North Canberra Eagles (NCE) Selection Policy – 2024
NCE’s Senior Team Selection Policy is intended to provide guidance to selectors and transparency to members across all teams regarding how team lists are decided. NCE recognises that players approach hockey differently, from serious to social, and the policy is designed to reflect this.
Initial selections for the various grades are made by the Women’s Selection Committee (women’s teams) and the Men’s Selection Committee (men’s teams). Selection Committees consist of at least three members and are formed by the Women’s Coordinator and Men’s Coordinator respectively and noted in minutes of the NCE Committee.
In general across all grades, players are placed in teams according to playing merit, i.e., players are assigned to the highest grade that they are capable of playing. Additional considerations then apply depending on the grade. For CL1 players or aspiring CL1 players, there are additional requirements stipulated by the CL1 coach around training and game attendance that also form part of the selection policy.
For SL grades, the aim is to allocate enough players to each team to allow for absences through injury and personal reasons while maintaining an interchange bench at each game. If teams will be full, then for players of equal playing merit, selection preference is given to (in order):
1) players who have no alternative senior hockey competition to participate in at their level.
2) players who more consistently attend trainings.
A primary goal of team selection is to have balanced numbers in each team throughout the SL grades. The Selection Committees will be looking to prioritise this goal. NCE understands that part of the fun of social hockey is to play alongside friends and relatives. Requests will be taken into consideration but may need to be negotiated to ensure balanced team numbers.