Tribunal dismisses archers’ appeals against non-nomination for Tokyo Olympic Games

The Sports Tribunal has dismissed appeals by Olivia Hodgson and Olivia Sloan against a decision of Archery New Zealand (ANZ) not to nominate either athlete to be part of the Tokyo Olympic Games team.

Ms Hodgson and Ms Sloan separately appealed to the Tribunal that ANZ’s nomination criteria had not been properly implemented or followed. Both athletes said they had fulfilled the nomination criteria and ANZ’s assessment of their results was incorrect.

ANZ won a quota place in the mixed doubles event which provided two individual spots one male and one female, subject to a successful nomination and selection process. The female quota spot was contested by both appellants. No female archers have been nominated by ANZ to the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) for selection.

ANZ’s nomination criteria, approved by the NZOC, stipulated in order to nominate an athlete they must be capable of achieving a top 16 place demonstrated at a key world event in 2019/2021. ANZ said the appellants’ scores fell below the standard required and were therefore ineligible to be nominated to the NZOC.

The appellants produced detailed context to their performances and results to show they were both capable of a top 16 ranking. However, the Tribunal found the appellants’ assessment of their performances, including trend data, match play rounds and arrow average scores was subjective and outside the interpretation of the criteria.

The Tribunal was satisfied ANZ had considered the appellants relevant competition scores and correctly implemented the criteria. Ultimately, both appellants failed to satisfy the nomination criteria. Accordingly, both appeals were dismissed by the Tribunal.

The decision in this case is available from the website of the Sports Tribunal (www.sportstribunal.org.nz). See Olivia Hodgson and Olivia Sloan v Archery New Zealand (ST 04/21 & 05/21). Copies can also be obtained directly from The Registrar, Sports Tribunal of New Zealand (telephone: 0800 55 66 80; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Thursday, 24 June 2021