Athletes are selected to represent their countries in the World Games based on specific criteria and standards set by International Federations that govern each sport on a global level. Each sport’s national governing body (called a National Governing Body in the U.S.) uses subjective selection procedures including evaluations at competitions and team camps as well as objective processes such as comparing results at trials competitions to predetermined goals and rankings.
The process is often controversial, with a popular criticism being that committee members serve their own interests and promote athletes they know or have relationships with. Despite the fact that many NGBs have tried to eliminate or reduce this problem by introducing more objective processes, some selection committees still favor certain athletes and do not always select the best available teams.
It is also important to understand that the committee’s ranking system is only one of a number of tools available to them. Other predictive models such as Torvik, KenPom and the Basketball Power Index are used by coaches and analysts to help them make their decisions. Furthermore, there is a growing movement in the sport to adopt an athlete’s NET score into the broader ranking system in order to provide the committee with more objective and quantitative information about an athlete’s performance.
This data can be extremely useful for the committee as they select their final roster for each event. This information can help them evaluate the overall strength of each squad, and determine how much to promote a particular athlete in the rankings. In addition, by analyzing the data, it will be possible for the committee to identify any trends such as a spike in a competitor’s ranking or a decline in another competitor’s rank. This information can then be used by the committee to better predict how they will fare in the final rankings.
Lastly, it is critical that the committee be transparent about how they are picking their team. For instance, if they are selecting a team based solely on their placement at camp, they should share that information with the public so that they can explain why they made that decision.
Ten of the top women’s gymnasts in the country are participating in this weekend’s World Selection Camp in Katy, Texas. The top five finishers will earn a spot on the U.S. women’s world championship team. Olympians Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles, along with Olympic team alternate Leanne Wong and 2023 Pan American Games individual all-around silver medalist Shilese Jones are expected to secure their spots at the competition. The fifth spot is up for grabs, with Skye Blakely of WOGA and Nola Matthews of Airborne being the most likely candidates to take the spot. Other possible contenders include Madison Kocian, who is competing with a strained ankle and Konnor McClain, who missed the last two competitions due to injury.