THE Hongkong Judo Association are planning major changes in national team selection procedures to coincide with the appointment of two-time Olympic medallist David Starbrook as national coaching supremo. The association have come under fire for their selection procedures in recent years, but hope the changes, along with the appointment of Starbrook, will rebuild their reputation and gain them more support from the Sports Development Board. Chairman Henry Shing Yuen-hing said yesterday: ''Nothing has been finalised but we will be more flexible with our selection process and give more leeway to our national squad players.'' At present, players must attend a large percentage of the national squad sessions - held seven times a week leading up to the last Olympics - making it almost impossible for them to train with their own clubs or overseas. ''We will not insist they have to train with David and they can still practise at their own clubs, but there will be a selection tournament ahead of every international competition we are to attend,'' Shing said. ''We are still working out on the format with David and we hope to finalise the details pretty soon.'' For the last 18 months, players have been chosen based on results over the previous four selection trials held in the spring, summer, autumn and winter, which has thrown up problems, especially for those players based overseas - two of the women's squad are based in Taiwan and another regularly visits Japan. However, Starbrook will not have any role to play in choosing the team. ''My job will be just to help with coaching and getting the players fit. Who is selected is all up to the association,'' he said. The 47-year-old who was previously technical adviser to the national squad as head judo coach of the Hongkong Sports Institute (then the Jubilee Sports Centre), is back to the fore after five years in the shadows. He won a silver medal for Britain in the 1972 Munich Olympics, bronze at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, coached the British team to two medals at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, won an OBE for services to the sport and enjoyed a hugely successful spell as supervisor to the Hongkong team from 1985 to 1987. But political in-fighting left him out in the cold and it is only now, under pressure from the SDB to improve their image, that the association have brought him back into the fold. ''I know that Shing has been working towards bringing me back for six months or so. He first approached me directly three months ago,'' Starbrook said. ''I'm not exactly sure what title they plan to give me, but I'm just glad to be able to help the youngsters again.'' The SDB have proposed that all Hongkong associations appoint a coaching supremo, or ''director of coaching'', and it is this position which the association want to give Starbrook. His new position has yet to be ratified by the SDB. In the meantime, he is offering his services free and had his first session in charge of a national squad training evening at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai last night.
