It ’s practically Day of Judgement if a rhythmic gymnast suffer their prop .
The Olympics just wrapped up, and for me, that has meant scouring the Internet for useless bits of knowledge while the sports play in the background. So today, I’m here to tell you about some very weird rules athletes have to follow… ones you’d have no idea existed if not for the wonderful Internet.
1.There’s a strict"no groin grabbing"rule in water polo. So, like, grab someone’s ~thingy~ and you’re outta there.
2.Also in water polo, players actually havetoenail checksbefore they play. Because, you know, it can scratch someone.
3.Golfers better remember tosign their score cardsat the end of the game. Because if not, they’re immediately disqualified.
4.In dressage, competitors can’t use their voice to control the horse. If they so much as click their tongue, theylose pointsbig-time.
5.Rhythmic gymnasts, who compete with props like ribbons and hoops, better hope they don’t get itstuck in the ceiling— if they do, they can’t start their routine over.
6.But on the flipside, in tennis, if your hat falls off or a tennis ball falls out of your pocket, you CAN get ado-overif your opponent calls it, because it’s distracting.
7.Handkerchiefs are a MUST in wrestling —it’s requiredto have one on you at all times while competing.
8.In the Winter Olympics, until a few years ago, female figure skaters had towear a skirt, and men needed to wear pants.
9.Also until recently, gymnasts couldn’t wearcolourful nail polishor nail art of any kind — if they did wear polish, it had to be neutral.
10.And speaking of gymnasts, there’s alsosuper strict rulesabout the leotards they’re allowed to wear. Scoop necks or V-necks are a strict no-no.
11.In boxing, men have toshave their face.
12.There’s been LOTS of arguments about women’s beach volleyball uniforms. It was a rule that women had to compete in"bra-style tops and bikini bottoms."
13.In archery, competitors only have40 secondsof time between shots, and the arrow has to have the player’s name or initials on it.
14.Ready to travel back in time? Because if a swimmer breaks a world record, they have to use afax machineor telegram to record it. Or else it doesn’t count.
15.If canoers lose their paddle or if it breaks (which happens, you know), theydon’t get a new one. Sucks to suck, I guess.
16.Divers have to be"bold, high and confident"on the platform before diving. Any sense of doubt, and you lose points.
17.And finally, perhaps the most controversial rule:no form of protestis allowed during competition.
It’s practically doomsday if a rhythmic gymnast loses their prop.
