There are a few athletes who aren’t happy they missed out on selection for Team ACT for next year’s Nationals. I get it. A lot of athletes train hard, turn up to competitions and get good results. They win their event at State Games, go to more competitions than other athletes, get extra coaching, and so on.

WHY DO WE PLAY SPORT?
We all play sport for different reasons. It doesn’t matter if we’re a Special Olympics athlete or not. For many of us, it’s about hanging out with friends. For others, it’s about getting fit. For others, they just love their sport. For some, it’s about achieving great things through sport.

This last group of people live and breathe their sport. They’re so dedicated to their training and competitions, and it can be hard to deal with missing out on representative teams.

And I understand. As a decent cricketer and footballer in my younger years, I missed out on getting picked in some teams. Then I got picked in others. Sometimes I missed out when I thought I deserved a spot. Sometimes I got a spot when I didn’t think I deserved it. I didn’t deal with this very well when I was young. I dealt with it better as I got older.

WHAT I LEARNT WHEN I STARTED COACHING
It wasn’t until I started coaching that I finally understood why some players get picked in teams and others don’t. I learnt a few things over the years.

First, the best teams aren’t always the teams with the best players. The saying “a champion team will beat a team of champions” is true. I’ve seen it so many times. I’ve played in both kinds of teams. Once I played in a cricket team that had 5 players who had played for Australia in the past, were playing for Australia at the time, or played for Australia in years to come. And I’m talking about THE Australian Cricket Team! There were another 3 or 4 players who represented their state and were professional cricketers. We easily had the best team in the competition. We finished second last!

The people choosing teams have to think about so many things: Which players are going to work together best? What kinds of players do we need for our tactics? Who are we playing against? Do we want to win or do we want to give everyone a go?

Sometimes younger or new players get picked for their future potential. Sometimes older players are left out because it’s time to give someone else a go. Sometimes a player gets picked because they have an ‘X-Factor’ or there is something else about them (like their enthusiasm, grit, willingness to learn) that their coach thinks will help the team perform better.

So there are all kinds of reasons coaches make decisions about their teams. And, let’s be honest, sometimes coaches get it wrong. Coaches are, after all, only human. I’ve had to have a lot of difficult conversations with emotional players I haven’t picked for teams in the past. Sometimes they understood and accepted my reasons, sometimes they didn’t. Sometimes the decision I made proved to be right and we won. Sometimes we lost and I realised I’d made a mistake. Every time though, I did what I thought was right for the team and the individual players. I listened to their concerns, let them have their say, and did my best to treat them with respect. This is important and it’s the reason I’m writing this now.

Choosing teams is not easy. Being a coach is not easy. Making hard decisions is not easy. Dealing with disappointed athletes and their parents is not easy. That’s why so few people put their hand up to be the coach – especially for team sports where the players selected for higher honours aren’t just the ones who finished first. And this is why I really admire those people who do put their hand up to be a team coach.

BACK TO SPECIAL OLYMPICS AND NATIONAL GAMES SELECTIONS
So back to selections and National Games. Individual sports are much easier than team sports. Win gold at the State Games for their sport and an athlete should be in the mix. If we have 10 gold medallists and a quota for 5 athletes, then the names are drawn at random.

But, it might depend on what divisions are going to be available at the National Games. And this depends on the other states and what athletes they have available to compete. So sometimes an athlete who won gold might not be in the mix because his/her division isn’t going to be at the National Games. There’s not much we can do about that!

Another issue for some athletes is that Special Olympics International’s sports ‘bible’ (Article 1) says athletes only have to do one inter-club competition to be eligible for State Games. If athletes compete in the State Games they are eligible for selection for the Nationals. This means that the athlete who goes to EVERY inter-club competition has the same opportunity as an athlete who only goes to ONE inter-club competition before the State Games. If this athlete has a one-off AMAZING performance at the State Games (and we know it happens all the time) then they may well take the place of another athlete who has also performed well, but maybe not AS well.

Is that fair? Maybe not to those athletes who go to every competition and are consistent performers. But it does create more opportunities for athletes of ALL abilities to be chosen for the Nationals. And this is an important principle of Special Olympics. It’s why, unlike the Paralympics or Olympics, it’s not only the elite sportspeople who get the chance. I think this is a really good thing because it is a huge honour to represent your state.

TEAM SPORTS ARE HARDER
Teams get picked for a bunch of reasons – some I’ve outlined earlier – and we also have to find out what teams the other states can send. For example, if we are the only state with a Division C team, then we can’t send a Division C team to play against itself (that wouldn’t be fun) or against a Division A team (that wouldn’t be fair). That means our Division C players might have to miss out, which is a real ‘bummer’!

That said, we are really lucky to have basketball and football volunteers who have fantastic technical knowledge of their sport, know athletes REALLY well, are passionate about Special Olympics, and want the best for everyone. In particular, Carmen Dederer and Leanne Secomb do a wonderful job with our basketball program and Eddie Meechan and Gavin Backhouse are our football gurus.

They had the really hard task this year of putting forward teams for selection and I think they’ve done a great job. They had to think about all the things I’ve mentioned above. They also had to find a way to get ACT athletes selected alongside NSW athletes because the ACT couldn’t make up teams in the divisions on offer. They did really well here and as a result a number of ACT athletes have the chance to participate in the National Games.

I spoke to them a fair bit (I wasn’t involved in selections by the way) and really got to understand how hard it was to choose teams. I can’t think of anyone who could’ve done a better job, so I’d like to say a big thanks to them because it was a lot of work.

IF YOU STILL HAVE CONCERNS 
If you are an athlete (or know one) who missed out and doesn’t think it was fair, you ABSOLUTELY have the right to question the decision. Like many of you have done so far, you can contact your local coach or committee, call me or send me an email, or talk to the State Sport Coordinator for your particular sport. If you don’t have their details I’d be more than happy to provide them. 

Just remember, the people who run our sport are passionate, hard-working and dedicated volunteers who put their heart and soul into Special Olympics. Across the board they want what’s best for the athletes. So, even if you’re upset, perhaps wait until you’re feeling a bit calmer before you jump on your email or pick up the phone. It’s hard to solve problems when we’re fired up.

And always assume the best. If you can keep in mind that we’re all trying to do what’s best, that we’re all human, that sometimes mistakes happen, and that one athlete missing out means another one getting a chance, then you’ll perhaps be better placed to have your question about selections addressed appropriately.

If you really don’t feel like you’ve been heard or your issue hasn’t been dealt with in a timely and respectful manner, then you can make a complaint to Special Olympics Australia. You can get the Complaint Form at the Special Olympics website. Please don’t feel that doing so is a problem, there is a system in place so any issues you have can be dealt with to your satisfaction.

As always, if you have any feedback, suggestions or issues, please call the office (6251 4250) or email the Sports Team (canberra.sport@specialolympics.com.au).

Rob Regent
for the Sports Team
Special Olympics Greater Canberra
canberra.sports@specialolympics.com.au