Behind The Scenes: Day Two U.S. World Team Trials 2026

The 2026 U.S. women’s World Championships team is set: Skye Blakely (USA), Charleigh Bullock (USA), Reese Esponda (USA), Claire Pease (USA) and Hezly Rivera (USA), with Dulcy Caylor (USA) as traveling alternate and Jade Carey (USA) as non-traveling alternate. Fresh off Day Two of World Team Trials in Tennessee, Jessica and Spencer break down why the five is the team, debate Jade’s Cheng and the alternate decision, and run a lightning round on Rotterdam qualification and team final lineups.

In the Club-only portion: Jessica becomes tech support for the judges, Shilese Jones‘ comeback news, Rotterdam live show plans, gymnastics’ floor music “Lore Horses,” the case for the comebacks and Michigan’s sex offender registry ruling.

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CHAPTERS

00:00 – The 2026 U.S. Worlds Team Is Set
01:51 – Jade Carey’s Cheng & No Upgrades on Concrete
04:36 – Day Two Recap: Claire Pease & Charleigh Bullock on Beam
07:20 – Dulcy Caylor vs. Jade Carey: The Alternate Debate
13:35 – Lightning Round: Worlds Qualification & Team Final Lineups
21:27 – New: World Headquarters, Score Explorer & Roster Lab
24:13 – Club Gym Nerd: Raffle Final Week & Rotterdam Tee
27:47 – BTS: Jessica Fixes the Judges’ Stream Decks
32:25 – Who Decides Where Trials Happen? IEC & the Trident
39:57 – Letters: National Training Center & Jade on Concrete
42:23 – Rotterdam Live Show Plans & 3 vs. 4 Floor Passes
44:38 – Gymnastics “Lore Horses”: Iconic Floor Music
56:04 – The Case for the Comebacks: Jordan Chiles to LA28
1:04:19 – First Time at Worlds: Men’s Sessions & Binoculars
1:10:15 – Breaking: Shilese Jones Is Coming Back
1:12:11 – Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Ruling
1:13:54 – “Flipping My Chenko” & Trials Travel Stories
1:21:54 – Worlds Previews: Send Us Your Questions

HEADLINES

• U.S. Women’s 2026 World Championships Team Announced
• USA Gymnastics National Training Center moving forward in Noblesville
• Michigan Sex Offender Registry removes 20,000 names after state Supreme Court ruling

WORLDS COVERAGE

• 2026 World Championships Headquarters: all 18 sessions in your time zone, every qualified team and gymnast, medal lines and how to watch
• U.S. World Team Trials 2026: Day One Report
• Behind The Scenes: U.S. World Team Trials Preview

UP NEXT

Our Rotterdam Worlds previews start next week. Send your questions, favorite gymnasts and history-makers to gymcastic@gmail.com (subject: BTS Question) or post them in the weekly BTS thread in the forum.

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GYMCASTIC TOOLS, GAMES AND RESOURCES

• *NEW* ROTTERDAM WORLDS ROSTER TRACKER
  • Find out who’s competing in the 2026 World Championships — search WAG and MAG by name or country, find out how they qualified and link to their score rankings. Updated daily.
• GymCastic tools:
  • LA 2028 Roster Lab — Now with auto-fill highest-scoring team, team comparisons and updated roster briefs.
  • Elite Score Explorer — U.S. Championships scores are in, plus new charting options and the vault bonus toggle.
  • International Gymnastics Calendar
• GymCastic Games
• GymCastic Newsletters
• The Balance Beam Situation: Spencer Barnes’ GIF Code of Points
• Gymnastics History: Gymnastics history and Code of Points archive from Uncle Tim
• Resistance Resources

Cover art and photographs © GymCastic / Steve Cooper. All rights reserved.