KATY, Texas (October 20, 2022) – Eleven of the top female gymnasts in the country converge this week at World Selection Camp to vie for a spot on USA Gymnastics’ world championship team. Fans have noticed one thing, though: USAG’s lineup is quite literally the top six from last year’s World Team Selection Camp.
That’s a big reason why some are calling it the “World Selection Committee 2.0.”
The panel is set to meet for the first time this week, and while it’s not known who exactly will be selected, the names of those invited should give fans plenty to chew on as they await Selection Sunday. The committee’s final bracket of 68 tournament teams will be released that day.
There’s been plenty of debate over the panel itself, and whether it was fair to invite so many of the same gymnasts — many of whom are not even on the roster for this year’s Olympics in Tokyo — or if the committee was just following the numbers. The committee members themselves have also come under scrutiny, with accusations that some of them were taking sides or promoting certain gymnasts more than others.
A few of the panelists are familiar with a similar situation that occurred in cricket a decade ago, when a former national selector was accused of promoting the interests of his own players — in particular, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag — over those of other selectors. That scandal prompted the board to try to address the issue, but it was ultimately scuttled by zonal heads’ resistance to change.
As for this year’s committee, it will include Kris Srikkanth, the adventurous batsman from India’s South Zone who led that committee 25 years ago when the nation won its second World Cup. He will be joined by Yashpal Sharma from the North Zone and Central Zone’s Narendra Hirwani. All three are experienced national selectors who will be looking to avoid a repeat of the acrimony that marred the previous round of selections.
While there are many fans who will argue for and against the current roster, one person fans can’t ignore is 2022 Olympic all-around bronze medallist Jordan Chiles. She wasn’t the highest-scoring gymnast at this month’s national championships, but she still has a strong track record and was a key member of last year’s world champion squad. She should make the cut if she can put her fall on bars behind her at the selection event. A strong showing by Chiles could also help boost the chances of McCallum, Skinner and Carey making the all-around team as well. Joscelyn Roberson is another name to keep an eye on, as she won the vault national title this year and has plenty of potential. All eyes will be on her this week as she battles with Chiles and the rest of the top girls in Katy.