The Olympic Games are about to begin, but how will the participants be judged?

A new sport calls for new rules at the Olympic level. And while breaking — commonly known as breakdancing — has been around for decades, it’s still new to the world of Olympic judging.

The fights, the moves and the culture aren’t new — breaking is one of the four fundamental elements of hip-hop, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. The international competitions aren’t new either — the Red Bull BC One World Final has been around for two decades, and the sport caught on with younger audiences during the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. Still, many remain skeptical of its Olympic inclusion as they tune into the final days of the Games in Paris.

“I think critics have a misconception of breaking still as something from the ’80s or something that’s just on the streets, and I don’t think they realize how much it’s evolved,” said Ronnie Abaldonado, or b-boy Ronnie, a breaker who has been competing, judging and teaching for 31 years. Abaldonado is one of NBC’s official commentators for the breaking competition.

“It’s going to be undeniable when they see it on the big stage and they see the spectacle and the level of talent and even the high level of difficulty,” he said. “You could compare it a little bit to gymnastics.”

Breaking is, at its core, an art form that connects mind, body and spirit. Judges evaluate breakers using the Trivium Judging System, developed for breaking’s debut at the Buenos Aires Youth Games. A panel of nine judges evaluates each breaker on technique, vocabulary, execution, musicality and originality — each counting for 20% of the final score.

Breaking is judged qualitatively because of its roots as an art form, and judges use a sliding scale to judge each round and battle, with the scale adjusted to the breaker who wins in each of the above criteria. An emcee will provide commentary throughout the competition and hype up the crowd. The judges for the Olympic competition have not yet been announced.

“What’s so appealing to the naked eye are the power moves, like the air moves, the head spins, the ground power, which are like windmills and freezes,” Abaldonado said. “It’s the power, the control and the speed that’s also visually appealing.”

A judge, however, will look at the technical side, “which is like the footwork and dancing to the music or the beat, because that’s the DNA of breaking,” Abaldonado said. Additionally, he said, there has to be an element of improvisation, which contributes to the originality score. The DJ selects the music — and the breakers don’t know what soundtrack they’ll be competing to until they hit the floor.

“We practice and rehearse everything, but we also have to adapt to the moment and improvise,” said Victor Montalvo, or b-boy Victor, who represents Team USA. “We try not to have a fully rehearsed round because it looks robotic.”

For Tony “Mr. Wave” Wesley, a Bronx breaking pioneer who rose to stardom decades ago with the New York City Breakers, it’s confirmation that breaking is making its mark on the world stage. Now he’s trying to pass on his institutional knowledge by creating a virtual lesson plan with flashcards on breaking’s elements and terminology for the digital learning platform Quizlet.

“I always felt like we weren’t doing enough for the new generations. And then I saw my peers dying, leaving us, and all we had were their stories, and they took them with them. So someone has to write that story,” Wesley said.

Below is an overview of the five criteria by which judges judge the breakers:

Technology: Maintain physiological control while focusing on athleticism, form and spatial awareness.

Vocabulary: The range of moves that show variation and the number of moves, ideally with minimal repetition.

Execution: The ability to land and execute movements smoothly, without falling or slipping, and while maintaining consistency and flow.

Musicality: The ability to keep time and synchronize movements with the rhythm of the music.

Originality: The ability to improvise, be creative and maintain spontaneity with style and personality.