2015 ETC Selection Process

Since the end of the ETC I have been asked about ETC selection process for 2015. Thought I go through what was discussed by the team in the hours after. This fits with previous process but establishes a slightly different timeframe.

Part of the reason for this was so members of this year's team could have a period of time to reflect on whether they wanted to be in the 2015 mix.

The first stage is that the 2014 team elects a Captain for 2015 from available applicants. It is my intention to call for nominations for 2015 Captain on 1 October and to close the application window on 15 October. The team will then vote to determine the preferred applicant. Essentially there are nine votes – including James Milner (2014 Coach). In the event of a draw, and to get early resolution, I’ll have a casting vote. This will be finalised no later than 22 October.
The incoming Captain will then establish a selection panel of his choosing. In the past it has included past captains and players. My recommendation is that the panel include at least one person who does not intend attending 2015 ETC (to provide wider perspective). The selection criteria will be established by the panel. This year I stated upfront what the panel was looking for in applicants.

Applicants for the 2015 will then be opened and any interested player will be able to apply. The only criteria from ETC is that a minimum of 4 players hold NZ passports. This year we aimed to provide a team that blended experience with a reflection of the NZ tournament community.

I would expect that the whole process would be completed by mid-November giving a nine month lead-in for preparation.
As an aside people have asked what they can do to get on the team. The following are my own thoughts based on my prep and what I saw and experienced this year.

• It is a nine month commitment to ETC
• You can never prepare enough. Select a race you want to play and use it relentlessly.
• For this to be meaningful I believe you need to fit your army to ETC restrictions. So if you are playing “Swedish” take an ETC army that fits those restrictions. Essentially, playing an army that is significantly harder than that allowed for the race at ETC is of lesser relevance than practice with ETC army.
• Clubbing baby seals maybe (is) fun, but of less relevance than your results versus other “good” players. For instance, the English selection process ignores rankings and focuses on how you have done versus other ETC players. I think this is a solid practice.
• Be a team player…individual egos need to be shelved. So if you are focussed on your own individual goals rather than team placing, then I contend you are less useful to your captain.

Hopefully this year’s event, the coverage etc will whet the appetite of people to apply for 2015. This year we had 16 applicants. It would be great to have that choice again. If you want to discuss further I’m happy to answer any questions and provide my view.

Appreciate if this post could be linked to any relevant forums in NZ and Oz by a regular user of those sites