Still, the irony of that situation is that while the men really have little actual control of whether they make the team, it becomes even more imperative that they perform at their highest level.
"I'm not even concerned with the all-around," said Raj Bhavsar, who is in third place after last night's first day of competition. "I don't think it means as much as hitting your strong events.
"Hitting my strong events is what I did today. I didn't have any big mistakes. Hopefully, if I have a mistake on Saturday [the final night of competition for the men], it will not be on one of the events that they need me for and I rock on the events that I can contribute to the team. I think that's what matters the most."
Bhavsar speaks from experience. In 2004, he finished fourth in the overall competition but was not named to the team that traveled to Athens for the Olympics.
Sitting next to him in the mixed zone was Sean Townsend, who finished third in the trials in 2004 and didn't get a trip to Athens.
"There is a possibility that could happen again because you don't know who is going to be picked for that team," said Townsend, who is currently seventh. "But I think if you give it your all, that's all you can ask for. Unfortunately, I had a few mistakes today and that could hurt me in the long run."
So really, what these trials and the Visa Championships are truly about is performing well enough and consistently enough to put yourself in the mix.
Because no one is likely to meet the automatic criteria, all six Olympic spots will come down to the subjective decision of the selection committee.
And since it has been promised that two members would be named tomorrow regardless, catching the attention of committee members was the theme last night.
