The committee’s chair sets the rules, reminds members of their obligations and takes the votes. The chair can delegate this task to another member, but he or she retains responsibility to ensure that confidentiality is maintained in order to facilitate free and open discussion. The chair may also appoint a clerk to help with the voting and recording process.
A member of the Selection Committee is expected to provide a short report on the committee’s deliberations and justify their recommendation, as well as to provide citation and any other information needed for the certificate. The report and certificate are to be forwarded to the officers approving the committee’s recommendation.
This includes ensuring that no committee member is unduly influenced by anyone outside the committee. Members should be aware of potential associations with candidates and should disclose those associations, recusing themselves if appropriate. The chair should also monitor the voting, and if necessary, intervene to prevent any member from being unduly influenced.
While there are some obvious snags in this plan, such as the fact that it does not allow the Selection Committee to take into account the performance of any member in the previous year, it’s an important first step to making a transparent and fair process. The next step should be to develop a system of screening that can identify potential problems early.
USAG’s selection process is a bit murky when it comes to what exactly it’s looking for in the top six gymnasts. It’s unclear why the committee made Biles its top pick despite her having a lower average on all of the events than both Jones and Chiles this month, not to mention their better performances at nationals.
If the goal is to produce a world-class team, it should be clear that those selected must be capable of producing big scores in every event, or at least not have gaping holes in any event. Biles is an incredible all-around gymnast, but that’s only part of the equation.
The other part is consistency. For example, 2022 world team member Jordan Chiles struggled a little on balance beam at nationals, but she’s a consistent competitor. And if she can make some improvements on vault, she could also be a strong team option.
Fans are also wondering why USAG isn’t picking Riley McCusker, who had a very strong showing on both bars and beam at camp. She was a strong candidate for the lineup even before she withdrew from the competition due to an injury, and her loss is a major blow to fans’ hopes that the squad will be strong in both of those areas.