15 Strict Rules Female Gymnasts Have To Follow

She does a double-twisting double somersault. It's just, it's unbelievable. Do you think I could stick around and watch your routine? No, because it's a secret. The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo has everyone excited to see our gymnastic star shine. We're looking at you, Simone Biles. But she and her teammates had to follow a lot of strict rules to get where they are today. Always look in control. Have you ever noticed that gymnasts make their routines look completely effortless? They look like they are in total control, even when they are doing crazy stunts. That's because of the rule in gymnastics that says that even when they're performing incredibly hard skills, gymnasts should always look in control, as if their performances are easy and effortless. In fact, they are graded on this by the judges. The more in control they appear, the higher their scores will be. Judges look for a polished routine where every movement looks planned. If they make a mistake or fail to perfectly execute a skill, they must stay calm and appear to be in control. So even if they fall or injure themselves, gymnasts don't react the way your average person off the street would. These gymnasts have to have serious poker faces in competitions. Hair and jewelry. There is a strict regulation in place for safety reasons that is responsible for all those tight buns, braids, and ponytails you see in gymnastic competitions. Gymnasts are free to get creative with ribbons and bobby pins as long as their hair is out of their faces. This is mainly for safety reasons. However, there is a guideline that all female gymnasts must be well-groomed in her appearance. Hair must be pulled away from the face so it doesn't block the view of their equipment and landings. It would be terrible if Simone Biles did her signature triple-double flip and missed the landing because her hair got in her face. Two flips, two twists, never been done in competition. And to add to that, gymnasts are not allowed to wear more than a single pair of stud earrings. Anything more is considered a hazard. Wardrobe malfunctions. Fans of the movie Stick It know that judges can dock points if your undergarments are showing. Your bra was sticking out. One-tenth off because her bra was sticking out. In the movie, Mina did a flawless vault handspring double somersault, but the judge deducted points because her bra strap was showing. This caused the rest of the team to do back-to-back scratches while showing their bra straps in protest. This is an actual thing. In fact, gymnasts are so worried about accidentally showing their undergarments, they'll compete without wearing any. They prevent their leotards from riding up by using a spray called Tough Skin. It sticks the leotard to the skin to keep it from moving out of place. But if gymnasts get an unexpected wedgie from all those flips and splits, they had better not fix it. If they pull out their wedgie during the competition, they can be deducted up to half a point. No breaks allowed. During the routines, the gymnasts string together a series of tricks. They do this without taking a break in between tricks. This is a rule of the sport. Any breaks are considered to be missed connections. According to the rules, any missed connections indicated by a stop, a step between moves, or an obvious loss of balance counts as a break and it goes against your score. When a gymnast makes an error, she's expected to keep going as if she didn't miss a beat or she'll get points deducted again for the break. Can you imagine what it must be like to fall and pretend nothing happened? Don't be too excellent. The International Gymnastics Federation recently assigned Simone Biles' triple-double, aka The Biles, with a difficulty rating of H, when most agree it should have been higher, like an I or a J. The justification was that the Federation believed this move is too dangerous and carries increased risks for gymnasts, the biggest being a possible landing on the neck. But according to Forbes, this is a common tactic of the Federation. They stifle excellence in order to limit competition to what the average competitor is capable of. This kind of excellence stifling can be a frustrating thing for trailblazers such as Simone, but she's not planning on slowing down anytime soon. Long practice hours Professional athletes in any sport must commit a huge amount of their time to becoming excellent. This is just as true for gymnasts. Gymnastics Olympic hopefuls put in as many as seven hours a day to push their bodies to the limits. Simone Biles trains for 32 hours over six days a week. It may seem like a big-time sacrifice, but that's how Biles broke the all-time record for most medals won by any gymnast at the 2019 World Championships after winning her 25th medal. That being said, gymnasts don't have a very long career span. Since they put their bodies through so much when they are so young, they're usually ready to retire in their 20s. That means every hour counts if they want to win those Olympic medals. It's hard to imagine doing seven straight hours of handsprings and flips, but that's what it takes to be the best. Appealing their scores costs money If a gymnast disagrees with the score the judges give, there's something they can do about it. However, it's going to cost them. Gymnasts have the right to challenge a score the judges gave, but there's a specific rule on how to go about it. If they want to appeal a judge's decision, the rules state that they must first approach the judge's panel to make a verbal challenge. This has to happen after the posting of the score and before the next routine. Then the coach has to submit their challenge in writing within four minutes, along with a check for $300. If the gymnast wants to challenge their score a second time during the event, they have to come up with 500 bucks. The third time, they must pay $1,000. They get the money back if the judges find they've made a mistake and correct the scores. Otherwise, the fees go to the Gymnastics Federation. Point Those Toes Gymnasts have a lot to remember when they are tumbling through the air. The most important thing is to land safely. There are certain techniques and body positions they must hit to do their tricks successfully. It doesn't matter how hard we run or how high we flip. Leave your hands on the vault table too long? Deduction. But if they forget this one minor detail, it can count against them. When a gymnast fails to point her toes during leaps and jumps on the floor and beam, as well as on the bars, they lose points. Judges will deduct one-tenth of a point every time they notice that the gymnast has unpointed toes. They could do a perfect routine, but if they forget to point those toes, they will end up with less-than-perfect scores. No Pauses It seems reasonable to want to pause before doing a gravity-defying flip through the air. Surely your brain will want a moment to process everything your body is about to do. But according to the rules, taking long pauses before doing a trick is a big no-no. If a gymnast pauses for too long before dismounting off the balance beam or hangs out for too long in the corner of the tumbling floor before a trick, the judges will deduct a tenth of a point each time. They will watch to make sure gymnasts aren't waiting on two feet for a prolonged amount of time. Judges also deduct points if the gymnast takes too many small shuffling steps to adjust her position before a big tumble. No Wobbles According to the rulebook, wobbles are any extra movements the gymnast may use to keep her balance. If a gymnast wobbles, she could lose one-tenth of a point for a small one and up to half a point for the big ones. The judges are also very strict about landing errors. Judges watch carefully during dismounts and tumbling passes to catch these small or big wobbles and other mistakes. For instance, if a gymnast lightly hops to catch herself, she'll lose one-tenth of a point. Landing with her feet apart or bent over with her chest low can be up to a third of a point deduction. When it comes to legs, angles matter. Gymnastics is all about form. Gymnasts must make sure their bodies line up in the proper form or they will be going against the rules. This includes the angles of their legs. During their routines, if gymnasts fail to keep their legs together when they're supposed to be, it's considered to be a form error. Gymnasts are especially vulnerable to this rule during a bars dismount or tumbling pass. The gymnasts can also lose points if they bend their knees before they land when they're supposed to stay straight. But they can also lose points if they don't separate their legs the right amount during things like leaps and split jumps. In split jumps, the legs must be at 180 degrees or more. If they don't make it that far, they could lose up to a third of a point. Only two gymnasts per country can qualify for finals. This rule was originally put in place by the International Gymnastics Federation. The intention was to increase the popularity of the sport among other countries and to promote inclusivity. But this rule is very unpopular among the dominant teams such as Team USA. The rule states that even if you come in third or fourth, if two of your teammates came in first and second, you will not advance to finals. This caused a problem for Jordan Wieber in the 2012 London Olympics, who finished fourth behind two of her compatriots and therefore failed to qualify that year. It happened again at the 2016 Rio Olympics. 2012 gold medal winner Gabby Douglas couldn't qualify because she finished third after two other American teammates. Bring your own shampoo This is more of an unwritten rule among seasoned gymnasts. Nastia Lukin discussed this in an interview with People, saying there is a secret rule that you must pack the most jumbo-sized bottles of important beauty products like shampoo. Nastia explained that since they are away traveling for about a month, it's easier to bring your own stuff. They are so busy training, they don't have time to shop for beauty products. So Nastia packs the biggest bottle of shampoo, conditioner, and hairspray on every trip. She shared that most gymnasts are pretty particular to what kinds of products they like. It can be hard to find their brand in Beijing, for instance. So it's best just to bring the big bottles. Lipstick versus nails While they do have strict rules about hair and jewelry on the gymnastics floor, they are surprisingly lenient when it comes to lipstick. In fact, the gymnasts are really getting bold with their lip colors. Now, it's not uncommon to see a red leotard paired with a bright red lip during competitions. Nastia told People that sort of thing was taboo in 2008. While the federation is getting a bit more liberal when it comes to makeup, they are still pretty strict about nail color. Coaches pick out the nail polish gymnasts wear, and they are typically pretty conservative. You'll see a lot of nudes, light pinks, and light colors on Team USA's fingers and toes. The coaches don't want the nails to pull focus from the fabulous tricks the gymnasts are doing. They want judges to focus on the performance, though that doesn't really explain why they wear such flashy leotards. According to the Sportster, Team USA wears leotards that contain up to 5,000 crystals each. Now that's flashy! No bullying This rule comes straight out of the rulebook. It's a total no-brainer, but every rule must be written out so that gymnasts can agree to a certain code of conduct. The rule states that all gymnasts must maintain respect on the floor. It also states that gymnasts must refrain from intimidating, embarrassing, or improperly influencing any individual responsible for participating in, judging, or administering a competition. That kind of drama is just not welcome on the floor. What do you think is the most surprising rule that female gymnasts have to follow? Tell us in the comments. Thanks for watching and don't forget to like this video and subscribe to The Taco for more.