The qualification (individuals and teams) (I)
The gymnasts take part in qualifying heats the results of which will decide whether they qualify for competitions II, III, and IV, as well as the ranking from 7th place down for the teams and 37th place down for the individuals in the multiple competition.

The men’s competition comprises free exercises on 6 apparatus, while the women’s competition comprises free exercises on 4 apparatus. Only gymnasts who perform on all apparatus may qualify for competition II.

In this competition the groups rotate. Each group competes in a series of 6 groups for the men and 4 for the women.
The individual gymnasts are randomly allotted to the different groups. Gymnasts representing a national team (federation) all compete within the same group. The groups are allotted randomly to the different series. The random allocation within each group also decides the order performances.

One group consists of a team of 4 or 6 gymnasts from one federation or a number of individual gymnasts from different federations. One team may compete with a maximum of 5 gymnasts for one apparatus, the four highest scores being retained and the lowest discarded.

The all-around individual competition (II)
This competition consists of 6 free exercises for the men and 4 for the women.

The top 36 gymnasts in competition I (maximum 3 per federation) take part in competition II.
They make up 6 teams of 6 gymnasts for the men’s event and 4 teams of 9 gymnasts for the women’s event.

The individual champion is the winner of competition II.

The apparatus finals (III)
The apparatus finals determine the winner for each apparatus. The eight men and women gymnasts (maximum 2 from each federation) with the best individual scores by apparatus in the qualifications (I) are chosen to compete in the apparatus finals.

The gymnasts who have qualified for competition I are not obliged to take part in competition II to be admitted to competition III.

Gymnasts who qualify for competition III must take part, while those who have qualified on more than 3 apparatus have the right to compete on three apparatus (or more) of their choice.

The team competition (IV)
This competition decides the winning team. The 6 teams which gain the highest scores in competition I take part in competition IV, which consists of 6 free exercises for the men and 4 for the women.

The Jury
Six judges enter a score, the highest-lowest score are out, and average the remaining 4; final points will be deducted from the starting score set by the jury A (control panel 2 persons) on their microterminals for each competitor by apparatus, for every phase of the competition. These six scores are recorded on the coordinator's terminal. The coordinator then adds any penalties the competitor may have incurred. The final score is sent via the "bus" to the central timing system. Updated scoreboards inform the competitors and the public of the results for the event in progress. Overall results are also posted on the large public scoreboards.

Time is measured during the beam and floor exercises.
Penalties are imposed on gymnasts for exceeding the allowed time.

The qualification (individuals and teams) I
The gymnasts compete in a qualifying heat to decide who goes on to competitions II, III, and IV, as well as the ranking from 9th place down for the teams, 32nd place down for competitors in the multiple competition, and 9th place down for participants on each apparatus. The gymnasts are randomly allocated to groups, ensuring that no one gymnasts is allocated to more than one group for the same period.

Teams:
A team is made up of 3 or 4 gymnasts, each of whom may perform 1 to 4 exercises, according to subsequent requirements.
The program comprises exercises on 4 given apparatus according to that year’s program. For each team different competitors must perform 3 exercises per apparatus, thus making a total of 12 exercises.
The team’s score is the sum of the 10 best individual marks obtained by its members.

Individuals:
For those gymnasts who take part in competition I only as individuals, the program comprises exercises on 4 given apparatus. Their score, which qualifies them for competitions II and III, is the sum of the 3 best marks they obtain.
The score of the gymnasts representing a team, which also qualifies them for competitions II and III, is also the sum of the 3 best marks obtained. All gymnasts who have competed on the given apparatus may qualify for competitions II and III.

The all-around individual competition (II)
The top 30 participants in competition I qualify for competition II, although no more than 2 competitors are allowed per federation. They are divided into two groups on the basis of the results of competition I.

The program consist of 4 exercises, one on each of the four given apparatus. The score is the sum of the 4 marks obtained, the results of competition I not being included.

The winner is the gymnast who achieves the highest score.

The apparatus finals (III)
The apparatus finals determine the winner for each apparatus. The eight women gymnasts (maximum 2 from each federation) with the best individual scores by apparatus in the qualifications (I) are chosen to compete in the apparatus finals.

The team competition (IV)
This competition decides the winning team. The best teams from competition I qualify to take part in the team finals. One team is made up of 3-4 gymnasts and each member may perform 1 to 4 exercises according to subsequent requirements.

The competition is made up of 3 heats :
1. Each of the 8 teams performs 4 exercises (1 per apparatus). An intermediate mark is obtained for the 4 exercises and the top 6 teams qualify for the subsequent heat.
2. Each of the 6 teams performs 4 exercises (1 per apparatus, i.e. 8 exercises for each of the 6 teams), each exercise being performed by a gymnast who did not compete on the same apparatus in the fist heat. An intermediate mark is obtained for the 8 exercises (4 in the first heat and 4 in the second heat) and the 4 top teams go on to the final heat.
3. Each of the 4 teams performs 4 exercises (1 per apparatus, i.e. 12 exercises for each of the 4 teams), each exercise being performed by a gymnast who did not compete on the same apparatus in the first or second heat.

The final ranking is achieved by adding the 12 marks obtained.

The Jury
- Individual Competitions
The jury consists of a technical president and three panels of judges: one for technical merit (4 judges), one for artistic merit (5 judges) and one for execution (5 judges). After the gymnast's performance, the judges enter scores into their microterminals (from 0 to 5, in increments of 5/100 of a point for technical and artistic merit, and from 0 to 10, in increments of 5/100 of a point for execution). These scores are sent via the "bus" to the technical president's terminal.
The highest and lowest scores for technical merit, artistic value and execution are discarded, giving an average score for each panel of judges. The technical president then deducts the penalty points, if any, from the respective scores, and the three scores are then added and divided by two. The total is the final score (maximum : 10).

- Group Competitions
In the group competitions, the jury consists of a technical president and three panels of judges: one for technical merit (4 judges), one for artistic merit (5 judges) and one for execution (5 judges). After the gymnast’s performance, the judges enter scores into their microterminals (from 0 to 6, in increments of 5/100 of a point for technical merit, from 0 to 4, in increments of 5/100 of a point for artistic merit, and from 0 to 10, in increments of 5/100 of a point for execution). These scores are sent via the "bus" to the technical president's terminal.
The highest and lowest scores for technical merit, artistic merit and execution are discarded, giving an average score for each panel of judges. The technical president then deducts the penalty points, if any, from the respective scores, and the three scores are then added. The total is the final score (maximum : 20).

Time also plays a part in the judging. In the individual competitions, each element lasts from one to one-and-a-half minutes; In group competitions, the time range is two to two-and-a-half minutes. Penalties are imposed if a gymnast or a group exceeds the allowed time.