The U.S. Women's Gymnastics team, headlined by Virginia Beach's Gabby "The Flying Squirrel" Douglas, officially began competition in the 2012 London Olympics on Sunday at London's North Greenwich Arena. The U.S. women are the third of five subdivisions, alongside Britain, Canada and France, and kicked off at 9:45 a.m. ET. Though not being shown live, the competition can be streamed at NBCOlympics.com.
The U.S. women are the defending world champions, but China is the defending Olympic champ, having captured the gold medal on their home turf in Beijing in 2008. In addition to China, the United Sates will face stiff challenges from the Russian and Romanian teams.
No medals are awarded on Sunday's qualifying day, but the results determine which countries will compete for the team title on Tuesday, and which individual competitors will challenge for the all-around title on Thursday as well as the medals for the individual apparatus (vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise) throughout the week.
Viewers with a cable, satellite, or telco subscription can also view all of Sunday's events live online by going here.
For more on the Olympics, head over to SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub.