCESS

Contents INTRODUCTION ...... 3

ELIGIBILITY ...... 3

GENERAL ...... 4

SHORT TRACK ...... 6

LONG TRACK ...... 9

ANNEX A ...... 11

ANNEX B ...... 12

ANNEX C ...... 14

ANNEX D ...... 15

**Disclaimer: the details of the Long Track selections have not yet been finalized by the prospective competition host, FPVQ, and are therefore subject to change**.

INTRODUCTION The Team, which will represent Ontario and OSSA at the Canada Winter Games, will consist of 5 male and 5 female athletes for Short Track and 4 male and 4 female athletes for Long Track. This document outlines the process that OSSA will utilize to select the athletes who will represent the Association as part of Team Ontario. Alternates for each discipline and gender will be identified but will travel to the Games only if one of the selected team members is not able to attend.

SHORT TRACK – The Team selection for Short Track will take place November 21 – 23, 2014 at the Canada Winter Games Short Track Selection event in Clarington, Ontario. Eligible skaters will race head to head. The Top 5 from each of the male and female divisions will be considered for the Team at the conclusion of the competition.

LONG TRACK – The Team selection for Long Track will take place at the Canada Winter Games Long Track Selection event which will take place in Ste. Foy, Quebec at the Competition Provinciale Par Distance #1 taking place December 12-14, 2014. In the event of inclement weather a back-up will be the results from the Ontario Provincial Long Track Championships held in Ottawa January 17-18, 2014. A Canada Winter Games Selection competition for both male and female will be established, where eligible skaters will race head to head. In this case, the Top 4 male and Top 4 female will be considered for the Team at the conclusion of the event.

ELIGIBILITY In order to be eligible to compete in the Games, competitors must:

1. Be a competitive member of both OSSA and SSC in good standing and properly registered with the event organizers for the selection events. 2. Competitors who have reached the age of 14 on June 30th, 2014 but have not reached the age of 19 on June 30th, 2014. Year of Birth: July 1, 1995 to June 30, 2000 inclusive. 3. All competitors must meet the requirements as outlined in ANNEX 1 of the SSC 2015 Canada Winter Games Technical Package which can be found at http://www.speedskating.ca/events/canada-games.

Athletes NOT eligible for selection are those who meet the following criteria:

1. Athletes that have held a senior card (as defined by Sport Canada’s Athletes Assistance program) at any time; 2. Athletes that have been National Senior Team members (as defined by Speed Skating Canada and approved by the Canada Games Council) at any time; 3. Athletes that have competed in speed skating for any nation at any senior Pan American Games, Olympic Games, Senior World Championships, or a World Cup competition.

No athlete can be rendered ineligible within 90 days of the opening of the Games due to a change in carding status or national team status (no athlete will be excluded if they attain National Senior Team member’s status for the first time, skate in a World Cup or World Championships for the first time, or they are granted carding status after November 13, 2014).

In the event that an athlete’s permanent residence is not within the province of Ontario, that athlete can be eligible to compete for either Province if he or she is able to show the following:

1) The athlete has been a member of a club or Provincial/Territorial Sport Organization in that Province/Territory for the entire previous or current competitive season; AND 2) The athlete has represented that Province or Territory at an international, national, or regional championship; AND 3) The athlete has not received direct development funding from their Province or Territory of permanent residence within a year of the opening of the Canada Winter Games, unless the funding jurisdiction provides permission for the athlete to compete for another team; OR 4) Other similar circumstances may be considered.

Note that athletes that are attending school on a full-time basis outside their Province or Territory of permanent residence during the year of the Canada Winter Games shall be permitted to compete for either their Province or Territory of permanent residence or the Province or Territory in which the athlete attends school. All athletes who wish to try out for Team Ontario and whose permanent residence is outside of the Province of Ontario will have to fill out an Athlete Eligibility Request Form, which can be downloaded at: http://www.canadagames.ca/content/Sports/stakeholder-reference-manual.asp. This form must be returned to OSSA at [email protected] by October 6, 2014, so that the athlete’s eligibility may be verified in advance of the Trials.

GENERAL The Technical Committee, using its absolute discretion, will deal with all situations not expressly covered by the rules contained herein.

BYES

The Technical Committee may grant a bye to a skater to attend the CWG Short Track Trials or directly onto Team Ontario (for short track or long track) due to illness or injury. Such skater

4 must apply in writing to the Technical Committee and attach supporting documentation as evidence of the injury. The Committee will apply the bye guidelines as set out in the Technical Bulletin (either long track or short track, depending on the bye request), in respect of all bye requests to Team Ontario. The bye request must be received in accordance with the deadlines set out in the Technical Bulletin.

In the case of a skater who applies for a bye to attend the CWG Short Track Trials, he or she must have skated times in either the 2013-14 season or 2014-15 season that, if skated at the Provincial Series #1 competition (2014-15 season), would have placed him or her in the top 10 skaters who otherwise qualified for the CWG Short Track Trials at that meet.

COMPETITION JURY

The Competition Jury will consist of the VP Sport Development, or his or her designate, the Chief Referee, the Sport Manager, and other members of the Technical Committee in attendance except for the Skater’s Representative.

COACHING CERTFICATION REQUIREMENTS The same coaching certification requirements as are already in effect at Provincial Series events shall apply to the CWG selection competition. There shall be a maximum of two coaches from each club on the coaches’ bench at any one time.

SHORT TRACK

1. COMPOSITION The Canada Winter Games Team – Short Track will be composed of 5 female and 5 male. The 5 male and 5 female with the best point total as described in this bulletin will be considered for team selection.

2. TIE BREAKER Ties for the final position on the Short Track Team will be broken by using the tied skaters’ fastest 500m time from the selection event. If the skaters remain tied, the next fastest 500m from the selection event will be used. If after having referred to the 500m time, the skaters remain tied, the tie will be broken by referring to the 1000m times of the skaters in the same manner as the 500m time, and so on.

3. COMPETITION FORMAT Eligibility: There will be 32 male and 32 female skaters at CWG Trials competition. Skaters will qualify to the CWG Trials as follows:

a) Ranked Ontario skaters based out-of-province may qualify for the Trials if they meet the following time standard (500m+1500m) before October 21, 2014: i. Females: 201 seconds. ii. Males: 190 seconds. iii. Note: each skater must notify OSSA by email on or before October 21, 2014 and enclose a copy or link to the relevant competition protocol(s). b) The remaining positions shall be filled by the fastest skaters based on their best combined 500m+1500m times achieved from the Provincial Series #1 competition (2014-2015 season).

Schedule and Race Format

Day 1 1500m 500m(1) Day 2 1000m 500m(2) (heats only) Day 3 500m(2) (quarters, semis, finals) 3000m points race (super final)

Note: there will be a mandatory meeting for all selected athletes (including alternates) Sunday (Day 3) evening.

4. POINTS The overall point standings will be determined by the cumulative of the results of the 1500m, 1000m, the best placing from one of the two 500m and the Super 3000m Points Race.

Points will be awarded in the competition in accordance with the following:

Rank Points Rank Points Rank Points Rank Points Rank Points 1 1000 11 130 21 23 31 13 41 3 2 816 12 106 22 22 32 12 42 2 3 666 13 86 23 21 33 11 43 1 4 543 14 70 24 20 34 10 Others 1 5 443 15 57 25 19 35 9 6 362 16 46 26 18 36 8 7 295 17 37 27 17 37 7 8 241 18 30 28 16 38 6 9 196 19 25 29 15 39 5 10 160 20 24 30 14 40 4

 A tie for 1st = 908 points each, the next skater 666 points, and so on.  A tie for 2nd = 741 points each, the next skater 543 points, and so on.  A tie for 3rd = 605 points each, the next skater 443 points, and so on.  A tie for 4th = 493 points each, the next skater 362 points, and so on…

If a skater retires from the competition due to illness or injury, the skater will retain the position where he/she left and will retain the points he/she has accumulated to that point. The skater will then be seeded in last place in all subsequent heats. This is done in order that the skater is not penalized. The skater will be listed in proper start order and take last place in each event.

Example: The absent skater is in 500m Quarterfinal A, he or she will be considered to have finished last in that race and placed in Semi-Final C. He or she will then be considered to have finished last in that race and placed in the Quaternary Final and receive 46 points.

5. SEEDING AND ADVANCEMENT The first round of each distance shall be seeded separately, in a single distance format.

Those skaters qualifying under 3(a), above, shall be seeded on their most current Ranking List times as of the registration deadline for the CWG Trials competition. All skaters qualifying under 3(b), above, shall be seeded on the basis of their times skated at the Provincial Series #1 competition. All skater(s) who have been granted bye(s) shall be ranked after all other skaters, on the basis of their most current Ranking List times.

Seeding for the Super 3000m Points Race will be based on the skaters’ respective rankings when points from the 1500m, 1000m, and each skater’s best 500m are combined. Please see Annex C for special rules in respect of each of the A Super Finals at the CWG Trials. In all other respects, the 3000m points races shall be run as set out in the Technical Bulletin.

Advancements will occur subsequently as follows:

If a skater is advanced in the Heats, he or she shall be placed in the same semi-final as the second place skater from the heat. With respect to advancements, the semi-finals are to be

7 balanced. The first advancement will follow the normal path. The second and subsequent advancements are to be distributed evenly. If the advancement is for the semi-final, skaters finishing 5th or lower in semi-finals A or B skate in the secondary final.

A skater who does not start a race is eligible to skate the remaining distances.

Seeding for Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals Seeding for the semi-finals in the 1500m, and for the quarter-finals and semi-finals in the 500m and 1000m distances will be done on the basis of a place and time ranking.

Annex C: provides the pattern for seeding skaters in accordance with the above.

6. AWARDING OF POINTS

Those competitors who complete an event will be ranked ahead of those who start but do not complete the event. The competitors that start but do not complete the event will receive last place points unless there is a penalty. The competitors who do not complete a race will be ranked ahead of a penalized skater in the race. In the case where a skater that starts an event but does not complete an event due to injury, that skater will receive a rank based upon the placement in the following round. For example, if the skater is injured in the semi final and can not race the final, they would be placed in the Final B and receive last place ranking for that final.

A penalty in any race will place the skater in last place position. In the case of a penalty in a final, no point will be given to the skater if the Referee judges that there is unsportsmanlike-like conduct or a major infraction. For all other penalties in finals, the skater (s) will receive the points of the last place for the final skated.

Athletes who register but do not compete will not be ranked. If an athlete does not start the first round of an event the athlete does not receive any points for that event.

In the case of the 3000m points race, a skater who does not compete will be ranked last and receive the last place points in their race, below any skater who may be penalized.

Disqualified skaters will be considered last in the race and will advance or score points as the last place skater, subject to the above. If more than 1 disqualification occurs in the same race the skaters do not divide the points of the last 2 positions.

Example: Tertiary final 500m the points are 196, 160, 130, 106; One disqualified - skater receives 106 Two disqualified – skaters each receive 106

LONG TRACK

1. COMPOSITION The Canada Winter Games Team – Long Track will consist of 4 male and 4 female. Skaters’ race times will be converted into sammelagt points for ranking purposes. At the end of the competition, the top 4 males and 4 females according to this ranking will be selected to the team.

2. ELIGIBILITY In order to compete in the Canada Winter Games Long Track Team Trials, skaters must have met at least two of the below listed time standards. Times must be established between January 1, 2014 and the registration deadline for this competition.

Ladies Outdoor: Ladies Indoor: Men Outdoor: Men Indoor: 500m: 52.60 500m: 47.40 500m: 49.50 500m: 44.55 1000m: 1:46.30 1000m: 1:35.50 1000m: 1:39.00 1000m: 1:28.50 1500m: 2:45.40 1500m: 2:30.00 1500m: 2:31.40 1500: 2:17.50 3000m: 5:50.00 3000m: 5:15.00 3000m: 5:26.00 3000m: 4:56.00 5000m: 9:00.00 5000m: 8:15.00

3. DISTANCES

The distances will be the Canada Winter Games distances, except for the Mass Start.

Male 500m 1500m 3000m 5000m Female 500m 1000m 1500m 3000m

4. RACE PROGRAM AND SCHEDULE **The race schedule may be updated according to the requirements of the competition host (FPVQ). **

Day One Male 500m (both races) 3000m Female 500m (both races) 1500m Day Two Male 1500m 5000m Female 1000m 3000m

Note: there will be a meeting for all selected athletes (including alternates) after the end of racing on Day Two.

5. SEEDING a. The second race of the 500m will be seeded based on performance in the first 500m allowing for lane changes (ISU 240.6c).

b. For the female 3000m skaters will be paired from the CWG Group female 1500m with the order of skating from lowest ranked to highest ranked (fastest). Skaters who did not compete in the 1500m will be unranked. These unranked skater(s) will skate in the first pair(s). If there is more than one unranked skater, their order of skating and lanes will be determined by a draw. c. For the male 5000m skaters will be paired from the CWG group male 3000m with the order of skating from lowest ranked to highest ranked (fastest). Skaters who did not compete in the 3000m will be unranked. These unranked skater(s) will skate in the first pair(s). If there is more than one unranked skater, their order of skating and lanes will be determined by a draw. d. For all other distances, the skater’s seeding will be based on the skater’s best time in the appropriate distance skated outdoors between January 1, 2014 and the registration deadline for this competition. Skaters should submit these times to OSSA at the time of registration.

The skaters will be grouped based on the seeding as defined above.

Group 1: Top 8 ranked skaters based on the appropriate seeding ranking Group 2: The next 8 ranked skaters for the distance Group 3: The next 8 ranked skaters for the distance Group 4: All unranked skaters

6. RE-SKATES

Re-skates may be awarded in accordance with ISU Rule #262.

7. COMPETITION FORMAT A) The competition will follow ISU rules for events with one award over 4 distances (Rule 265 – sammelagt points system). B) Although the 500m is being raced twice, only each skater’s best 500m time will count towards the ranking. C) Order of Racing Normally the events will be raced with the highest ranked group racing last. However, weather and ice conditions may necessitate changing the order of the highest group racing first. The Competition Jury will make this decision.

Decisions made by the Competition Jury are final and not subject to appeal.

ANNEX A

SPECIAL RULES FOR TEAM SELECTION

1) Each athlete or, in the case of an athlete who is under 18 years of age, his or her parent/ guardian, must sign the below declaration immediately before the start of the first selection event. The declaration may be revised up to 48 hours following the completion of the first selection event. a. “I ______, declare that if I should qualify for the Ontario Speed Skating Association’s Canada Winter Games Team in both Short Track and Long Track, I choose to skate ______Track at the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George, British Columbia.” 2) All team members will be unable to compete in the discipline (either short track or long track) in which they are not competing at the Canada Winter Games for a period of three weeks before first Games event. Each team member must concentrate on the discipline he or she will be skating at the Canada Winter Games. The Canada Winter Games Coach and Manager must approve any exceptions.

ANNEX B

SEEDING & ADVANCEMENT – SHORT TRACK

Advancements for a Group of 32

500m and 1000m

Advancements from the heats to the quarters will be top 2, from the quarters to the semis will be top 2, and from the semis to the finals will be top 2.

500m and 1000m Heats A B C D E F G H Distance 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Seeding 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25

500m and 1000m Quarters A B C D E F G H Distance 1 2 3 4 17 18 19 20 Seeding 8 7 6 5 24 23 22 21 9 10 11 12 25 26 27 28 16 15 14 13 32 31 30 29

500m and 1000m Semis A B C D E F G H Distance 1 2 9 10 17 18 25 26 Seeding 4 3 12 11 20 19 28 27 5 6 13 14 21 22 29 30 8 7 16 15 24 23 32 31

500m and 1000m Finals A B C D E F G H Distance 1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 Seeding 2 6 10 14 18 22 26 30 3 7 11 15 19 23 27 31 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32

1500m

Advancement from the heats to the semi round will be top 3. Advancement from semis A, B, and C to the final round be top 2. Advancements from semis D and E to the final round will be top 3 plus the fastest 4th from semi D and E.

1500m Heats A B C D E F Distance 1 2 3 4 5 6 Seeding 12 11 10 9 8 7 13 14 15 16 17 18 24 23 22 21 20 19 25 26 27 28 29 30 32 31

1500m Semis A B C D E Distance 1 2 3 19 20 Seeding 6 5 4 22 21 7 8 9 23 24 12 11 10 26 25 13 14 15 27 28 18 17 16 30 29 31 32

1500m Finals A B C D E Distance 1 7 13 19 25 Seeding 2 8 14 20 26 3 9 15 21 27 4 10 16 22 28 5 11 17 23 29 6 12 18 24 30

Super 3000m Final A B C D Distance 1 9 17 25 Seeding 2 10 18 26 3 11 19 27 4 12 20 28 5 13 21 29 6 14 22 30 7 15 23 31 8 16 24 32

ANNEX C Special Rules for the 3000m Points Race – Super Final “A” Only

During the 3000m, if a skater in contention for a final combined ranking within the top four of the competition is taken out of the race (due to a fall or major interference) resulting in a penalty for another skater, the referee may stop the race and begin again without the penalized skater, regardless of how many laps remain in the race. If an athlete is penalized once the race is complete, and this athlete has created a major interference with a skater in contention for a final ranking within the top three of the competition, the referee must restart the race without the penalized skater if the skater who was interfered with is still able to skate. Should the skater who was interfered with not be able to skate, the race will not be restarted and the results of the race (including the penalization) will hold.

If the 3000m race is stopped by the referee, and if a skater(s) has/have established a one-lap lead with respect to the main group and has rejoined the main group, but not lapped some or all of the other skaters, the skaters that are part of the main group will skate one more lap than the lead skater(s).

ANNEX D

APPEALS

1. Definitions for terms found in this annex can be found in Article 1 of the By-laws of the Association.

2. Any decision by a Committee which concerns the interpretation of selection criteria may be appealed by the member of the Association affected thereby, by filing a Notice of Appeal with the Secretary or President of the Association within two (2) business days of the date of receipt of the notice (written or oral) of the decision of the Committee.

3. A Notice of Appeal must be received in writing and accompanied by a $250 deposit, which will be refunded if the appeal is successful. If the appeal is not successful the deposit will be returned less the costs of hearing the appeal. Costs may include teleconferencing fees, travel costs and administrative fees.

4. The appealed decision shall be reviewed within seven (7) days of the date upon which the Notice of Appeal is so received, by the Board of Directors.

5. A representative of the Committee whose decision is being appealed and the member who files the Notice of Appeal shall be entitled to make submissions verbally and/or in writing during the course of the appeal.

6. The issue shall be decided by a Simple Majority of the votes cast by the Board on the issue.

7. The President of the Association shall notify the member and the Chair of the committee so affected, in writing, of the results of the appeal and the reasons therefore within fourteen (14) days of the date of the hearing of the appeal.

8. The decision of the Board shall be final and binding on the Association and on the Member who filed the Notice of Appeal.