UK Athletics Make Selection Criteria Tougher

UK Athletics have unveiled a much tougher selection policy that will almost certainly result in more competitive teams being chosen for future international championships.

UKA's performance director Dave Collins, who is tasked with providing medals success in the build-up to the 2012 London Olympic Games, announced the more robust guidelines today. The new selection procedures suggests that the team chosen for this summer's World Championships in Osaka will be much more streamlined team than the usual 60-plus squad. A UKA document revealed athletes will no longer be guaranteed automatic selection even if achieving the criteria of previous years at the trials meeting in Manchester this July.

"In simple terms it means that securing first or second place at the trials with the achievement of the A standard within the qualifying period, may not now result in automatic selection," said Collins. "In addition to this, we are looking for athletes to demonstrate genuinely competitive form and fitness."

The new guideline is that Collins and his fellow selectors would wish to see potential team members producing the qualifying standard for their event on a regular basis. Collins said athletes with the clear ability to achieve a podium finish or top-eight placing would be given priority in selection. But he emphasised that, in addition, every effort will be made to groom the next generation of talent.

The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the five-year build-up to London 2012, and the nation's expectations regarding medals won there, remain his top priority. That will almost certainly mean that those with the potential to benefit from the experience of attending a major championships will be preferred at the expense of more seasoned colleagues this August in Japan.

The plan is based on introducing medal hopefuls and continuing their development at global level in the hope they will fulfil their potential in later World Championships and Olympic Games. "We must ensure athletes we are taking to international events have the ability to contribute towards our ultimate goal of podium finishes," explained Collins. "Smaller teams may result but that will enable us to target our resources more effectively to provide the optimum preparation for our teams. The policy is part of a more focused approach to selection with the emphasis on consistency of performance and the enhanced development of our emerging talent."