The Weirdest Rules Olympic Gymnasts Must Follow
Restrictive dress codes, penalties for showing emotion, and a ban on fixing wedgies. Olympic gymnasts must be perfect to win gold — but they also have to follow some pretty strange rules.
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00:00Restrictive dress codes, penalties for showing emotion, and a ban on fixing wedgies.
00:06Olympic gymnasts must be perfect to win gold, but they also have to follow some pretty strange
00:10rules.
00:12It's obvious that Olympic-level gymnastics is an intense sport that demands not just
00:16top physical conditioning and endless hours of practice, but also determination and a
00:21steely desire to win it all.
00:23Few other disciplines expect competitors to keep it together to quite the same degree,
00:27however.
00:28This rule is specifically outlined in a couple of places in the 2023-2024 Rules and Policies
00:34for Women's Artistic Gymnastics, as determined by USA Gymnastics.
00:38The section, titled Athlete Members' Rights and Obligations, maintains that competitors
00:42must accept their score without criticism or comment.
00:46What's more, they had better hold it together if they get hurt, and especially if their
00:50routine does not go according to plan.
00:52Of course, emotional and mental resilience is a big deal in the sport.
00:56USA Gymnastics and other major gymnastics organizations routinely urge both athletes
01:02and coaches to deal with the high-tension emotions of the sport in controlled and healthy
01:06ways.
01:07Meanwhile, British Olympic gymnast Joe Frazier told the Olympics that he routinely deals
01:12with difficult feelings to the point of tears.
01:14But even though greats like Simone Biles have been open about their fears and tragic real-life
01:19stories, you will very rarely see them betray their emotions in the midst of competing.
01:24Now I think of it as a strength."
01:26While it may seem like all eyes are on artistic gymnastics, don't forget the other major component
01:31of the Olympic competition — rhythmic gymnastics.
01:34Of course, if you ask anyone in the industry, the rhythmic portion is hardly for slouches.
01:39The discipline combines both dance and artistic gymnastics and uses five different props — rope,
01:45hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon.
01:47But even world-class gymnasts can have moments where they stumble or lose their grip.
01:51So what's a rhythmic gymnast to do when a hoop goes flying out of her fingers mid-competition?
01:57Or that elegant ribbon gets knotted or even caught up in a rafter?
02:00Olympic rules dictate that if there's a mishap with the prop, the gymnast can't restart the
02:05exercise.
02:06In other words, the show must go on.
02:08And according to the International Gymnastics Federation rules, they have to
02:12"...communicate feeling with a facial expression while doing this."
02:16So even if a ball goes flying, you must continue smiling.
02:19Olympic rules specify that a gymnast may get a replacement prop, but that will incur
02:23a relatively hefty one-point penalty.
02:26If she drops an apparatus, that's another penalty, ranging from a half-point to one-point
02:31deduction, depending on how many steps she takes to retrieve it.
02:34The reality of gymnastics is that much of the sport is about appearances.
02:39Judges may be looking for technical achievements, such as the predetermined difficulty of a
02:43move, or clear mistakes, like whether or not an athlete steps out of bounds.
02:48But they will also be considering more subjective things, like the elegance of a routine, or
02:52the intensity of a gymnast's movement, neither of which are judging tasks that come with
02:57a clear rubric.
02:58Then there's the fashion.
02:59It's not just that gymnastics competitions include an array of eye-catching attire.
03:04Judges are also looking out for dress code violations.
03:07While such a ding may be annoying for a high schooler, it could knock off enough points
03:11that an athlete is left longingly staring at the medal podium because of an errant bra
03:15strap.
03:16Gymnast gymnast Nastia Lukin told People ahead of the 2016 Olympics, most athletes wear underwear,
03:22but they're careful to select shades that blend with their skin tone and check that
03:26nothing shows.
03:28It's not just potentially embarrassing, visible underwear really can spell a deduction.
03:32Some athletes even reportedly get custom underwear made to help ensure that these garments remain
03:37hidden.
03:38That makes sense, given that leotards are also typically custom-designed for these elite
03:42athletes who are competing at a level where mere decimal points can stand between them
03:47and a gold medal.
03:48Highly designed as they may be, the leotards of Olympic gymnasts may still present the
03:53all-too-real issue of a mid-competition wedgie.
03:56And though you may pick yours out in discreet fashion, depending on the exact social situation
04:00and just how bad the wedgie in question is, elite competitors are often on the world stage.
04:06Simply reaching down and fixing the issue isn't necessarily an option when you have
04:10millions of pairs of eyes upon you.
04:13It's not just a matter of social decorum that keeps Olympic gymnasts from readjusting their
04:19leotards.
04:20Multiple sources have claimed that doing so can result in a very real points deduction.
04:25And who wants to lose out on a medal because they couldn't let a wedgie be?
04:28Writing for The New York Times, Leah N. Scarpa says that it would result in a two-tenths
04:33deduction at her state gymnastics meet, while Lucan told People that similar penalties would
04:38happen at the Olympics.
04:39Lucan mentioned that athletes sometimes use adhesive sprays to keep everything in place.
04:44Meanwhile, Scarpa more directly blamed sexism and objectification for putting female gymnasts
04:50in that uncomfortable position in the first place.
04:52That objectification can be damaging.
04:55For instance, while it's not an official rule, it is a commonly accepted convention that
04:59athletes should compete in long-sleeved but legless leotards.
05:02When German gymnasts competed in long-legged unitards at the 2021 Olympics, they openly
05:08said that they did so in response to entrenched sexism in the sport.
05:12Simone Biles oftentimes presents a serious quandary for gymnastics judges.
05:16She is in such a stratospheric realm of excellence that it can be difficult to judge her work
05:20in relation to others who, despite years of training and dedication, can't take the title
05:25away from Biles.
05:26More specifically, Biles has attempted moves so difficult that some adjudicators have felt
05:30the need to underscore her work.
05:32Take her 2019 performance in the U.S. National Championships, where she completed not one,
05:38but two incredibly complicated moves.
05:40The first, now known as the Biles 2, garnered a difficulty rating of J, which is currently
05:46the highest such rating.
05:47Yet it came as a surprise that another move, known as the Biles, was given a difficulty
05:52of H. The justification, according to officials, was that giving it a more valuable difficulty
05:57score could encourage less able gymnasts to attempt the move and risk serious injury.
06:02And Biles vaults really can be that dangerous.
06:05But critics have wondered if this is really meant to keep other gymnasts safe or if it's
06:09a sort of sour grapes reaction to ultra-talented athletes like Biles.
06:14In other words, if Biles often utterly blasts the competition out of the water, perhaps
06:19the judges were motivated to level the playing field via new rules.
06:24If a gymnast or their coach isn't satisfied with the score, they're free to openly question
06:28the results, so long as they're willing to pay up.
06:31After all of the money that goes into making an Olympic gymnast, from training to travel
06:36to those expensive leotards, officially challenging a ruling means that a team official must potentially
06:41pay hundreds of dollars.
06:43At the 2016 Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, the going rate was $300 for the first challenge,
06:49followed by $500 for a second, and $1,000 if a truly dedicated team went in for a third
06:54review.
06:55Previously, coaches would have to pony up real cash, but by the Games in Rio, that was
07:00changed to an agreement to pay later, perhaps because it did away with the unsavory visual
07:04of coaches handing dollar bills over to Olympic officials.
07:07As for who pays up, it's not the gymnasts themselves or even necessarily the coaches
07:11who are urging for a review.
07:13Instead, it's the National Federation for that particular team that's on the hook.
07:17The general idea of this rule is to cut back on unnecessary challenges, which can slow
07:22down competitions and make the whole affair look unprofessional.
07:25And if a challenge is successful, then the team will get its money back.
07:28If it's struck down, however, that money is kept by the officials, where it's donated
07:32to charity.
07:33Surely one of the most eye-catching things about the sports of gymnastics, at least after
07:38you've witnessed Biles or other top athletes spinning seemingly effortlessly in the air,
07:43are the outfits.
07:44For many teams at the Olympics, the leotards will fall into a standard overall look, but
07:48can then come in a variety of colors and with embellishments that can glitter and dazzle
07:52beneath the bright lights.
07:54This is beautiful!"
07:57Yet gymnasts are subject to appearance-based rules that go beyond sparkles.
08:01Some make sense from a practical standpoint, like USA Gymnastics' policy that athletes
08:05must have their hair secured away from the face and can't sport any jewelry beyond simple
08:11stud earrings.
08:12Anything else could reasonably be considered distracting to the athlete, or even potentially
08:16dangerous should they fall.
08:17However, appearance regulations go further, to the point where some have alleged that
08:21these rules should be more rightfully considered as puritanical attempts to control women's
08:26bodies than attempts to keep a sport safe.
08:29For instance, in the same USA Gymnastics rulebook, regulations state that leotards can't reveal
08:34hip bones and cannot be backless, yet it goes on to state that mesh or flesh-colored fabric
08:39in what would otherwise be open leotard sections is okay.
08:43Other dress code rules for the U.S. women's gymnastics team include bands on too-thin
08:48shoulder straps, tennis shoes, boxers, midriff-bearing skirts, and other penalty-carrying clothes
08:54that have been deemed inappropriate.
08:56Even a casual overview of Olympic gymnastics will reveal an obvious rule.
09:01Male gymnasts compete in one particular set of events and female gymnasts in another.
09:06Currently, men compete in six events and women in four.
09:09To be fair, some events, such as still rings and pommel horse routines, do require extraordinary
09:14upper body strength that's more easily achieved by male gymnasts.
09:18However, that doesn't necessarily mean that women couldn't compete in their own events
09:22like in many other sports.
09:23In fact, at the 1948 Olympics, women did compete on rings.
09:27It's unclear what was behind the change between then and today, but some speculate that gender
09:32norms — not ability — shaped the dramatic differences between men's and women's gymnastics.
09:37Similarly confusing is the current rule dictating that only women can compete in rhythmic gymnastics
09:42— well, at the Olympics, anyway.
09:44In other events, men are welcome to perform, or at least they're trying to make headway.
09:48In Japan, male rhythmic gymnastics events have been popular for decades and incorporate
09:52tumbling movements not unlike those seen in artistic gymnastics.
09:56And in France, gymnast Peterson Sousse is a devotee of rhythmic gymnastics who is advocating
10:01for men to compete at the Olympic level and has even brought legal challenges to that
10:05point in his home country.
10:06Currently, however, the rhythmic gymnastics gender divide stands at the Olympics.
10:11While it may not be an official rule of the Olympics, competing at such a high level practically
10:15demands that athletes get serious about gear.
10:18How serious?
10:19Let's start with as many fittings as a pricey wedding dress.
10:22Those leotards are as expensive as some wedding dresses, too — at least when you add up
10:26all the pieces in a gymnast's professional wardrobe.
10:29Each U.S. team member gets 12 practice leotards, which are about $60 to $200 each, and eight
10:35competition-quality ones, which typically clock in at $700 to $1,200 each.
10:40By the time Olympic-level leotards make it to competition, they've been designed, tested,
10:45redesigned, and individually constructed to fit the unique body type of each athlete.
10:50This laborious process helps them both stay within the rules of leotard appearances and
10:54remain as competitive as possible.
10:56We have grit, we have power, we have grace.
10:59Olympic gymnasts go through about three fittings for a custom leotard, though some make it
11:03through with just two.
11:04What's more, they have to abide both by the rules of the Olympic Committee, which dictates
11:08that their uniform must display the flag or name of their country but not their individual
11:12name, and the final fashion say-so of their team coach.