Dominique Vallée Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) & Canadian Yachting Association (CYA) Selection to Olympic Games Stephen L.

Transcription

1 Introduction Claimant: Respondents: Type of Dispute: Arbitrator: Dominique Vallée Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) & Canadian Yachting Association (CYA) Selection to Olympic Games Stephen L. Drymer Dates of Decision: June 9 th & July 9 th, 2004

2 Dispute Summary Dominique Vallée, a competitor in the Mistral Class of sailing, appealed a decision by the Canadian Olympic Committee that denied her request to compete at an alternate qualification event for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.

3 Jurisdiction Prior to the case going to arbitration, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) contested the jurisdiction of the Ad Hoc Division of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) to hear the appeal. The Ad Hoc Division handles disputes related to major games and special events (e.g. Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games, etc.). The Ordinary Division handles all other arbitration cases. Arbitrator, Pierre Michaud, agreed with the COC s position that, since Ms. Vallée had not been nominated by the CYA, her appeal could not be heard by the Ad Hoc Division. However, he determined that Ms. Vallée did have the right to an arbitration hearing through the SDRCC s Ordinary Division under a section of the CYA s appeal procedure dealing with unforeseen circumstances.

4 Background Facts Boardsailor, Dominique Vallée, is recognized as Canada s top athlete on Mistral boards. Under the terms of the Selection Agreement signed by the COC and the CYA, skippers had to achieve a Top-12 ranking at 2002, 2003 or 2004 International Sailing Federation Qualifying Events. Having failed on two previous attempts, the 2004 Mistral World Championship in Turkey was Ms. Vallée s last chance to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Summer Games in Athens.

5 Background Facts In early March 2004, Ms. Vallée advised the CYA that she had sustained a foot injury while training in January and that a recent X-ray had confirmed a stress fracture. A doctor s note indicated that she would be unable to compete for two months, thus preventing her from participating in the World Championships. The CYA asked the COC to find a workable solution that would give Ms. Vallée a final opportunity to qualify for the Athens Games. On April 8th, the Canadian Olympic Committee advised the CYA that it did not support an amendment to the Selection Agreement. The CYA agreed that the COC s reasons for the decision were valid. By the time her appeal was heard by the SDRCC, there were no other suitable competitions prior to the Athens Olympics. Accordingly, Ms. Vallée requested an exemption from the terms of the Selection Agreement in order to qualify for the Summer Games.

6 Claimant s Position Ms. Vallée s case was based on the following arguments: That an unforeseen injury had taken away the opportunity to meet the COC s 2004 Olympic Team selection criteria; That a clause in the Selection Agreement gave the CYA the right to rule on an appropriate course of action where there were unforeseen circumstances ; and, That she was Canada s best athlete in that category and that no other athlete would be penalized by exempting her from the terms of the Selection Agreement.

7 Respondents Position The COC s case was based on the following arguments: That Ms. Vallée did not meet the selection criteria; That there was no provision in the Selection Agreement to allow for an exemption due to injury; That considering another qualifying event would have been unfair to other athletes, both within the Mistral class as well as those in all other classes and sports; That the Selection Agreement did not allow the CYA to nominate an athlete who did not meet the specific criteria; and, That the CYA supported the decision.

8 Arbitrator s Analysis Arbitrator, Stephen L. Drymer, found Ms. Vallée s arguments to be wellpresented and credible. However, he noted that injury, just as equipment failure, is a part of sport, which was one of the reasons why the Selection Agreement provided for several opportunities to qualify for nomination to Canada s Olympic Team. Ultimately, he determined that Ms. Vallée s failure to qualify was not the result of any flaw in the team selection process or of any bad faith on the part of the CYA or the COC.

9 Ruling Ms. Vallée s appeal was denied. Click here for the full text of this ADRsportRED judgment.

10 Lessons Learned 1. Bad luck is not sufficient reason to exempt an athlete from established selection criteria. 2. An injury is not necessarily an unforeseen circumstance that would allow a selection committee to make an exception to the rules.