Tag: FTW Explains Olympic sports

Olympic gymnastics rules, format and scoring in the 2024 Paris Olympics, explained

Here’s everything you need to know about gymnastics.

Every four years, we all gather to watch Olympic gymnastics during the summer Games.

It’s always awesome. But let’s be real — so many of us don’t know what we’re watching. That’s okay, by the way! You don’t have to know exactly what a sport is or how it works to appreciate it and think it’s cool.

That’s the relationship a lot of people have with gymnastics. These incredible athletes do incredible things that none of us could ever dream of doing. That’s more than enough to get people to appreciate the sport.

That said, knowing some of the basics about the sport will be useful, so let’s dive into it.

Alright, so what are the rules and format of gymnastics?

Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

There are different variations of the sport for the women and men competing.

The women perform on four different apparatuses: The beam, the vault, the uneven bars and the floor exercise.

Separately, the men perform on eight different apparatuses: The rings, the vault, the pommel horse, the horizontal bar, the parallel bars and a floor exercise.

So how are they scored?

Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Judges grade a gymnast’s performance based on a difficulty score and an execution score. The scales for both scores are a bit different. The execution score starts at 10.0 and gradually decreases as participants make mistakes. The difficulty score starts at 0 and gradually increases as the gymnasts perform different moves in their routines.

Two separate panels judge gymnasts on execution and difficulty. The execution panel is called the e-panel and the difficulty panel is called the d-panel.

How does the difficulty score work?

Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

In women’s gymnastics, each routine receives points for the eight most difficult elements. In men’s gymnastics, each routine receives points for the 10 most difficult elements.

Each routine element must be performed as technically described to receive the full difficulty value on a given element. Judges will also award a “connection value” on every event except for the vault. Connection value points are awarded when a gymnast is able to chain unique combinations together. They’re valued at either 0.1 or 0.2 points and the more you can do, the better.

The vault is the only apparatus that has a predetermined difficulty score.

How does the execution score work?

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The execution score is simply about the execution and artistry of a routine. Again, contestants start with their scores at 10 and dedication are made from there.

Points will be deducted based on falls, errors in technique or mishaps in execution. The deductions can range from something as small as 0.1 to 1.0 points. Points might also be deducted for stepping out of bounds, violation of attire policies or even time violations.

That’s everything you need to know about the basics of gymnastics and how it works.

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2024 Olympics basketball rules: the biggest differences between the WNBA, NBA and Olympic basketball

Here are the key differences between the two games.

The 2024 Paris Olympics feature some of the biggest stars from the NBA and WNBA in the games.

While you might recognize a lot of the faces you see playing on the court during this Olympic cycle, it might feel like they’re all playing a completely different sport than what you’re used to.

READ MORE: 

— Team USA’s complete men’s basketball roster

—All of Team USA’s returning gold medalists

While they’re all still playing basketball, the game is slightly different. There are rule changes in FIBA and Olympic play that make the competition a bit different than what it usually is when we see all these stars competing in their respective leagues.

Now’s a good time to go over some of the biggest differences.

Game Length

The first and most apparent difference people can see is the game time limit.

In the NBA, games are 48 minutes long with 12-minute quarters. However, like the WNBA, FIBA games are only 40 minutes long with 10 minutes allotted per quarter. Overtime periods are still five minutes across the board.

Foul limit

In the NBA and the WNBA, players are given six fouls before being disqualified from the game.

FIBA rules are different. The limit to foul out of a game is five. Plus, technical fouls count, too. So, for example, if a player receives four personal fouls and a single technical foul, that player will be disqualified from the game.

Zone defense

In the NBA and WNBA, zone defense is allowed. However, players must not remain in the paint beyond three seconds on either end of the floor. Otherwise, it results in a turnover on offense or a technical free throw on defense.

In FIBA play, however, there are no three-second rules. Players can stay in the paint for as long as they want.

Goaltending

Under FIBA rules, players still aren’t allowed to block a ball in a downward flight toward the rim. However, once the ball this the rim a player can either swat the ball away or tap it into the goal.

Doing that would result in a goaltend in both the NBA and WNBA.

Timeouts

Timeouts are slightly different at the FIBA level. Teams get five total timeouts as opposed to the six they’d get in the NBA and WNBA.

Two are available in the first half and three in the second half. However, only two are available in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, regardless of if they’ve been unused before then.

Only one timeout is allowed in overtime and each timeout is only 60 seconds. They’re never carried over through periods.

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3 things to know about water polo from Kaleigh Gilchrist, a three-time Olympian for Team USA

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Kaleigh Gilchrist shares her keys to know.

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. This is FTW Explains: The Olympics. During the Olympics, some of the sports can be intimidating, especially if you’re not super familiar with them. That’s OK because we’re here to help.

Team USA dominates women’s water polo on an international level, including at the Olympics. The American women have won three consecutive Olympic gold medals and are eyeing No. 4 at the Paris Olympics this summer.

So For The Win asked Kaleigh Gilchrist — now a three-time Olympian playing for her third straight gold — to share what she thinks are the three most important things for fans new to water polo to know about her sport (aside from Flavor Flav now backing the U.S. team).

1. “There’s no horses.”

2. “You can’t use both hands. You can only use one hand at a time holding the ball.”

3. “We can’t touch the ground, so we’re egg-beatering [also known as treading water] the whole time we’re swimming.”

That last point is one that makes water polo one of the most challenging sports ever. Treading water for a significant period of time is challenging by itself. But adding the ball, offensive schemes and defensive strategies to the mix while fending off your opponents would be impossible for many people to sustain over four eight-minute quarters.

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The Olympics swimming controversy with Paris’ dirty Seine River, including a threatened poop protest, explained

Yes, you read right. A poop protest. We break it all down for you.

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. This is FTW Explains: The Olympics. Have you seen some stuff about the Paris Olympics and how the River Seine is a venue that may not be healthy for swimmers to be in? And something about a poop protest? And you’re very confused about that whole thing? Don’t worry. We’re here to help.

That’s right, swimmers at the 2024 Olympics in Paris are supposed to be using the River Seine for certain events. But there are A LOT of questions about just how clean the body of water is.

Let’s break it all down.

Why the Olympics in Paris are using the Seine for events?

Great question! I guess it’s because it would be cool for the city to use its iconic waterway for events like the triathlon and marathon swimming races.

What’s the problem with the Seine?

Testing has shown high levels of E. coli in the water, and that bacteria is usually associated with … poop. Per The Athletic, those tests have been done with 28 days before the Games, and that would mean it would be unsafe for swimmers to perform in those waters.

Here’s more:

E. coli, along with enterococci, can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, pneumonia and sepsis when ingested. The latest findings marked the third consecutive week that samples from the river had unsafe levels of bacteria related to fecal matter.

Wait, is it even OK to swim in the river if you’re not an Olympian?

Nope. It’s been illegal in Paris since 1923.

How did France try to help with getting the Seine ready for the Olympics?

Paris spent a reported $1.5 billion (WITH A B!) to work on a solution, but heavy rains, er, flushed that plan down the toilet a bit. Sewage was washed in to the Seine and here we are.

What’s this now about a poop protest? Is that responsible for the E. Coli?

OK so back on June 23, people were encouraged to go No. 2 in the river with French president Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo vowing to swim in the Seine themselves to prove it was safe. While we don’t know if people actually did it, the public proposed Parisian poop protest made headlines everywhere.

Ew. Is there another venue available for those events if the Seine is too dirty?

Good question. There’s been no official word on that … but you’d have to think that’s the case if it’s unsafe for competitors, right? It would be a massive disaster if the Olympics had to cancel events. So, stay tuned.

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