University of Georgia selected as new site for 2021 NCAA regional

UPDATE 1/25/2021: The University of Georgia GymDogs officially announced their selection as the new regional host Monday afternoon.
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The University of Georgia is tentatively slated to be the new host for one of the 2021 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships’ four regionals, pending approval from the NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee.
The need for a new regional host arose when the University of New Hampshire notified the NCAA in late 2020 that it would not be able to fulfill its hosting duties due to challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Committee (WGC) report obtained by Gymnastics Now dated December 7, 2020, the committee recommended the University of Georgia as the new host for the fourth regional, which will be held on regionals weekend April 1-3, 2021.
The report lists the rationale behind the decision as follow: “When bids were originally awarded for the 2021 regional locations, the format for post season was six regional locations and Georgia was awarded a regional. After the championship format changed to four regional locations, the regional sites were adjusted, and Georgia was moved to host a regional in 2019 instead of 2021. The other site that lost the opportunity to host in 2021 after the format change was changed to host in 2018 and will host again in 2025. Georgia was not selected to host in the most recent bid cycle and will not have an opportunity to host again until 2026. Given this,
the committee believed the opportunity to host the 2021 regional should be provided to Georgia.”
The estimated budget impact is $90,000, while no negative impact is expected on student-athletes, with the report stating, “Georgia has served as a frequent regional host and will provide quality facilities and a memorable experience for all participating student-athletes.”
Currently, Utah (Salt Lake City), Missouri (Columbis, Mo.), and West Virginia (Morgantown, W.Va.) are the other three regional hosts. The 2021 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championship is set for April 16-17 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
The NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championship webpage still listed New Hampshire as a regional host at the time of publishing, but the NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee is set to meet again on Wednesday, January 20, and will likely review the WGC’s petition then.
