Gymnastics' Dumbest Rules

Today, we're calling out the worst, stupidest, most self-defeating and awkward rules and conventions in gymnastics, starting with... Leotard Rules - aka the Olympics of regulating women's bodies Venture with us to a world where "elegant," "proper," and "modest" are all words found in the official rule book of a competitive sport in the year 2023—and breasts are expressly prohibited Why Is Gymnastics Still the Military? Saluting and lining up in front of the generals for inspection? Where are we? The Apparatus World Cup of Stupidity From the assumption that all women are the same height, to what the FIG considers to be "undisciplined and abusive behavior," to that thing where a double front doesn't fulfill the front tumbling requirement, we take on the worst rules on each event Rules Mythbusters Things someone (usually Martha) pretended were rules, and everyone believed it, but they actually aren't Plus, they may not be rules, but some old-fashioned and infantile gymnastics conventions are on our list! JOIN CLUB GYM NERD Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind the Scenes episodes. Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and see some of the gymnastics we discuss, plus get access to all of our exclusive interviews and Behind The Scenes episodes. Not sure about joining the club?  College & Cocktails: The Friday Night NCAA Gymnastics Post-Meet Show is available to sample (even if you aren't a Club Gym Nerd member yet). Watch or listen here. Buy our awesome clothing and gifts here. We have a Ukraine Fundraiser design, all proceeds go to the CARE Ukraine Crisis fund. RELATED EPISODES & RESOURCES Behind The Scenes: The Bladder Suni's Home Sportsball Straight Breaks News Steve Butcher Interview Asian Championships & Worlds Qualification 1984 Fight: Olympics vs Olomouc She Was Robbed! Mexico's Moment Logistical Sweating & the Emma Spence Interview History's Best Beam Routines Gymnastics Mythbusters 4.0 Romanian Gymnastics Secret Police Files Project K Episode 2 Project K Episode 1 Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim The Highest D and E scores from The Gymternet MORE WAYS TO LISTEN HERE