Following careful consideration at the North West Region Board meeting on 9th January 2017, the Board decided that the Region will not be submitting a team for the 2017 Youth Tour of Scotland.
This decision was reached for the reasons detailed below:
- The timeframe from the Event criteria being publicised to the entry closing date was unrealistic for a fair and equitable selection process.
- A selection process could not be implemented using results from 2017 as no Youth events would have taken place.
- A selection process using the previous year, 2016, would have been biased and unfair as Riders wouldn’t have known those results may be used for an event in the future.
- Riders moving up a Category for 2017 have had no opportunity to race with their peers making using National Ranking or National Series points impractical.
- A Riders selection to represent the NW has always been based on results and merit and not on financial standing with team members and staff not incurring any costs for events. The Board felt funding a single event to the level required given the points above would not have been the best use of the Teams finances and asking riders to pay would have gone against the ethos of the NW Team.
- The Isle of Man is part of the NW Region and as such would be included in any selection process as they are for all other Inter Regional Events.
We are perhaps more fortunate than some Regions in having a large group of Youth riders from which to select teams which is why selections and their criteria are carefully considered so as to be open and transparent to Members.
Tom Leivers
North West Region Team Manager
[email protected]
