Text © World of Showjumping
The FEI Jumping Committee attracted an unusual amount of attention this week, as they met in Lausanne to discuss the future format of the new FEI series Longines League of Nations.
Behind the scenes, it’s been a bit of a stir in the showjumping community leading up to this week’s in-person meetings on May 30 and 31, after the FEI last week published the Bid Guide for the League. In the Bid Guide, the FEI presented the team qualifiers of the series as a one round-format with a jump-off for the first place – a change from the traditional Nations Cup competitions, that have a long history of being jumped over two rounds.
The two-round format with a possible jump-off for the win was also how the FEI presented the Longines League of Nations-concept in March, when they announced their plans to transform the traditional Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™-series. During its Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Task Force meeting on March 28 – the second of its kind – a draft proposal for the series was presented by the FEI, which included the traditional format of two rounds and a jump-off for the qualifiers, with ten teams, plus the home team, participating in round one. Furthermore, it was proposed that the eight best teams would qualify for the second round – where all teams would start on scratch, a suggested change which caused discussions. “I’m more of a traditionalist so I don’t like the idea to start on scratch in the second round – I believe faults should be carried over, to make the competition as exciting as possible. This is the DNA of the Nations Cups for over a hundred years. I could live with the proposed formula for a final, but not in the qualifiers,” FEI Athlete Representative and Jumping Committee member Rodrigo Pessoa said to World of Showjumping after the meeting and received support on his point-of-view from the International Jumping Riders Club.
The new series, which is being referred to as “game-changer” by the FEI, will be open for the ten best nations in the world based on the Longines League of Nations Ranking – with the possibility to qualify for a final planned to be worth 1.6 million Euro in prize money alongside several additional bonuses. The best eight teams based on the standings after the five qualifiers will qualify for the final. With the new series, the FEI wants to differentiate the Longines League of Nations from all other Nations Cups. And while the rules for the series have been in the process of being reviewed by the FEI Jumping Committee before being submitted to the FEI Board for approval at the beginning of June, the bidding process already opened last week – with many of the FEI’s stakeholders being taken by surprise by the sudden change of format presented in the Bid Guide.
Prior to the FEI Jumping Committee’s meetings on May 30 and 31 – where the Longines League of Nations-format was on the agenda – Chef d’Equipes, riders and representatives from the International Jumping Riders Club got together in Rome, during CSIO5* Piazza di Siena, to discuss the development. It is no secret that the FEI Jumping Committee would be divided on the topic, so for the Chef d’Equipes, riders and IJRC representatives it was vital to bring their united message forward to Jumping Committee Deputy Chair Henrik Ankarcrona – who also was present in Rome.
In a press release dated May 30, the IJRC detailed the outcome of the meeting in Rome – and stated: “During the Rome meeting, a unanimous desire emerged on the part of all present to request Henrik Ankarcrona, member of the Jumping Committee, to maintain the original format with two rounds plus jump-off, summing up, therefore, the first and second round scores. In consequence, the proposal for a single round plus jump off, which would transform the event into a normal Grand Prix, would be rejected; as would the suggestion for two rounds plus jump-off, where the first round would serve only to determine the starting order for the second round.”
“The FEI Jumping Committee unanimously supports this concept and we are excited for the future of the Longines League of Nations, and look forward to presenting this to the FEI Board next week,” Stephan Ellenbruch, Chair of the FEI Jumping Committee, commented in a press release from the FEI, on the format for the Longines League of Nations. Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping.
After the meeting in Rome, World of Showjumping was informed that several national federations were expressing their concerns and frustration regarding the suggested format change to the FEI Jumping Committee – and also in regard to the lack of explanation to the sudden deviation from the two-round format.
Hence, there was significant interest as the FEI Jumping Committee met this week – with Chair Stephan Ellenbruch, Deputy Chair Henrik Ankacrona and Committee members Diane Baxter, Louis Konickx, Michael Stone and Rodrigo Pessoa due to finalize their suggestion for the rules of the Longines League of Nations before submitting it for approval to the FEI Board.
In the late evening of May 31, the FEI finally announced the format the committee has agreed upon – and it looks different than the traditional Nations Cup format. The qualifiers will consist of two rounds, whereby in the first round, all four riders from all ten teams – and potentially the host nation – participate with the three best scores to count, followed by a second round where the best eight teams compete in reverse order. The teams will carry their penalties from the first round, however with only three riders per team jumping and no drop score.
For the final, the same format will be applied, but with all eight teams qualified for the Longines League of Nations Final competing across both rounds – and like in the qualifiers, with only three riders and no drop score in the second round.
“The FEI Jumping Committee unanimously supports this concept and we are excited for the future of the Longines League of Nations, and look forward to presenting this to the FEI Board next week,” Stephan Ellenbruch, Chair of the FEI Jumping Committee, commented in a press release from the FEI. “This format is more transparent, and the second round with no drop score will really put every team to the test, as well as offering the fans and viewers with excitement and suspense throughout."
“The consultation process has been extremely beneficial and it’s a real testament to strength of the Longines League of Nations product, that we have had this level of support and endorsement from all our stakeholders and stakeholder representatives throughout,” Ellenbruch said.
The rules for the Longines League of Nations will now be submitted to the FEI Board for their approval at the in-person meeting on June 6-7, while the next step will be the allocation of events.