But they're not chosen from a list nominated by SmoothOps. John Leonard said they send around a list based on what's been on Mike Harding's shoe, but one of the judges has confirmed that they are not restricted to this list, it's just an aide-memoire to what might be eligible.

This is what I mean by poor PR. If SmoothOps were more open about the processes and criteria, there would be fewer opportunities for assumptions and misunderstandings.