For gymnastics fans, it’s the most wonderful time of the year—postseason! Eight months of practices and competitions have led to this moment, but the regionals process doesn’t just begin when the competition starts. It’s a culminating moment of years of preparation from multiple people involved from the host university all the way up to the NCAA.
The process to host a regional starts with the submission of a bid. Before the bid can be submitted, the university must ensure its venue fits a specific list of criteria from the NCAA. The criteria range from emergency evacuation plans to required volunteers, space, and equipment. A venue must be a minimum of 26,500 square feet and have 6,000 permanent and/or temporary seats in order to be considered. The venue must provide eight total locker rooms—six for the athletes, one for judges, and one for male coaching staff. It also must be able to provide staff for the venue and anywhere from 60 to 75 volunteers. Those volunteers might be responsible for everything from setting up equipment to assisting judges during the competition. A media workroom, interview room, training areas, and hospitality rooms are required in each venue. The NCAA also lines out what it will be responsible for providing, most notably the judges…
