Author: Gymnastics History

Did you know that, once upon a time, there weren’t gold, silver, and bronze medals at the World Championships? Instead, there was a collection of art, and each team chose which piece of art they wanted. Winners got to choose first.

These are the little tidbits that you learn when you stumble across the rules for old gymnastics meets. Let’s take a look at the rules for the 1907 International Tournament (now called the World Championships).

Have you ever seen an old rulebook for the World Championships? Well, you’re in luck. In this article, you can find the official rulebook for the 1938 World Championships in Prague, as well as a translation of the sections.

From a historian’s perspective, this rulebook is important because it is a precursor to the 1949 Code of Points, specifying deductions and including lengthy criteria for evaluating compulsory routines.

Confusion bookended the 1934 World Championships in Budapest.

Before the competition started, Germany showed up at the FIG Congress, wanting to become a member of the FIG and participate in the 1934 World Championships.

That was not the typical protocol. Usually, countries didn’t seek admission just hours before a competition started. So, the FIG Congress had to answer the question: if the German federation becomes a member one day, can German gymnasts compete at the World Championships the next day?

That was the first source of confusion. After the competition ended, the second source of confusion cropped up. The gymnastics community realized that the initial results had been miscalculated, and all the results had to be recalculated.

The 1934 World Championships were the first time that the competition was called the “World Championships.” Previously, the competition had been known as the “International Tournament.”

In 1934, the men competed on the six apparatus that modern gymnastics fans know and (maybe) love. In addition, there were three track and field events.

Let’s take a look at the rules.