There are three stages to Olympic gymnastics competitions: the team competition, followed by the individual All-Around competition, and finally the individual apparatus finals. Each team enters 6 gymnasts, and each gymnast performs twice on each apparatus: once doing compulsory exercises and once optional exercises. Each team is allowed to drop the lowest score on each apparatus; the scores of the remaining five gymnasts are added to determine the team score for each apparatus. Gymnasts who are not part of a six person National squad take part in the team competition because the team competition also serves as the qualifying round for both the individual all-around competition and te apparatus finals.

The 36 gymnasts with the highest scores in the team competition advance to the all-around final. However, no more than 3 gymnasts from each nation may compete in the all-around final.

The top8 scorers for each apparatus in the team competition qualify for the apparatus finals, although no more than to gymnasts per nation may compete for any apparatus finals. In the finals the gymnasts start their scores off at zero.

Current rules require that male gymnasts be at least 16 years old in the year of the Olympics and that female gymnasts turn at least 15 in the Olympic year. Following the 1996 Olympics, the minimum age for women will also be 16.

Gymnastics was one of the very first events ever to be in the Olympics, it has been an Olympic sport since 1896. It will be held in the Sydney SuperDome and Pavilion 2, which can be located in Sydney Olympic Park.

Gymnastics:Top 5 Countries

	Male			Female
Country	G	S	B	G	S	B	Total
Soviet Union	45	42	19	38	30	30	204
Japan	27	28	30	-	-	1	86
United States	22	16	19	2	5	8	72
Switzerland	15	19	13	-	-	-	47
Romania	-	-	2	15	11	13	41