Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2023: Everything you need to know

The Artistic Gymnastics World Championships start on Saturday 30 September and will carry on until Sunday 8 October.

The 53rd tournament is being held in the Belgian city of Antwerp and this year is going to be a big one.

All the gymnasts taking part will also be competing to qualify for next year's Paris Olympics.

And it's the first World Championships that American legend Simone Biles will be taking part in since taking a break for her mental health two years ago.

Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming competition.

Where is it being held?

This year's Artistic Gymnastics World Championships are taking place in the Sportpaleis in Antwerp, Belgium.

What are the different events gymnasts compete in?

Artistic gymnastic tournaments are split into four main parts: qualifications, the team finals, the all-around finals and the individual finals.

In each of these parts, men and women do different events, and they take place in a special order, called the Olympic order.

Which events do the women compete in?

There are four events:

• Vault: This is the only apparatus where the gymnast will perform two routines, and the scores for these will then be averaged out.

• Uneven bars: Women-only event

• Beam: Women-only event

• Floor

Which events do the men compete in?

The pommel horse is a men-only event

The men's events are slightly different - they compete on six apparatus, and the order is different, too.

• Floor

• Pommel horse: men-only

• Rings: men-only

• Vault

• Parallel bars: men-only

• Horizontal bar: men-only

How are gymnastic routines scored?

In Artistic Gymnastics there are two separate judging panels looking at different elements.

There is a value given for the D or difficulty score, gymnasts gain points for their hardest moves and particular requirements.

Gymnasts can get bonus points if they link two difficult elements together.

E is for execution, this score is for how well the routine is performed.

The gymnasts all start with a score of 10 for category E but have some points taken away if they make any mistakes.

Things that can lose points are bent arms and legs, stumbles and falls.

The final score is the two added together at the end, with a score of 16 seen as a world class performance.

Who is competing in the GB men's team?

Max Whitlock

Max Whitlock is one of the UK's most successful gymnasts in history - with six Olympic medals.

He also has three world titles, four European titles and four Commonwealth golds.

On being selected for Team GB, Max Whitlock said: "I'm really excited to be selected for my 7th World Championships.

"I'm excited to be back with the team with some big targets ahead."

Courtney Tulloch

Double Commonwealth champion Courtney Tulloch is a specialist in the rings and vault.

He also finished on the podium to win World Championship bronze in the rings last year, Britain's first world medal in that discipline.

Jake Jarman

At the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Jake Jarman became the first English male gymnast to win four gold medals.

He also took silver in the men's all-around competition at the European Gymnastics Championships earlier this year.

Harry Hepworth

Harry is one of the newest members of the senior squad.

The 19-year-old made his senior debut earlier this year at the European Championships and he's been making a big impression - winning the vault at the recent Apparatus World Cup event in Paris.

James Hall

James is a all-around gymnast known for his strong performances across the different apparatus.

He's been part of the senior squad since 2014, and was part of the team that won gold at last year's European Championships.

Who is competing in the GB women's team?

Alice Kinsella

Alice Kinsella might only be 22 years old but she already has a host of medals from her career so far including three Commonwealth golds, two European Championship golds and an Olympic bronze, which she got as part of the GB team at the 2020 Tokyo games.

She said that her main focus of the upcoming World Championships in Antwerp was to "enjoy it and have fun".

Jessica Gadirova

Jessica Gadirova has had a huge year. She took home three gold medals at the European Gymnastics Championships back in April and she also won Young Sports Personality of the Year at the end of 2022.

Speaking ahead of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships she said: "It's always a huge honour to be selected to represent Great Britain at a major championship and I'm looking forward to, once again, wearing the GB flag and competing against the world's best."

Ondine Achampong

Ondine Achampong was also part of the women's Great Britain team which managed to leap into the history books by winning their first-ever team gold at the European Gymnastics Championships in Turkey.

She also made history at the World Gymnastics Championships with Great Britain's women's best ever result, taking home a silver in the team final, thanks to her brilliant performance on the vault.

Ruby Evans

16-year-old Ruby Evans is the newest member of Team GB's squad at these championships.

She only made her senior debut at the Cottbus World Cup in Germany earlier this year, where she won silver on vault.

In being selected for the upcoming competition, Evans became the first Welsh gymnast in nearly 20 years to be named to compete for Great Britain at the World Championships.

Georgia-Mae Fenton

Georgia-Mae Fenton is a double Commonwealth champion on uneven bars - winning gold in 2018 and 2022.

She was also part of the GB team that won silver at the 2022 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships before winning team gold alongside Ondine, Jessica and Alice at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

How can people watch the championships?

There will be live coverage on BBC One, Two, Three, iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.