The recently completed selections for the Australian Olympiad Team have resulted in a fair bit of comment on one of the local bulletin boards. The major point of debate seems to be the low ranking of IM Gary Lane on the Open team (10th of 10), and the ranking of Biljana Dekic on the Women's team (ranked 6).
Now while I personally think Gary Lane should not have been ranked so low (1 loss in 18 games at the Doeberl/SIO against very strong fields should mean something), I also understand that selections can be a difficult exercise (As an aside, I was briefly a selector in Australia, until some noticed I was registered with PNG and ratted me out to the ACF). In fact the selection mechanism used by the ACF is as much to blame for the debate as anything, as each selector (there are 5) simply rank players from 1 to n, and the player with the lowest total is No.1, the next lowest is No. 2 etc The two problems with this system is firstly a player might be ranked at 5 by 4 selectors and 10 by another, and finish behind a player ranked 6-6-6-6-5. Secondly, as this ranking also determines board order, the option to reorganise the order of the team to maximise potential results is not available. In the specific case of this years selections, there is no indication about how close each player was to the one above him (or her), so ranking may have simply been the case of finishing down 1 or 2 votes at most.
Of course there are other ways to get to the Olympiad. In my case, being born in another country was a stroke of fortune I still thank my parents for. But if that option is not available, applying for the position of team captain might help. In Gary's case, his theoretical knowledge in the opening would probably be an asset for the selected members. (NB This observation also applies to the 2010 Captain FM Manuel Weeks). The other option is to be appointed as a countries FIDE delegate. Of course you have to attend meetings and such, but at least you still get to be involved in some way. In Australia's case the FIDE delegates position is re-appointed every year, by the ACF after the 1st of July. There is also provision in the ACF budget to cover travel expenses (a recent change in policy), making this route even more attractive. The only difficulty I see with this one is that the ACF seems fairly reticent about advertising this position. Of course this does not mean they are not accepting applications, so it might be worthwhile contacting the ACF Secretary to find out if they are.
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6 comments:
Can you also post a link to who actually was selected ...
I am not sure the first problem is one really. Either the opinion of judge #5 should be taken into account, in which case the outcome described may be the 'right' one, or it shouldn't for some reason. In that case the better answer would be to replace the judge rather than the voting system.
Richard Maher
I think this is why they often exclude the highest and lowest score in group voting, which resolves these issues.
Shaun is still listed as a member of the ACF Selections Panel and could in theory be appointed as a selector for ACF events again if he was willing and there was a desire to appoint him. Being registered to another federation does not exclude a person from being a selector for some events and indeed Andras Toth is also on the panel. There is, however, a view that it is not right that a participant in another nation's team (however weak that team) help select the Australian team, and Shaun's appointment as an Olympiad selector has been blocked in the past for that reason, and likely and rightly would be again.
If Shaun believes the position of ACF Delegate to FIDE should be advertised then he should convince a state or territory delegate to move a motion concerning that specific position (and covering no others) at ACF Council level. I would not oppose such a motion, and frankly couldn't care less if it passed so long as the advertising stated that the incumbent intended continuing. I have already advised the ACF Council that I would abstain on such a motion if it was moved.
Even when the Council is not publicly calling for specific applications for any position, there is nothing to prevent anyone who wants to from writing to the Council suggesting (in a non-defamatory fashion) that the incumbent be dismissed and that they be appointed to it instead. They may very well be wasting their time but I have no paternalistic desire to protect them from so doing. The ACF can appoint and dismiss office-holders of that and many other positions whenever it likes.
Anyone who wants to "apply" for my position at any time is welcome to do so, though I do suggest that an "application" lodged at any time other than the Ides of March, November 11 or April Fools Day may be rejected for inadequate humour value. I also suggest that potential "applicants" (i) obtain and familiarise themselves with the full statement of duties prior to "applying", instead of imagining the position is just a trip to the Congress with no attached workload beyond it (ii) be aware that I won't be stepping down in favour of anyone who I think would do a worse job, especially on the admin side (iii) disclose and explain how they will mitigate all relevant conflicts of interest, especially those relating to the OCC.
I can advise that I firmly intend continuing in the position for 2012-3 should the Council wish to reappoint me.
Are you the somebody referred to in the article that ratted Shaun out because he was born in PNG? Shame on that person for using these sneaky tricks. You should give Shaun his job back. He would do a good job, and he has lived in Canberra for years on end. He is a true blue Aussie and shame on people for suggesting he would be disloyal by stacking our team with less than the best players.
No, I wasn't the "somebody". Haven't been able to find any old records relating to it but it could well have been the 2002 Olympiad (if not that one, it was definitely before it) and the first I knew of it was that someone told me an objection had been raised to Shaun serving as selector on account of being a team member for another country, and that therefore he had not been appointed.
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