ETC 2014 - Call for Applications for NZ Team

Update: A couple of people have asked about the timeframe for applications and for the team selection.

Applications will stay open until at least a week after the ETC have made a decision on where the next ETC is. At the moment it is in Normandy, France but certain spokesmen for the organisers seem to be doing everything to lose their hosting rights - saying hall has no AC, that whole event can't be there etc (looks like NZ 2003 World Cup Bid). The other alternative is Greece. They lost the bid first time around but there appears such disquiet with the French organisers that there is a strong lobby to have another vote. The third alternative - based on the stellar performance this year - is to give the Serbs a second year. I'll update here as soon as it is finalised. This will give potential applicants a week to determine whether the venue suits their needs/plans.

Selection will occur once applications close. Given the time and cost commitment my intention is to have the team finalised no later than the end of September. This will let people budget time, pennies and brownie points for the trip.

Hope that helps clarify timeframe.


So I’ve been named as New Zealand’s ETC Captain for 2014 and I’ve got to say I am really looking forward to the challenge. The first part of this challenge is to put together the best possible team to represent NZ at the 2014 event.

To this end I have put together a selection panel encompassing Mal Patel, Chris Wilcox (2013 Captain) and myself. I believe it is important to set some goals and from this expectations of what we would like to achieve in 2014.

The first goal is to represent New Zealand in a way that reflects well on the New Zealand gaming community – be that New Zealanders here in NZ or those playing overseas. In the four years New Zealand has been going to the ETC there has not been one bad word about our demeanour or approach. This is testimony to the 2010-13 teams and their members and is something that is absolutely critical to maintain going forward. I would like New Zealand to continue to be a team that is regarded as good sports that play clean and fair and are great ambassadors for our country.

The second goal is a performance expectation. I believe that with the right team, preparation and practice New Zealand can lift itself into the top half of the competing nations. I would like this to be a minimum target. Outperformance for me would be to achieve 10^th Place. So those are the two goals I’d like the team to have.

To achieve this I believe it is important to have the right players, races and lists. Previous ETC experience is definitely beneficial and I see the team having a solid kernel of players who have been before and know what to expect. However that is not the most important thing. I believe that for NZ to achieve its goals it has to be a team rather than a collection of individuals. So what does that mean?

Well essentially it means team goals come before individual goals. Race and list selection are, as previously mentioned, critical. This means players will need to be flexible as to what race they would play and the make-up of that list. If the consensus is that a given list should be altered then that is the expectation. However such changes wouldn’t occur until after the owning player has had the opportunity to make his case. So key for me is team before individual.

The next thing is practice. New Zealand doesn’t run ETC comp events – and I don’t see that changing. It is therefore critical that team members are able to commit to practice with their army/list be it in other events, casual gaming or via Universal Battle. For overseas players I’d certainly like to see them take advantage of ETC comp events where available and other events where necessary. Prior to the ETC I believe it is important – and realistic – to expect team members to have had 30+ games with their list.

To help this process here in NZ, I will be hosting two team get-togethers at my place here in Wellington. The expectation is that NZ based members would attend one, if not both of them. There will be no accommodation, food or transfer costs for out of towners and we’ll schedule them to take advantage of cheap airfares etc. These events will be an opportunity to practice, discuss list ideas and matchups.

As yet the final location of ETC 2014 has not been confirmed. It was originally going to be France but there have been venue problems. There is now a possibility that it will be Greece, or even a return to Serbia. It is expected that this will be finalised in the month.

So if you are interested in putting yourself forward for selection for the NZ 2014 ETC team what should you do?

Drop me an email at pete@thefieldsofblood.com giving the Selection Panel the following information.

• What armies you currently have or will have access to in the next six months;
• What army would be your preference to play (and your second preference);
• What armies wouldn’t you play;
• Apart from the armies listed in 3. Would you be prepared to play with any other army if necessary; and
• Would you be prepared to play with a borrowed army if you didn’t own the army yourself?