Before 1997, team competition was structured differently. It still consisted of two sessions, but gymnasts performed "compulsory exercises" in the preliminaries and their own optional routines on the second day. The team medals were awarded based on the combined scores of both days. All-around and event final qualifiers were determined according to the combined scores. In meets where team titles were not contested, such as the American Cup, there were two days of all-around competition: one for compulsories and another for optionals.