Gymnastics Explained
Qualification
The opening round of a championship. One set of scores decides who reaches the team final, the all-around final and each apparatus final.
At major championships, everyone competes once in qualification, and those scores are used three ways:
- Team final — teams of three to five compete; on each apparatus up to four perform and the best three scores count. The top eight teams advance.
- All-around final — the top 24 all-around totals, with a maximum of two per country. Only gymnasts who compete on every apparatus are eligible, and only the first vault counts.
- Apparatus finals — the top eight on each apparatus, again with a maximum of two per country. Vault finalists need two vaults from different groups.
Qualification scores don’t carry into the finals. Ties for a final place are broken by the FIG’s tie-break rules, and if a tie survives every criterion, a draw sets the starting order.
“Qualification” also describes how gymnasts earn a place at an event in the first place — for LA 2028, team places are won at the 2026 and 2027 World Championships.
Sources
- FIG Technical Regulations 2025 — International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) (accessed 11 October 2026)
- Qualification System – Games of the XXXIV Olympiad – Los Angeles 2028: Artistic Gymnastics — International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) (accessed 11 October 2026)