Athlete v AusCycling

The Appellant is an athlete and member of the Respondent, AusCycling, the National Sporting Organisation for cycling in Australia.

On 26 June 2026, the Appellant lodged an application with the National Sports Tribunal (NST) following their non-selection to represent Australia at the 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Championships.

The selection of athletes for the Championships is governed by the AusCycling Selection Policy for UCI World Championships – Olympic and Paralympic Sports (the Selection Policy), the AusCycling Discipline Specific Selection Criterion 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Championships (the DSSC), and the AusCycling Selection Appeals Policy (the Appeals Policy).

The Appellant submitted that the Selection Panel applied the Selection Policy inconsistently, assessed their performance less favourably than selected athletes, and placed undue weight on future potential, resulting in both an improper application of the Policy and actual bias.

The Respondent submitted that the Selection Panel exercised its discretion in accordance with the Selection Policy and determined that, despite meeting the performance threshold, the Appellant did not warrant selection. The Respondent contended that the decision-making process was consistent, transparent, and properly applied the relevant selection criteria.

The matter proceeded on an expedited basis and was determined without an oral hearing.

On 2 July 2026, the NST Member dismissed the appeal, finding that the Selection Panel exercised its discretion reasonably, in good faith, and in accordance with the Selection Policy, and that there was no evidence that the Policy had been improperly applied or that the decision was affected by actual bias.