Pickleball England Selection Process

1. Selection Policy Objectives

The primary objective is to select the strongest players in England who are capable of winning matches at an international level against other countries teams.

2. Player eligibility

To be considered for selection a player: –

  • Must be a member of pbE
  • Must have been resident in England for a continuous period of 2 years immediately prior to team selection.  (Team Selection may include a maximum of two players (1 male & 1 female) who do not satisfy the residency requirement but were born in England and currently reside abroad.  All other selection criteria apply.)
  • Generally considered to be a 4.5+ standard 
 

3. Selection Committee

pbE Board of Directors agreed a subset of the Board will form a Selection Committee, led by Elaine Shallcross BEM.  That Selection Committee will, by a majority vote select a short list of 6 men and 6 women for the 18+ England Team and 6 men and 6 women for the Senior England Team.  The selection will be in line with  the objective of fielding the strongest team based on results from International and National tournaments. Any conflicts of interest by the Committee will be declared both before and during this process to ensure fairness and transparency. The BoD member with a conflict will excuse themselves from any vote relating to the conflict of interest.

4. Selection Procedures

  • Players will be asked to indicate their willingness and availability to play on the given dates (23rd-24th November). Players will be asked to complete a form outlining their performances at international and national competition and at what level. The weighting of international events will be higher than national, and national higher than local/regional, with more recent results also having more of a weighting.
  • The pbE Selection Committee will review the information provided by players and results from international and national tournament over the last few years.
  • Players who wish to be considered should make every effort to enter the English Nationals (31st October-3rd November) at the Pro 18+ level or 50+ Senior Pro level. This is not a requirement but is suggested by the Board to demonstrate ability in a top level tournament environment. 
  • The top 12 men and 12 women will then be evaluated by a Selection Committee.
  • The final selection of 3 men and 3 women for the 18+ and 50+, will be announced by 8th November and listed on the pbE website. All selected players will be advised if they have been selected  and will be given 48 hours to confirm that they would like to represent their country. 
5. Player Cost/Sponsorship

PickleballEngland will cover the team’s  travel, hotel and subsistence costs.  Funds previously raised towards the World Pickleball Games will be used for the European Championships.

A team kit will be provided.  

6. Players’ Indications of Interest

Link to the form which should be completed for each person who wishes to be considered for selection.

7. Selected Player/Manager Requirements

All selected players will be required to:

  • Commit to the team preparation a couple of days prior to the European Championships.
  • Commit to making themselves available for any reasonable social media/sponsor posts/commitments.
  • Commit to adhering to the pickleballEngland Code of Conduct, Values, relevant policies.

8. Team Manager/Team Coach

  • An appointment of both a nonplaying Team Coach and Team Manager will be made, and these roles will be subject to appointment by the board based on qualifications and previous experience. As per point 7 pickleballEngland will make every effort to provide full sponsorship but it cannot be guaranteed, so both roles may have to contribute towards team expenses.
  • The Team Coach will be responsible for helping to plan out training, selecting which players play in which fixtures/matches and coaching the team through the Games.
  • The Team Manager will be responsible for the organisation of the team, such as being on top of hotel bookings, cars/transfers, keeping tabs on playing times and scheduling and ensuring the team has everything needed at the Games.

9.  Deselection

If a player fails to meet the requirements set out in point 7, the pbE board has the discretion to deselect the player by majority vote.