Selection process for EHBPC 2011 23-26.06.2011

A perspective that ought to be retained/inserted throughout this whole selection process is that of national and regional awareness, inclusion and participation. Irrespective of the 'fairness' of the final representation and their cities/scenes, we should endeavour to include polo from the grass roots, so that even new or developing players/teams can or feel to be part of the 'road to the World Champs'.

By this I mean that it is surely for the good to have a range of UK selection rounds - within scenes, cities and nationally (stimulating awareness and activities that would otherwise not take place - a la FA Cup) - whether you view that simply as more opportunities for competitive polo or because you are serious about 'going all the way'. When devising these selection formats, can people better qualified than I think from the bottom up too?

By remembering to think strategically, this investment or commitment to inclusion at every step is the deposit for the future of great teams and, let's face it, the first UK winners of a World title will probably come from the SuperLuca era as opposed to right here, right now.

I agree with all of this, but for this year, we need to focus on getting something sorted very shortly.

Having a range of selection round is immensely desirable - but not practical for 2011. The event is in just over 3 months, which doesn't leave a lot of time.

For 2012, we need to sort something out for sure. And there is no reason not to start sorting it out now.