The World Selection Committee (WSC) is an organization whose members are appointed by the International Olympic Committee to evaluate and choose Olympic athletes. The WSC also reviews and approves all applications for the prestigious Fellowship Program. The committee is comprised of a wide range of individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise in sport, business, law and academia from all over the world. The WSC’s duties include evaluating and selecting the best candidates for the Fellowship Program and ensuring that all applicants are treated equally.
Each member of the WSC must make independent evaluations and decisions based on their personal observations and experience, which is why each member’s final decision differs from other members’. In addition to evaluating athletes based on their performances at world championships, the WSC members must consider the overall picture, including an athlete’s previous results and achievements, training and competition history, personal circumstances, injuries and medical conditions. The WSC members must weigh all of these factors in a manner that will best ensure the selection of the strongest Olympic team.
The G20 is a global economic forum composed of the finance ministers and central bank governors of the world’s major industrialized countries. The Managing Director of the IMF and the President of the World Bank participate in the G20 on an ex-officio basis.
Prior to the meeting, each committee member will receive an initial ballot consisting of two columns that list all eligible Division I teams in alphabetical order. Each member will identify not more than 36 teams that, in their opinion, should be at-large selections based on play to date.
In the first column, each member will rank the teams in their order of preference, with a number representing their ranking. In the second column, each member will select the teams they think should be paired together for the tournament, based on the strength of the teams.
For automatic selections, the Selection Committee confirms that the relevant ASP has been adhered to and approves the nomination. The Selection Committee also reviews discretionary selection petitions to ensure that the ASP is applied appropriately and approves or remands the nomination back to Sport Performance staff for further consideration.
Other information considered by the Selection Committee includes athlete and coach feedback, event and specific role demand data and the results from the most recent Protected Competition to which the athlete is seeking a nomination. In addition, the Selection Committee must also consider whether the ASP is in accordance with USA Cycling’s policy and guidelines.