Gymnastics at the 1988 Summer Olympics
At the 1988 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics disciplines were contested: artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics. The artistic gymnastics events were held at the Olympic Gymnastics Hall in Seoul from September 18 through 25th. The rhythmic gymnastics events were held at the same venue from September 28 through 30th. For the first time in Olympic competition, each routine in women's artistic gymnastics events was judged by six judges, with the final score composed of the average of the judges' scores, after the highest and lowest marks were dropped. Men's routines continued to  be judged by four judges, as at previous Olympics. Artistic gymnastics. Format of competition. The gymnastics competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics was carried out in three stages: Each country was limited to three gymnasts in the all-around final and two gymnasts in each apparatus final. Rhythmic gymnastics. Rules for the rhythmic gymnastics competition also changed since the previous Olympics. The ball apparatus was replaced by the rope. Thirty-nine gymnasts competed in the preliminary round, the format for which was similar to the finals. The twenty best gymnasts competed in the finals. Each competitor's score in the  preliminary round, divided by two (the "prelim" score) was added to gymnast's score in the finals (the "final" score). Each of the routines was judged by six judges, highest and lowest marks were dropped, and an average of the four remaining ones was the gymnast's score for the routine.