World Selection Committee is a team of judges that chooses the participants for BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon, an exhibition-style live show where robots fight for fame and glory. The committee evaluates and scores each match, making recommendations to the executive producers of the program who then determine the final line-up for each episode of the show.
The Committee is composed of individuals from various backgrounds, including government, business, entertainment, media, and nonprofit/foundation community. Typically, the members serve terms of three years.
In order to ensure fair and balanced representation of the various stakeholders in the global sports industry, the Committee is made up of a diverse group of sports professionals, with at least one member from each of the following areas:
During the BattleBots Proving Ground, candidates are evaluated by a panel of judges and by audience members through the use of an interactive online poll. Applicants who perform well during this process are given the opportunity to audition for an official role on the Selection Committee.
Using a random ordering for evaluating and discussing nominees helps to avoid the appearance of presentation bias. This is the effect whereby nominees who are evaluated or discussed earlier receive much more attention than those seen or heard later. The use of random ordering also allows each committee member to see and hear a wide range of potential candidates before making their own list.
Each candidate is judged on the basis of several criteria, such as consistency (percentage of hit routines at U.S. Championships and other international competitions); performance at the World Team Selection Camp; results from other elite training camps and national meets, including the GK U.S. Classic and American Classic; D-scores on difficulty and E-scores on execution; and medal potential. The ten athletes who score the highest on the first day of competition at the world team selection camp will automatically qualify for the six-member women’s team, and there will be one traveling alternate.
The remaining five members of the team will be selected based on discretionary criteria as outlined in the official Selection Procedures. The final team will be announced a minimum of 24 hours prior to the start of the team qualification competition. The selection procedure will be streamed live on USA Gymnastics’ YouTube channel. Streaming is free for anyone with a U.S. cable subscription, and the event will also be broadcast on NBC. Absent from the world team selection camp is reigning Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee, who declined an invitation from USA Gymnastics due to her kidney-related health issues. She is expected to return for the Olympics. Those competing include Olympians Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Skye Blakely and Shilese Jones. The camp is set for Oct. 10-13 at the interim training facility.