Let’s begin this week’s preparation for regionals with the schedule and links—and a format refresher thrown in for luck. And necessity. Most of the scoring links aren’t a thing yet, but I’ll add them once they are.
Part 1: Play-ins
Competition begins on Thursday with the much-maligned (but also I secretly enjoy them) play-in meets, where the two lowest-ranked teams at each regional site compete to see who gets to join the seven other teams at Actual Regionals, and who is eliminated.
| Thursday, April 1 |
Scores | Stream |
| 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT – Georgia Play-in [26] NC State vs. [35] Western Michigan |
LINK | FREE |
| 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT – West Virginia Play-in [33] Penn State vs. [35] West Virginia |
LINK | ESPN3 |
| 4:00pm ET/1:00pm PT – Alabama Play-in [31] Eastern Michigan vs. [32] Maryland |
LINK | ESPN3 |
| 5:00pm ET/2:00pm PT – Utah Play-in [30] Temple vs. [34] Arizona |
LINK | ESPN3 |
Part 2: Regional Semifinals
After the elimination of one team, the remaining eight teams at each regional site compete in two regional semifinals, both on Friday. The top two teams from each semifinal advance to the next day, while the two losing teams are eliminated, taking us from 32 teams to 16 teams.
| Friday, April 2 |
Scores | Stream |
| 1:00pm ET/10:00am PT – Georgia Semifinal #1 [8] Minnesota [9] Denver [18] Georgia [24] Oregon State |
LINK | ESPN3 |
| 1:00pm ET/10:00am PT – West Virginia Semifinal #1 [5] Cal [12] BYU [27] Ohio State [28] Towson |
LINK | ESPN3 |
| 2:00pm ET/11:00pm PT – Alabama Semifinal #1 [7] Alabama [10] Arkansas [19] Iowa [20] Iowa State |
LINK | ESPN3 |
| 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT – Utah Semifinal #1 [6] Utah [11] Arizona State [17] Boise State [21] Southern Utah |
LINK | ESPN3 |
| 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT – Georgia Semifinal #2 [1] Florida [16] Illinois [25] Central Michigan [26] NC State |
LINK | ESPN3 |
| 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT – West Virginia Semifinal #2 [4] Michigan [13] UCLA [29] Kent State [35] West Virginia |
LINK | ESPN3 |
| 8:00pm ET/5:00pm PT – Alabama Semifinal #2 [1] Oklahoma [23] Missouri [32] Maryland |
LINK | ESPN3 |
| 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT – Utah Semifinal #2 [3] LSU [14] Kentucky [22] Utah State [34] Arizona |
LINK | ESPN3 |
The regional semifinal day can get to be a lot (though not nearly as bad as it used to be in the previous format), so I’ve included the half-hourly schedule breakdown with team-by-team rotations if you need to plan which terrifying beam rotations you need to watch at which time.
Friday’s competition also serves to determine which individual qualifiers advance to nationals. On Friday, the top all-around gymnast who doesn’t end up making nationals with a team will nonetheless qualify as an individual, as will the top scorers on each apparatus who are not on an advancing team. (They compete only that particular apparatus at nationals.)
Part 3: Regional Finals
On Saturday, the remaining four teams at each regional site compete in a single session, with the top two teams advancing to nationals and the two losing teams eliminated, taking us from 16 teams down to the eight that make nationals.
| Saturday, April 3 |
Scores | Stream |
| 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT – Georgia Regional Final | LINK | ESPN3 |
| 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT – West Virginia Regional Final | LINK | ESPN3 |
| 8:00pm ET/5:00pm PT – Alabama Regional Final | LINK | ESPN3 |
| 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT – Utah Regional Final | LINK | ESPN3 |
Anyone know if we don’t have access to the actual ESPN3 app/site and we livestream in through a 3-party, if that will show the gymnastics broadcasts? I live in Canada :/
http://www.freeintertv.com/view/id-2739
Wondering if this will work from Canada
Yes, really interested to know this cause I am in Canada too and have VPN but no cable credentials. I don’t want to miss out!!
ESPN3 streams don’t require cable logins, so you should be able to watch (almost certainly with a VPN, potentially even without).
Would you suggest to VPN into the ESPN3 site (is there one?) instead of 3rd party streaming then? Just confused how we’d be able to access different regionals with them all going on simultaneously.
Thank you SO much!
This is wrong. ESPN3 streams do require cable logins.
With so many going on at once does espn archive so I can watch them later? I have a cable sign on.
ESPN typically archives!
Loving in on espn app has them archived. You just have to use your cable login.
They do. I also believe Yarotska has them on his website.
Thank you thank you!
Is Alabama Semifinal #1 supposed to read 11:00 AM rather than 11:00 PM PT?
You’re right, it’s a typo.
Does anyone know why New Hampshire isn’t hosting regionals now? I’m a New Hampshire gal and I was simultaneously looking forward to Regionals being hosted right down the road from me / heartbroken that it happened to be during COVID and I probably wouldn’t be able to go… I can’t find any info about why they made the switch!
I’m from just over the boarder in Ma so I as well was looking forward to it and buying tickets. They withdrew pretty early on because covid restrictions up here are more strict and I think they knew it would be hard to pull off and may not even be able to have fans. I’m hoping as we move past covid they get a chance to host again soon because I would love to see some of my favorite teams live for a change!
I figured that was the case. And UNH likely wouldn’t have allowed spectators. Even though it’s probably not “a thing” can UNH have a make-up regionals next year?
Does anybody know how to watch as European viewer?
VPN and either someone else’s cable login or a free trial of a streaming service that includes ESPN. The latter probably requires a US credit card. Or wait until the next day and watch on YouTube.
Speaking as someone living outside the US with all of these not great options to watch. And I’m luckier than most in that I actually have a US credit card and friend’s cable login, although the cable login has not been very successful this season.
Mathilde, depending on exactly where you are in Europe, you might be able to sign up for a free trial of ESPN player, which gives access to all of the ESPN channels (except maybe ESPN+, I forget). Once you’ve set up a free trial and logged in, look for the ‘full schedule’ as gymnastics isn’t often on the main page.
I think the free trial might require a credit card but it’s easy to cancel before the first payment is taken.
Can we discuss how far ahead NC State was in from the other play in teams… It’s almost like someone could have predicted them being a tier ahead. And by someone, I mean anyone who looked at actual rankings…
I need Arkansas to win because of Jordyn and surviving and eff you to the coward who didn’t face the consequences of abusing her and others.
Oh how I wish wish wish they weren’t all happening at once!