As the world’s best gymnasts gather in Katy, Texas this week for a two-day competition that will decide which athletes will represent Team USA at next month’s world championships and Pan American Games, Simone Biles appears to be one of only a few locks to make the squad. But for the rest, this is it: a chance to show why they deserve a spot on either of the U.S. worlds teams or a place on the six-person roster that will travel to Liverpool.
Unlike the Olympics, where the highest-scoring team automatically qualifies for the final, the world championships are an individual event. Each nation enters three athletes on each of the six events, and only the top-scoring pair go to the final. If Biles wins the all-around at worlds, she’ll secure her spot on the squad — and her teammates will get theirs as well.
The problem with this system is that committee members — especially the ones who serve on multiple zones — have a tendency to promote the interests of athletes from their own region or club. That’s why many critics favor a national committee of only a few non-voting members who are brought in for selection meetings to avoid conflicts of interest.
Ideally, each committee member would have private evaluations and rankings so that they aren’t known to the entire group during the decision-making process. That prevents “social loafing” in which a nominee who was evaluated or discussed earlier gets much more attention than another. It also ensures that each applicant gets a fair amount of time in the spotlight.
A potential problem is that this kind of committee could be too small to do the job properly. In reality, this is often a result of budget constraints or lack of a formal process. An ideal committee would have seven positions and a set procedure for selecting candidates and making decisions.
Other than Biles, it’s likely that the committee will name 2013 National All Around Champion Simone Biles, 2012 Olympic Gold Medalists Kyla Ross and McKayla Maroney, and 2021 Junior Pan Am all-around winner Katelyn Jong to their squads. Those four will compete for the last two spots on the women’s world championship team, and five of those will go to the Pan Am Games along with up to three traveling alternates.
The last remaining spot is likely to be filled by Joscelyn Roberson or Jordan Chiles, the Tokyo 2020 team silver medallist and the 2023 all-around national champion. Both of these athletes are solid all-arounders and have shown the ability to score in the top five on vault at camp. Chiles also won a national vault title this year.
This lineup is missing a strong bar worker, however. Leanne Wong came in second at camp on bars and finished fifth all-around at the national championships, but it may be too late for her to earn a spot. She’ll be competing at the Olympic Trials in April, so that could change things if she can improve her bar scores.