1. USSA POLICY
USSA policy mandates that World Championship and Olympic team selection criteria
shall be principally objective (or performance-based), that coachesā discretion must
be limited to no more than twenty- five percent (25%) of total team selected, and that
available start rights and team spots will not necessarily be filled.
2. TEAM SIZE
A maximum of sixteen (16) athletes (8 per gender) may represent the United States in
the 2002 Olympic Games Cross Country Skiing. In order to ensure that the United
States fields a representative team, minimum team size shall consist of five (5)
athletes per gender.
3. START RIGHTS
Up to four (4) athletes may start for the United States in each event. Athletes who
qualify for the team via criteria 5.A.2 will be guaranteed at least one start, the event to
be determined at the discretion of the Head Coach. All other start rights will be
determined by the discretion of the Head Coach.
Coachesā Discretion in determining start positions shall include the following
considerations:
A. Previous performances during the 2002 Olympic Games.
B. Previous performances in similar competitions during the selection period.
C. Physical fitness level and level of preparation to compete as determined by
training, prior competitions, time trials and intervals, and laboratory
testing.
4. ELIGIBILITY FOR CONSIDERATION
USSA will consider for selection only those USSA members in good standing with
valid U.S. passports and a valid FIS license who have met FIS minimum eligibility
standards. An athlete shall be ineligible for consideration for team selection or start
rights if he/she is not fit to compete at the time selections are made due to any injury
or illness from which he/she is not expected to recover adequately by the time of the
2002 Winter Olympic Games as verified by USSA or USOC Medical Staff. Such
determination shall be at the discretion of the USSA Vice-President of Athletics, in
consultation with the USSA Sports Science and Coaching staffs, the Head Cross
Country Physician, and the athleteās designated physician.
5. TEAM SELECTION PROCEDURE AND CRITERIA
The Head Coach is responsible for applying the selection criteria set forth herein,
subject to the approval of the Chief Executive Officer and Vice President of Athletics
of USSA. Objective selections shall be based on the results achieved by athletes in
World Cup Overall, Sprint World Cup and U.S. Ski Team Gold Cup competitions
held between November 15, 2001 and January 12 (tentative), 2002 (the "objective
selection period"). Discretionary selections, if any, may be based on a variety of
factors. Representative team selections, if any, shall be based on the USSA National
Ranking List, developed from a competitorās best 4 USSA scored competitions (in
which he/she competed as a USSA member) within the twelve months preceding the
date of closing of the selection list on January 19, 2002 (the "representative selection
period").
A. Objective Criteria.
1) One (1) athlete per gender shall be selected to the team based solely upon
their competition result at the U.S. Ski Team Gold Cup. The winner of the
2002 U.S. Ski Team Gold Cup (One-day Pursuit event) shall be selected to
the team.
2) Additionally, up to five (5) athletes per gender shall be selected to the
team based solely upon their World Cup competition results during the
objective selection period. Athletes ranking in the top 30 in the World
Cup Overall, or Sprint World Cup standings, at the time the team is named
shall be selected to the team, unless application of this criterion would
result in a total of more than six (6) objective selections per gender, in
which case USSA shall use the following tie-breaking mechanisms in
order:
- Most World Cup points.
- Lowest current FIS points.
B. Coachesā Discretion.
If after application of the objective criteria described in
section 5 A. team positions remain open, these positions may be filled at the
discretion of the coaching staff. The number of individuals selected through
coachesā discretion cannot exceed 25% of the total named team. If the
coaching staff fills any available spots on the team using discretion, then the
staff may consider any factors including, but not limited to, the following:
1) Outstanding competition results (including any results from the
2000/01 and 2001/02 seasons).
2) Recent direction or trend in competition results (i.e., improving, flat,
or declining).
3) Attitude and commitment of athletes.
4) Physical fitness level.
5) Illness or injury during the selection period.
6) Indicia of medal potential in future Olympic or World Championship
competition, which would be materially enhanced by selection to
team.
7) Other unanticipated failure of objective criteria to select an athlete
likely to achieve competition results consistent with USSA program
goals for Olympics.
All discretionary selections will be documented and appropriate forms will be
available for record keeping purposes. All discretionary selections will be
reviewed by a discretionary selection review group comprised of the President
and CEO, the Athletic Director, and the athlete representative from that sport
who is a member of the USSA Board. If USSA Board Athlete Representative
is also a currently competing athlete then another athlete, who is not actively
competing, will be selected by the Athletesā Council at the Fall USSA Board
Meeting to be the representative in this group.
C. Representative Team Selections.
If fewer than five (5) athletes per ge nder
are selected to the team based upon both the objective criteria listed above and
coachesā discretion, then USSA shall ensure that it fields a representative team
by selecting as many additional athletes as may be necessary to bring the total
team size up to, but not limited to, five (5) athletes per gender using the USSA
National Ranking List (based on results during the representative selection
period). Representative team selections shall be granted to those athletes with
the best ranking on the Jan. 19, 2002 updated USSA points list, in order, until
a representative team is filled.
6. ANNOUNCEMENT OF SELECTIONS
Selections to the 2002 Olympic team shall be announced on January 21, 2002 at the
offices of USSA in Park City, Utah and shall be published immediately upon
announcement.
7. ATHLETE REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE
In the case that an athlete that has been selected to the team becomes injured or ill
prior the Olympic Winter Games and is unable to compete, no replacement athlete
will be named unless it is deemed that there is sufficient time to make a replacement
without disrupting the competition or preparation of other athletes and that the
additional athlete would have sufficient time to properly prepare for the competition.
This decision will be made by the Vice President of Athletics for USSA after
consulting with the President and CEO of USSA, Head Olympic Coach, USSA Sport
Science Department and USOC Staff. Should an additional athlete be considered, the
procedures as outlined in Section 5.B. above will be followed to select that athlete.
No athletes will be named to the team following the conclusion of mandatory training
or within five days of the start of the Olympic Winter Games.
8. MANDATORY TRAINING
Following the selection of the 2002 OWG Team mandatory training camps may be
organized in preparation for the Olympic Games. Dates, locations and organization
of these training camps will be announced prior to final selection of the team.
9. USOC ATHLETE OMBUDSMAN
If you have questions regarding your opportunity to compete that are not answered by
the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, you may contact the USOC Athlete
Ombudsman, Mr. John Ruger, by telephone at (888)-Athlete (284-5383) or by e-mail
at john.ruger@usoc.org.