After a considerable amount of discussion between the TE committee, several current TE athletes, several former TE athletes and the BTBA Executive, we have decided to change the way TE selection will operate.

As the dynamics of the sport are developing we are changing from the ‘squad style’ system that has been in service for a number of years to an ‘open selection’ system. We are aware that on the face of it, this decision will result in a multitude of negative assumptions and accusations. It is for this reason we ask that any questions or requests for clarity in understanding are sent via the TE email address (teamengland@btba.org.uk). All questions will be collated and answered and a document will be published week commencing 16th December 2024 so there is full transparency on the Q&A’s.

To run a full review of the current system we had to identify and acknowledge the faults and understand why the current systems did not receive the support from athletes that we anticipated. Most of the feedback we had from athletes was very fair and extremely helpful to understanding what our athletes would like to see from TE.

This feedback included but was not limited to:
– the objection of having to pay up front to register for TE rankings (regardless of the fundraising element),
– the number of extra dates needing commitment for a trials process
(Senior calendar in particular),
– not understanding or mis-interpreting the qualification process (or missing the publication entirely/ not reading the publication in its entirety),
– with changes in life not being sure whether they will be available a year in advance (children, jobs, injury etc).

So, we had to consider how we could best serve England by putting forward our best teams together with making the process for selection more flexible in terms of time commitment and with reduced financial burden to the athletes, if not in terms of the event contribution but at least in the qualification process. It has been realised that we have a lot of talented athletes who would be fantastic representatives of TE who have either represented before and took some time away or others that don’t have the confidence in themselves to put themselves forward.

We hope with this new process we may have an opportunity to extend our reach to include these athletes in our discussions and develop an era of TE that see’s new faces being brought in to the fold.

Recently, with the development of new challenges, cups, championships and new age categories within them plus their irregular/erratic placements on the calendar it has become increasingly difficult to have squads to cover all bases and so we have ended up with a lot of our athletes in squads but not having a chance to represent TE at events which is a great shame.

We have our squads now for 2025 and this will not change. Looking forward to 2026, with all the above in mind, there will be no specific qualification process. We are opening up the opportunity to represent Team England to every current BTBA member. The selectors are as before, the TE committee and 3 independent selectors Geoff Brown, Jo Cundy and Lee Chatfield for Adults and Seniors. The same selectors will also be joined by Stephen Toop and Brian Parker for Youths. Each selector 4-6 months prior to a championship will be asked to bring the names of a team of athletes plus 2 (eg. if a championship teams consists of 4 athletes, the selectors will be asked to bring 6 names to the meeting).

Prior to a selection meeting, athletes that selectors would like to put forward for selection will have already been contacted and told their name will be in the mix for selection and at this time they will have a chance to say that they would or wouldn’t wish to be available for representation so that only athletes with availability are discussed.
Selectors will be in attendance at a variety of events throughout the year and will look at results from:
– Domestic leagues including but not limited to; UK house, MSL, SSL
– International leagues including but not limited to; Swedish, French, German
– Domestic tournaments including but not limited to; YBE Tour, BTBA Tour, ESBT, ResDev, TPT, ICC, National Championships
– International tournaments including but not limited to; YET, EBT, ISBT, PBA, PWBA

The only MANDATORY event to be eligible for Team England selection is the BTBA National Championships for your relevant age category – participation is required, all events completion is encouraged. Although, there is an understanding that sometimes it can be difficult to get a team together therefore, the singles discipline is the minimum requirement for BTBA National Championships participation. If there is a reason why an athlete cannot participate in the BTBA National Championships then they can apply for exemption by contacting the TE
committee via the email address.

As well as results, selectors will continue to consider other athlete
attributes such as:
– Attitude
– Team play
– Past results from championships
– Team compatibility
– Coachability
– Player coach compatibility
– Athlete’s physical conditioning (injuries)
– Athlete’s personal development plans
– Reports from team managers and coaches from previous Championships
– An athlete’s entourage and the effects they have on the athlete, the team and the coaches (an entourage can be anyone that comes to support a bowler be that friends, partners and spouses, parents and coaches).

If any athletes feel like they may not be considered/recognised for any reasons such as living outside the UK or not being an active competitor due to injury/illness then they can write to the TE email address and we will make sure all the selectors are considering them.

It is a shame that with these changes we lose the fundraising element of the current process however without squads we will not be able to run squad training sessions and therefore we hope to gain the opportunity to run TE fundraising events (tournaments or clinics) instead.

We will, before the end of the year have the Team England page of the BTBA website updated, welcoming our new squad members from this year and an updated ‘Information Pack’ which we will make sure includes any relevant parts of the Q&A. There is no intention of changing the qualification process every year but as a committee we are prepared to accept when a system we have implemented has not worked as we’d expected and continue to try and find better systems.’
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Team England Committee
British Tenpin Bowling Association