American Cup 2016: Gymnastics Dates, Schedule, Live Stream and Preview

The gymnastics world will turn its attention to the annual AT&T American Cup on Saturday, the first major international competition of 2016 with the Olympic Games just five months away. 

The American Cup showcases some of the world’s elite in a one-day, all-around competition that this year will be held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. 

Here is a look at the event information to tune in, per ATTAmericanCup.com.

Date: Saturday, March 5

TV Time: 1-3 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Live Stream: TBA

And here is a look at the athletes representing the 12 countries that will be competing:

Men	Country
Women	Country
Sam Mikulak	United States
Donnell Whittenburg	United States
Lucas De Souza Bitencourt	Brazil
Pablo Braegger	Switzerland
Andreas Bretschneider	Germany
Ryohei Kato	Japan
Park Minsoo	Korea
Sun Wei	China
Nile Wilson	Great Britain
Gabby Douglas	United States
Maggie Nichols	United States
Tabea Alt	Germany
Elsabeth Black	Canada
Carlotta Ferlito	Italy
Mai Murakami	Japan
Lorrane Oliveira	Brazil
Amy Tinkler	Great Britain
Tisha Volleman	Netherlands

The defending all-around champions—Simone Biles of the United States and Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine—will not be competing this year, opening the door for other stars to shine. 

The big matchup to watch will be between Americans Maggie Nichols and Gabby Douglas, who are both expected to compete in Rio de Janiero at the 2016 Olympic Games this August. 

When Douglas participated in the 2012 American Cup, she posted the highest all-around score of 61.299. However, the tally was not official because she was listed as an alternate.

It was a coming-out party of sorts for the then 16-year-old. 

“It was kind of the start of my career and I really felt so confident and it kind of clicked in my head, saying, ‘Hey, you know what, I actually do have a shot and I actually do have a chance of making the Olympic team,’” Douglas said, per Rachel Axon of USA Today. “It definitely boosted by self-confidence up.”

Here is a look at her impressive floor exercise that year, courtesy of USA Gymnastics:

Douglas went on to win two gold medals at the London 2012 Olympic Games as a member of Team USA’s "Fierce Five."

As she eyes Rio, Douglas embarks on this weekend having not competed since the world championships last October. But U.S. national team coordinator Martha Karolyi said Douglas’ hiatus was long-planned. 

"She sometimes needs a very good incentive to train hard,” Karolyi said of Douglas, per John Powers of USA Gymnastics. "She knows that. And a competition is a great incentive because you do not want to go out there and look bad. That's one of the reasons why we planned her earlier in the season.”

Nichols, 18, is coming off an incredible 2015 season, winning gold in the team event and bronze in the floor exercise at the world championships, and silver in the all-around at nationals. 

She’s hoping to continue her march to her first Olympic Games with a strong showing this weekend. 

“That’d be great to make a big statement and to show everyone that I can do very well in the all-around and to show everyone that I am strong competitor, that I can be very consistent and help the U.S.,” Nichols said, per Axon.

Another emerging American to watch is two-time world medalist Donnell Whittenburg, who believes he still has a lot to prove.  

“My main goal is to hit all of my sets the best I can,” Whittenburg said, per Nick McCarvel of USA Gymnastics. “My difficulty isn’t up to par with the best in the world, so I have to be consistent as possible.” 

He certainly has the look of a contender this weekend, as shown by the Prudential Center:

Whittenburg, Douglas and Nichols are only a few among the many to keep an eye out for. As an early benchmark for international competition—particularly in an Olympic year—the American Cup will surely provide a good forecast for some of the top talent headed to Rio.