The US Slalom Canoe Olympic selection format is not the easiest to understand. Spots might be determined on Friday and Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina… or they might not. The results from this event along with a second Olympic Trails event in Oklahoma next month are combined with the results from the last World Championship to determine who gets the Olympic spot. Additionally the worst of your three scores is dropped meaning that athletes who were strong at the World Championship can clinch their spot this weekend with a top finish.

The US has guaranteed spots in the men’s C1 and K1 while men’s C2 and women’s K1 may have spots in Rio. A competition for the women’s C1 event is being held even though it is not an Olympic event at this point.

In the men’s C1 event Casey Eichfeld will have the advantage heading in after grabbing a fourth-place finish at the World Championships. Eichfeld, who was the 2012 Olympian in the event for the US, need only finish in the top two this weekend or in the next Olympic Trial event to clinch his spot.

The men’s K1 event is where Michal Smolen has an even bigger advantage after finishing third at the World Championships. Smolen, a 22-year old rising star who won the 2014 U-23 World Championship, will only require a third place finish at this event to lock up his spot.

The women’s K1 competition starts from scratch as no American was able to earn points at the World Championships. Ashley Nee and Dana Mann both finished with nearly identical times in the quest for top American at the World Championships so they are two to watch here. The spot can not be clinched this weekend.

The men’s C2 competition also has a clean slate as none of the three teams were able to accumulate points at the World Championships. It’ll all come down to the two Olympic Trials events. Both Eichfeld and Smolen will be attempting to qualify in two events as Eichfeld teams up with Devin McEwan while Smolen is paired with Zachary Lokken.

Finally in the women’s C1 event that is not for an Olympic spot four women will compete: Willa Mason, Lois Betteridge, Sage Donnelly, and Tracy Hines.

Competition begins with two runs on Friday starting at 11:50 AM ET. There will be two more runs on Saturday to determine the final results.