The official website of the International Mounted Games Association (IMGA) |
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Entries Management Procedures |
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At the IMGA Annual Meeting in December 2016 it was decided to completely abandon the previous "First Come First Served" method of managing entries to these championships :
The new Entries Management procedure allows entries through 4 separate and different routes :
The basic information required for the start of the procedure is the date of the start of the competition and how many places will be available. This is decided by the host country, and should normally be known well before the procedure begins.
Step 1 : Guarantees places to previous high performers World Individuals
World Pairs
European Individuals
In all cases, only riders are considered, not rider/pony combinations. This is probably the easiest part to administer because the riders qualifying this way will already be known well before the end of the previous year, and so Step 1 can begin after the end of the last of that year’s championships. It should be completed before the end of the year. The riders eligible under the rules of Step 1 are given the opportunity to take up the place which they have earned through previous good performance. They must each decide whether to accept their place or not. If they want to take up their place then they must formally contact the organisers to enter the competition and pay any registration fees which may be required. Any places not taken up in this way may not be transferred to other riders, but instead return to the “pool” of available places. The same applies to any places which later become available because a registered rider decides after all not to participate. Step 1 closes at the end of the year prior to the championship.
Step 2 - Gives places to every member country This step distributes the places remaining after Step 1 between Steps 2, 3, and 4. The Step 2 places are distributed evenly between those countries which have applied for places. It begins immediately after the completion of Step 1 and runs until 12 weeks before the start of the competition. The procedure is not really complicated, but appears to be so when set down in writing. Places are allocated to countries on an equal basis – no country has a claim on more places than any other country, but to avoid the situation where every country automatically asks for the maximum available, they are requested to be realistic in their demands. If the number of available places after Step 1 is less than the number of countries applying for places in Step 2 : There aren’t enough places to go around, so no places are allocated. Instead, all the places are passed to Steps 3 and 4 split 50/50 (with the extra one going to Step 3 if it’s an odd number). If the number of available places after Step 1 is equal to the number of countries applying for places in Step 2 : There’s exactly the right number available so each requesting country gets 1 place and there’s nothing left to pass on the Steps 3 and 4. If the number of available places after Step 1 is greater than the number of countries applying for places in Step 2 but less than the number of countries applying for places in Step 2 plus 10 : There’s enough places available for each requesting country to get 1 place and to pass on the remaining places to Steps 3 and 4 split 50/50 (with the extra one going to Step 3 if it’s an odd number). If the number of available places after Step 1 is greater than the number of countries applying for places in phase 2 plus 10 : Step 3 gets 5 places, Step 4 gets 5 places and everything else is available for distribution in Step 2. How does that distribution between countries work ? 1. Each country has to request the number of places that they think they will be able to fill with world class riders. 2. This gives the total requirement. 3. If the total requirement is less than the number of places available then all requests are satisfied, and any remaining places passed to Step 3 and and Step 4. End of the distribution procedure. 4. Otherwise, allocation round 1 takes place with each country having made a request being given 1 place. 5. The countries having requested only 1 place, and having now received it, drop out of the allocation procedure. 6. Round 2 starts with fewer countries. 7. Are there still enough places left to give another place to each of the countries still in the running (up to a limit of 5 per country) ? YES - give each of them another place, and if that completes their request they drop out of the allocation procedure. NO - end of procedure and all remaining places go to Steps 3 and 4(50% to each with the extra one going to Step 3 if there's an odd number). 8. Another round starts – go to 7. 9. This loop continues until a NO situation is reached, and that’s the end of the distribution procedure. The full detail of all this is available in 24 tables which may be accessed here. The remaining time for Step 2 is for the countries to internally match up riders’ names to the places they have been given. How they do that is for them to decide. It could be selection by the national trainer, or by the national MGA committee, or by the national federation, or based on the previous year’s national championship results. In the case of a mixed-nationality pair being given a place from a country’s allocation, then each rider retains his/her own nationality. IMGA’s strong recommendation is that the selection process should be based on demonstrated ability and success at either national championships or at specially arranged selection trials open to all riders.
Step 3 - Allows for further places to be allocated by a Selection Committee Step 3 follows on immediately after the completion of Step 2. This will be 12 weeks before the competition start date at the latest, earlier if Step 2 is completed earlier than scheduled. Riders who have up to this point not secured a place are able to apply to a Selection Committee for consideration to take one of the places available in Step 3. The Selection Committee is set up with one selector from each member country. How each country decides who will be their selector is entirely up to them, but if any country does not provide a selector, or does so late, then that country is simply not represented on the Selection Committee. The deadline for the nomination of selectors is 10 weeks before the competition start date, and this is also the deadline for applications from riders. Selectors can consider applications from riders in their own country on an equal basis as riders from all other countries. The Selection Committee does not ever meet as a group. Each selector is given copies of all applications and has a week (until 9 weeks before the competition start date) to rank the applicants and notify IMGA. The rankings are then consolidated into a single list and places are offered to the riders according to the overall ranking and the number of available places Those riders are given a week (until 8 weeks before the competition start date)to accept or decline. Places that are not accepted or for which no response has been received within the deadline are then allocated to the next name(s) on the list. The process continues until all places available in Step 3 have been accepted, and will normally be completed 6 weeks before the competition start date.
Step 4 - Gives any remaining places to the host country to allocate All remaining unallocated places, plus any that were previously taken up but subsequently became free again, plus any unsuccessful applications from Step 3, go into Step 4 where the host country takes over the allocation of places. How these places are allocated is left entirely up to organising country but the expectation is that the bulk of these will go to local riders, thereby ensuring a healthy local representation which in turn will make it attractive for countries to host these competitions without running the risk of only having a handful of local participants. This final step in the allocation procedure can be left open right up to a few days before the competition, but at some point an “entries closed” date has to be applied (suggested closing date 2 or 3 days before the competition), allowing time for the organisers to calculate the draws, print programmes, and so on.
Important Notes If the number of places available exceeds the number of entries then no such procedure is required, but early in the year, when entries start to be processed, the eventual total number of entries is still unknown. The procedure, therefore, has to be started, even if eventually it turns out to be unnecessary because there are places enough for everyone. Timing is important because to a large degree the way each step works is dependent upon the results of the previous step. It’s sequential. For example, places available to previous winners in Step 1 may not all be taken up, meaning more places are available to Step 2. If there are last minute changes which occur after a step has been completed and closed, then any places which become free are passed directly to Step 4.
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