The 2023 NCAA gymnastics national championships begin Thursday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

The event features two days of competition between eight teams, including top-ranked defending champion Oklahoma, and individual competitions in the bars, vault, beam, floor, and all-around events.

The teams advancing are the last eight standing from a field of 36, placed in four regionals of nine teams. Each advancing team placed in the top two in each of their regional events to qualify for the national championships.

“This is something you can never take for granted,” Oklahoma head coach K.J. Kindler said in a press conference earlier this week. “It’s an amazing opportunity. We’ve certainly worked hard for it, but you have to be good on that day…Our session is a difficult one, no doubt about it, but anybody who’s going to be there is great, so whatever session you’re in, you’ve got to manage it.”

The Sooners advanced from the Norman Regional along with Kentucky, while California and Florida represent the Pittsburgh Regional, and Utah and UCLA represent the Los Angeles Regional. Denver won as the host of its regional, advancing to the championships along with LSU after knocking off Michigan and Oregon State.

Oklahoma aims to become the first back-to-back champion since Florida won three consecutive from 2013 to 2015. The Sooners have won six championships in the last decade, including four of the previous six. They have also been the national runner-up twice in that span.

Utah will make an NCAA record 47th consecutive appearance in the national championships.

UCLA has won seven national championships, most recently defeating Oklahoma in 2018. Florida and Utah are the only other programs remaining to have previously won the national title, while LSU has finished second four times since 2014.

Florida, California, LSU, and Denver are participating in the first semifinal, which started at 2 p.m. CT Thursday. The second semifinal will begin at 8 p.m. CT Thursday and will feature Oklahoma, Utah, UCLA, and Kentucky.

Both sessions will feature individual competitions as well.

The top two teams from each semifinal will reach the championship round and compete again at 3 p.m. CT Saturday.