All Australians intending to travel to New Zealand for the 2009 Oceania Championships carnival are invited to nominate for selection in the Australian team for the Australia-New Zealand Challenge, which will be contested in conjunction with the Oceania Long Distance and Relay Championships. The Challenge will be contested by teams of 3 in the following classes: M/W-16, -20, 21, 40, 50, 60 and 70.
All Australian citizens are eligible for selection (regardless of where they live). Australian residents who are not citizens are not eligible. If you are travelling to NZ, don’t be shy about nominating, even if you
don’t think you’re in the best three in your age group – sometimes we struggle to fill teams (especially in the younger masters age groups).
Nominations (a note advising your availability is sufficient) should be sent to Blair Trewin(b.trewin@bom.gov.au) no later than 26 September, or alternatively given to him in person at the Australian Championships carnival in Queensland. (Any requests for special consideration due to
injury, illness, organisational commitments etc. should also be sent to Blair). The team will be chosen following the Australian Long Distance Championships on 27 September.
The selection trials are as follows:
– all Masters classes: the Australian Long Distance Championships and the Australian 3-Days
– M/W21: Bushrangers team chosen according to normal Bushrangers criteria
– M/W16: Australian Long Distance Championships and Australian Schools Championships Individual* (same criteria as Schools Test Match)
– M/W20: Australian Long Distance Championships, Australian Schools Championships Individual* and Australian 3-Days (* – or parallel NOL event for those not in the Schools Championships)
Those who miss (or have already missed) one set of trials will still be considered for selection. This applies in particular to M/W20 where we appreciate that some non-Schools people will already be committed to missing the midweek events in Queensland. People in the ‘odd’ age groups (e.g. 55, 65) will also still be considered for selection, as will those entering a new age group in 2009 (if you are, it would be useful if you could tell us this with your nomination).
The Schools Test Match is a separate competition taking place during the carnival for which no nominations are required. Those selected for the Schools Test will automatically be considered for their age group in the Challenge and will not need to nominate separately.