Rhythmic gymnastics rules rules, for watching
Start with the rules you see all the time, then the ones that change results.
Settling an argument? Search all 12 rules
- What happens in a rhythmic gymnastics routine?
- How is rhythmic gymnastics scored?
- What body movements count for difficulty in rhythmic gymnastics?
- How do throws and catches score in rhythmic gymnastics?
- What are rhythmic gymnastics judges looking for in artistry?
- How do rhythmic gymnastics judges deduct for mistakes?
- What happens when a rhythmic gymnast drops the hoop, ball, clubs or ribbon?
- What are the other penalties in rhythmic gymnastics?
- How does the group event work in rhythmic gymnastics?
- What is an exchange in a rhythmic gymnastics group routine?
- What is a collaboration in a rhythmic gymnastics group routine, and are lifts allowed?
- How is a rhythmic gymnastics group judged on moving together?
Where these rules come from
| Tag | Document |
|---|---|
| FIG RG Part 1 or Part 2, then the section letter and article | Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, 2025-2028 Code of Points, Rhythmic Gymnastics (errata of 6 February 2025, valid from 1 April 2025). Part 1 is individual exercises and Part 2 group exercises; in each, section A is generalities, B difficulty, C artistry and D execution. Read for this set: Part 1, A 1 to 14, B 1, 2, 3.2, 3.5, 4.1 to 4.4, 5.1 to 5.4 and 7, C 1, 2, 5, 8, 10 and 11, D 1, 2 (in part) and the tables in 3 to 5; Part 2, A 1 to 3, 6, 8 and 9, B 1, 4.1, 6.1 to 6.5 and 7, C 7 (in part), 9 to 12, D 3 |
| R | "Why the rule exists", or a point reasoned from the rule, not stated in it |
| C | Common usage or general knowledge, not a rule |
All checked on 14 October 2026.
The text copy is cleaner than the artistic codes'. Most penalties are printed as figures. What is lost is the layout of the penalty tables, so where a fault sits in a "small, medium, large" table without its own printed figure, the page gives the level only where the order of the cells makes it plain, and says so in the claims table.
Not covered: the tables of jumps, balances and rotations with their values; the apparatus technical groups for each apparatus (what counts as a roll, a spiral, a mill and so on) and the criteria for apparatus difficulty in detail; the yearly apparatus programme (a picture, lost in the text copy); junior programmes; the Technical Regulations (who reaches the finals, inquiries, team entry); the General Judges' Rules.
Not covered: the tables of jumps, balances and rotations with their values; the apparatus technical groups for each apparatus (what counts as a roll, a spiral, a mill and so on) and the criteria for apparatus difficulty in detail; the yearly apparatus programme (a picture, lost in the text copy); junior programmes; the Technical Regulations (who reaches the finals, inquiries, team entry); the General Judges' Rules.