After taking a break after the Tokyo Olympics, four-time gold medalist Simone Biles is back to work this week with a chance to add another stamp to her passport. Biles and other gymnasts vying for spots on the U.S. team for worlds and the Pan American Games will compete at the team selection camp in Katy, Texas. The 19 gymnasts expected at camp include Biles, 2022 world all-around silver medalist Skye Blakely, 2017 world vault champion Leanne Wong, Shilese Jones, Kayla DiCello, Madray Johnson, Addison Fatta, Kaliya Lincoln, Katelyn Jong, Joscelyn Roberson and Eveylynn Lowe. Jordan Chiles, who won the all-around at last month’s national championships, is also in the mix. The only gymnast not attending is reigning Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee, who declined an invitation from USA Gymnastics. Lee, who is competing through a kidney condition that limited her to just two events at nationals, wrote on social media that she’s “not in the best shape” right now and wants to focus on her health.
The members of the World Selection Committee are chosen based on their expertise in their sport and must meet certain criteria. The criteria can change at any time, so it is important that they are well-qualified and can handle the stress that comes with their job. They are responsible for selecting the best athletes from all over the world to compete in the Olympics, so they need to be able to make the right choices.
UNESCO’s World Digital Library (WDL) project is a massive online collection of cultural treasures from all over the world that are freely available on the Internet. Its goal is to preserve these resources and make them widely accessible for research, education and cultural enrichment. The idea for the WDL was first proposed by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington in a speech to the National Commission for UNESCO in June 2005.
The WDL is managed by the Library of Congress, in partnership with a number of public and private institutions around the world. The Library’s partners are collaborating to bring the project to life and to support its long-term sustainability. These partnerships are based on the common values of free and open access to information, preservation of rare or endangered materials, promoting cross-cultural understanding and strengthening international cooperation in the field of libraries. The WDL is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and other public and private sources. Unlike other similar projects, the WDL does not generate any revenue. Its budget is financed by grants and subscription fees from its partner institutions.