I’ve been super grateful to NBCSN for broadcasting so many old Olympic gymnastics events recently. When I was a gymnast, I used to record them all on VHS and watch them over and over and over. However, until they were played on TV recently, I hadn’t thought to go back and rewatch them again.

As I was watching the team finals from 1996, 2004, and 2012, it occurred to me how much the team finals format has changed over the years. I had to really pay attention during each competition in order to figure out how many gymnasts were on the team, how many were up on each event, and how many scores would count toward the team total.

So I decided to do a little research on the women’s team finals formats throughout history. Here is what I found out:

History of Olympic Women’s Gymnastics

Women’s gymnastics first appeared in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, with women competing only for a team championship. Women did not compete in gymnastics in the 1932 Olympics, but women’s gymnastics became a permanent Olympic sport beginning with the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The 1940 and 1944 Olympics were both cancelled due to World War II, with the Olympics resuming in 1948.

12 Member Team Format

The first women’s gymnastics competition consisted of 5 teams, each of which had 12 members. Scores from the three events of Team Drill, Apparatus, and Horse Vault were added together to determine the team champion.

Olympics with 12 Member Teams:

  • 1928 Olympics (Amsterdam)
    Gold: Netherlands
    Silver: Italy
    Bronze: Great Britain

8 Member Team Format

Beginning in 1936, women’s gymnastics teams consisted of 8 members. In 1936, each gymnast performed a compulsory and an optional routine on each of the three apparatus (vault, parallel bars, and balance beam), and the team performed two group exercises. The top 6 scores would count toward the team score on each event, then both group scores would be added together to determine the final team score. In 1948, the same format was used, but the women competed on rings instead of parallel bars. 1948 was the only time in Olympic history that women competed on rings!

In 1952, the 8-member format continued, but gymnasts used the present-day women’s apparatus of vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. The gymnasts continued to perform compulsory and optional routines on each event, with the top 6 counting toward the team score. Each gymnast was allowed two attempts on vault, with the better score to count. On the other three events, the gymnast could only have a second attempt during the compulsory routines. For these events, the second score would count, regardless if it was higher or lower than the first score.

Olympics with 8 member teams

  • 1936 Olympics (Berlin)
    Gold: Germany
    Silver: Czechoslovakia
    Bronze: Hungary
  • 1948 Olympics (London)
    Gold: Czechoslovakia
    Silver: Hungary
    Bronze: United States
  • 1952 Olympics (Helsinki)
    Gold: Soviet Union
    Silver: Hungary
    Bronze: Czechoslovakia
Nadia Comaneci 1976 Olympic team

6 Member Team Format

The 1956 Olympics technically allowed a team of 8 gymnasts, but since only 6 were allowed to compete, I included it here as an Olympics with a 6 member team. In 1956, 6 gymnasts competed on each of the four events, with the top 5 scores counting toward the team total. This format would continue for almost four decades! In 1956, the women’s teams also competed in a separate competition for the “portable apparatus”, which was the earliest form of rhythmic gymnastics. The portable apparatus included the ball, clubs, hoop, rope, and ribbon. The gymnasts were no longer allowed to repeat a missed compulsory routine.

The 1960 Olympics used the same team format as the 1956 Olympics, but omitted the portable apparatus competition. The 1960 Olympics was also the first Olympics to use the event finals scoring format of (Compulsory+Optional)/2 + Event Finals Score = Event Final Total. This format would continue until after the 1988 Olympics, when New Life was first introduced. Using the New Life format, gymnasts’ preliminary scores were erased at the beginning of the finals, and only the scores from the event final or all-around final would count for medals.

The next several Olympics continued to use this team competition format. Some changes were made in other areas, related to qualifications. For instance, in 1976, the number of competing teams was limited to 12. These 12 teams qualified to the Olympics from the previous year’s World Championships. Also in 1976, the three-per-country rule was invoked, allowing only three gymnasts per country to advance to the all-around final. The two-per-country rule for event finals was initiated in 1976 as well, allowing only two gymnasts per country in each event final.

In 1980, the format once again remained largely the same, but the scores of the two vaults were averaged in event finals, rather than only the higher score counting. In preliminary competitions, team, and all-around finals, the highest vault score still counted. In 1984, the format remained the same, but the number of gymnasts in each event final was increased from six to the current 8. In 1988, the format again stayed the same, with the only change an increase in judges from 4 per event to 6 per event.

In 1992, the New Life rule was introduced, in which gymnasts’ scores started over in all-around and event finals. No preliminary scores carry over. This rule continues on through the present-day Olympics.

Olympics With 6 Member Teams

  • 1956 Olympics (Melbourne)
    Gold: Soviet Union
    Silver: Hungary
    Bronze: Romania
  • 1960 Olympics (Rome)
    Gold: Soviet Union
    Silver: Czechoslovakia
    Bronze: Romania
  • 1964 Olympics (Tokyo)
    Gold: Soviet Union
    Silver: Czechoslovakia
    Bronze: Japan
  • 1968 Olympics (Mexico City)
    Gold: Soviet Union
    Silver: Czechoslovakia
    Bronze: East Germany
  • 1972 Olympics (Munich)
    Gold: Soviet Union
    Silver: East Germany
    Bronze: Hungary
  • 1976 Olympics (Montreal)
    Gold: Soviet Union
    Silver: Romania
    Bronze: East Germany
  • 1980 Olympics (Moscow)
    Gold: Soviet Union
    Silver: Romania
    Bronze: East Germany
  • 1984 Olympics (Los Angeles)
    Gold: Romania
    Silver: United States
    Bronze: China
  • 1988 Olympics (Seoul)
    Gold: Soviet Union
    Silver: Romania
    Bronze: East Germany
  • 1992 Olympics (Barcelona)
    Gold: Unified Team
    Silver: Romania
    Bronze: United States

7 Member Team Format

The 1996 Olympics were the first, and only, Olympics to use a 7 member team. With this format, called the 7-6-5 format, there were 7 gymnasts on a team, with 6 competing on each event, and the top 5 scores counted toward the team total. Using this format, a country could bring an event specialist and use them on only one, two, or three events. In the past, when all gymnasts competed on all events, it wouldn’t have made sense to bring a specialist. The new format made team selection a bit more strategic.

Olympics With 7 Member Teams

  • 1996 Olympics (Atlanta)
    Gold: United States
    Silver: Russia
    Bronze: Romania

Back to the 6 Member Team

In 2000, the FIG returned to using a 6 member gymnastics team format. This new format was the 6-5-4 format, in which the team consisted of 6 gymnasts, 5 competed on each event, and the top 4 scores counted. Similar to the 7-6-5 rule, this format allowed teams to bring an event specialist and have them compete on only one, two, or three events.

Another change in 2000 was the elimination of the compulsory competition. Instead, the team of 6 gymnasts had just one round of preliminary optional routines, which they used to qualify for team finals. Both the preliminaries and the team finals used the 6-5-4 format. The top 6 teams qualified into the team final.

In 2004, the preliminary competition followed the same format as 2000, using the 6-5-4 format. This year, though, the team finals used a new, exciting format: the 6-3-3 format. The team consisted of 6 gymnasts, but only 3 competed on each event, and all 3 scores counted. This format rewarded consistency over depth, and the three-up, three-count team final format continues to this day. The other change in 2004 was that the number of competitors in the all-around final was reduced from 36 to 24, with only two gymnasts per country allowed to advance to the final.

The format remained the same in 2008, but the big change was in the scoring. The traditional 10.0 system was abolished, in favor of open-ended scoring. Using the open-ended scoring system, each gymnast receives a D-score (Difficulty Score) based on the skills that were performed, and an E-score (Execution Score) based on how they performed those skills. The D-score is open-ended, with no maximum score. The E-score has a maximum of 10.0, with deductions taken for errors during the routine. The other change in 2008 is that 8 teams qualified for the team final, compared with 6 teams in 2004.

More Olympics with 6 Member Teams

  • 2000 Olympics (Sydney)
    Gold: Romania
    Silver: Russia
    Bronze: United States***
  • 2004 Olympics (Athens)
    Gold: Romania
    Silver: United States
    Bronze: Russia
  • 2008 Olympics
    Gold: China
    Silver: United States
    Bronze: Romania

***China was initially awarded the bronze medal in the 2000 team competition, but in 2010 it was discovered that one of their athletes was underage, and the Chinese team was disqualified from the team medals. The United States moved up into bronze medal position as a result.

Simone Biles 2016 Olympic team

5 Member Team Format

In 2012, the powers that be once again decided to change the team competition format, reducing the team size to 5 gymnasts. The qualification format was 5-4-3, in which 4 gymnasts competed on each event, and the top 3 scores counted toward the team total. The team final used a 5-3-3 format, similar to previous years, in which 3 gymnasts competed on each event and all 3 scores counted toward the team score. The 2016 Olympics used the same qualification and team final format as the 2012 Games.

Olympics with 5 Member Teams

  • 2012 Olympics (London)
    Gold: United States
    Silver: Russia
    Bronze: Romania
  • 2016 Olympics (Rio de Janeiro)
    Gold: United States
    Silver: Russia
    Bronze: China

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will have yet another new format, with only 4 gymnasts on each team, all 4 gymnasts competing all four events, and the top 3 scores counting toward the qualification. The finals will have a 4-3-3 rule, with three gymnasts up and three scores counting. Each country also has the possibility of bringing up to two individuals, who will not compete in the team competition, but will be eligible to qualify for all-around and individual event finals. These individuals are eligible to win medals in the individual competitions. The team size will once again increase to 5 members for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Personally, I’m really glad that the team size will be increasing again in 2024. Four gymnasts is such a small team, and potential individual event medalists could be left out of the Games. I understand the rationale to even the playing field with smaller teams, and it is nice seeing a variety of countries represented. But the Olympic Games is meant to showcase the best athletes in the world, and it doesn’t seem right to leave potentially medal-winning gymnasts sitting at home.

What’s your favorite team competition format? Do you wish they would bring back a previous format, or do something completely new? Drop your thoughts in the comments!