SHOOTING AUSTRALIA (“SA”) NOMINATION CRITERIA – FOR ATHLETES TO REPRESENT AUSTRALIA AT 2015 ISSF WORLD CUPS 1. BACKGROUND (a) (b) (c) The 2015 ISSF World Cups (2015WC) are international competitions conducted according to International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) rules. There are four (4) ISSF World Cups in 2015. The date and venue for each 2015WC are: 28th Feb - 10th Mar 19th - 29th Mar 24th April - 4th May 8th - 16th Apr 12th - 21st May 29th May - 5th June 6th - 16th Aug (d) (e) (f) ISSF World Cup ISSF World Cup ISSF World Cup Shotgun Acapulco, MEX Shotgun Al Ain, UAE Shotgun Larnaca, CYP ISSF World Cup ISSF World Cup ISSF World Cup Rifle & Pistol Rifle & Pistol Rifle & Pistol Changwon, KOR Fort Benning, USA ISSF World Cup All Disciplines Munich, GER Gabala, AZE 2015WCs provide an opportunity for Australia to gain Rio 2016 Olympic Games athlete quotas. Further, the results achieved at 2015WC’s will measure the effectiveness of the Aiming for Gold (A4G) Program. This nomination criteria (Nomination Criteria) provides the process established by Shooting Australia (SA) for the selection of athletes to represent Australia at these 2015WCs. 2. OBJECTIVES (a) The principal aims of selection for a 2015WC are to provide: (1) Shooting Australia (SA) with the best possible chance of maximising the number of medals it can win in shooting events at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games; (2) SA with the best possible chance of gaining Rio 2016 Olympic Games quota places for Australia; and (3) Pre-elite athletes with an opportunity to compete at an international multidiscipline event for the purpose of accelerating their development. 1 3. EVENTS (a) Athletes will be selected for the following Olympic events at the 2015WCs: MEN'S EVENTS (9) WOMEN'S EVENTS (6) 50M RIFLE 3 POSITIONS 50M RIFLE PRONE 10M AIR RIFLE 50M PISTOL 25M RAPID FIRE PISTOL 10M AIR PISTOL TRAP DOUBLE TRAP SKEET 50M RIFLE POSITIONS 10M AIR RIFLE 25M PISTOL 10M AIR PISTOL 3 TRAP SKEET 4. ELIGIBILITY (a) In order to be considered for nomination to compete in the Olympic events (clause 3), an athlete must be: (1) A registered financial member of a SA Member Body; and (2) Eligible to compete for Australia in shooting events in the 2016 Olympic Games. 5. NOMINATION PROCESS (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Up to three (3) team members who are eligible to compete in the main draw and two (2) team members who are eligible to compete to obtain a minimum qualification score (MQS) may be nominated per event (see clause 3(a)). Aiming4Gold (A4G) squad members will be given priority in team selection. A4G squad members will be selected to attend any 2015WC as negotiated in their individual Athlete Performance Plan (APP). If after this process (Clause 5(b) &5(c)) there are still team vacancies, the SA Selection Committee may nominate any A4G athlete that SA determines (at its sole and absolute discretion) will have the best possible chance of gaining a quota place or whose selection will enhance their long-term development. In doing so, the SA Selection Committee will take into account any factor it considers relevant including but not limited to: international and domestic performances (including qualification rounds and finals); domestic and international performance trend and athlete head-to-head international and domestic performances (including qualification rounds and finals). This discretion is absolute and need not be exercised by SA. If after this process (Clause 5(d)) there are still team vacancies, the SA 2 (f) (g) (h) Selection Committee may nominate a non-A4G athlete who has won a preceding 2015 SA endorsed event with a qualification score that meets or exceeds a selection benchmark score for that discipline (clause 6). In the case for Clause 5(e) if official entries have already closed for the proceeding 2015WC, the non-A4G athlete will be considered for the next 2015WC subject to clauses 5(a), 5(b) 5(c) and 5(d). For the purposes of clause 5(e), the term “won” means the first placed athlete who is eligible to represent Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Should a position in the team become available due to injury, vacancy or the withdrawal of an athlete, the SA Selection Committee may (at its sole and absolute discretion) select an athlete from the A4G Squad to fill that vacancy. This discretion is absolute and need not be exercised by the SA Selection Committee. 6. BENCHMARK SELECTION SCORES (a) The 2015WC benchmark scores are calculated averaging the minimum score required to make a semi-final using the senior Olympic events from the 2014 ISSF World Cups and 2014 ISSF World Championships as identified in the table below: MEN'S EVENTS (9) 50M RIFLE 3 POSITIONS 50M RIFLE PRONE 10M AIR RIFLE 50M PISTOL 25M RAPID FIRE PISTOL 10M AIR PISTOL TRAP DOUBLE TRAP SKEET WBS 1171 624.6 625.8 559 WOMEN'S EVENTS (6) 50M RIFLE 3 POSITIONS 10M AIR RIFLE 25M PISTOL 10M AIR PISTOL WBS 581 416.2 582 383 581 TRAP 70 581 121 140 122 SKEET 71 7. SA SELECTION COMMITTEE (a) The SA Selection Committee will be made up of the discipline SA National Coach, the SA Member Body’s HP Representative and SA High Performance Manager. 3 8. AMENDMENTS TO NOMINATION CRITERIA (a) SA may amend this Nomination Criteria from time to time. If amended, the amended Nomination Criteria will be distributed as follows: (1) Posted on the SA website www.shootingaustralia.org (2) Posted on the SA Facebook site; (3) Distributed to all member bodies; and (4) Distributed to members of the SA A4G HP squad. 9. APPEALS PROCESS (a) (b) (c) An athlete who reasonably considers in all the circumstances that his/her nonselection to compete at a 2015WC has occurred because the Selection Committee has failed to follow this Nomination Criteria is able to appeal his/her non-selection. The sole ground for any appeal is that this Nomination Criteria was not properly followed and/or implemented by the Selection Committee. For the avoidance of doubt, the basis of the appeal can only address procedural matters under this Nomination Criteria, not matters of merit. The Appeal procedure is detailed in the document entitled Appeals Process; a copy of which may be downloaded from the website www.shootingaustralia.org or by request from the SA office. 10. ANNOUNCEMENT (a) The team will be announced via www.shootingaustralia.org post the selection process. 11. TEAM MEMBERSHIP (a) (b) (c) (d) Team members are required to sign and abide by the SA Team Agreement and any such reasonable conditions as published from time to time. Confirmation of acceptance of a position on a team for non-A4G athletes must be made within seven days of notification. In all cases, continuing membership of the Team is dependent on the athlete demonstrating to the relevant SA National Coach that they are maintaining a suitable training regime and where deemed necessary attending such camps as determined by the SA National Coach. Any incident or act related to doping in breach of the relevant policies or any incident that could bring the sport into disrepute would result in the immediate withdrawal of the athlete(s) from the Team and suspension subject to investigation and any appeal through the appeal mechanisms in place under the applicable protocols. 4 12. FUNDING & LOGISTICS (a) All entries, travel arrangements and payments to the relevant organising committees will be co-ordinated through SA. (b) The associated costs to compete in 2015WC include: (1) Entry fees; (2) Travel; (3) Accommodation; (4) Official Team Uniform (5) Ammunition for competition & unofficial training (shotgun); (6) Unofficial Training; and (7) Meal allowance through a daily per diem at a rate stipulated by SA. (c) Subject to the availability of funds and at the total discretion of the National Coach, A4G investment to cover the associated costs (12(b)) will be negotiated individually with each selected A4G athlete on a case-by-case basis. (d) Selected non-A4G athletes compete in a 2015WC on a self-funding basis. (e) Any self-funding contribution resulting from clause 12(c) and 12(d) must be paid in full to SA 7 days prior to departure. (f) Any athlete achieving an Olympic quota performance is eligible to receive an allocation of funding through the SA Podium Incentive Allocation 2014-2016 Policy. (g) Athletes whose total costs are not covered by A4G (see clause 12 (b)) are eligible to be reimbursed based on their competition performance as set out in the SA Team Travel Funding Policy, a copy which may be downloaded from the website www.shootingaustralia.org or by request from the SA office. 5